Beware: there be thorns everywhere on a prickly pear. And they’re so tiny that you can hardly see them. So, even before you pick them you need to gen up on how to work with them so that you don’t end up with masses of tiny thorns on your fingers and palms.

I was thrilled to find a prickly pear tree (bush?) right outside the door of a lovely rented cottage we stayed in, in De Rust near Oudtshoorn, in late December while travelling home via Route 62. I asked Kabbelrus’s friendly owner if I might pick a few, and she told me to help myself. I went home with a bag full, with jam in mind.

Red prickly pears on the tree at Kabbelrus in De Rust. (Photo: Tony Jackman)

Now: even though I listened to my Karoo expert friend Heyla Meyer’s advice, I still got some thorns on my hands. It’s pretty much inevitable. What you need is a strong bag (such as a supermarket packet), or maybe two, one inside in the other. Ideally, you need gloves (but I didn’t have any). And you need tongs. You clutch a pear with the tongs and drop it into the bag. Repeat until you’re done.

Then, find a patch of grass. Take a pear in the tongs, and rub it on the grass on all sides. Then drop them into a pot of cold water.

Take them inside and drain in a colander. Run cold water through them into the sink. The thorns should be mostly gone by now, but there may be cunning little stragglers out for your blood.

Rinse them under running cold water, individually, preferably holding them in gloves hands, and rubbing them with an ordinary household scourer.

Drain again, and you’re ready to go.

Use only ripe prickly pears, but not overripe, for red prickly pear jam.

Stray thorns stuck in your skin can be picked out with tweezers and/or wash your hands gently on soapy water several times. It wasn’t a really big deal.

I made the jam Heyla’s way, which is more or less according to a recipe from Annette Human’s book, Lekker vir later.

How to get hold of red prickly pears? Not so easy: it’s a matter of networking in small towns and country areas. Ask around: you might get lucky, like I did.

(Makes about 1.5 litres)

Ingredients

1 kg red prickly pears

5 litres cold water

25 ml slaked lime (ask your chemist)

For the syrup:

1 litre water

750 g white sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

3 small knobs of peeled ginger

Method

Peel the outer skin off the prickly pears as thinly as you can, using an ordinary potato peeler, without breaking into the flesh within.

Prick them in several places. Rinse under running cold water. 

Make a solution of 25 ml of slaked lime (which you can buy at a chemist) per 5 litres water. Stir well. Pour off the clear liquid and discard any sediment at the bottom.

In a suitable container, cover the pears with this liquid and leave to stand overnight, with a plate or similar on top to weigh it down.

In the morning, rinse the prickly pears in a colander. Put them in a pot, cover with cold water and leave to one side for at least an hour.

Drain the fruit, cover with fresh water, and bring to a boil. Cook briskly until they’re soft.

To make the syrup, you need 1 litre of water, 750 g white sugar, the juice of a lemon, and two or three knobs of fresh peeled ginger.

Heat to boiling point, stirring until the sugar has fully dissolved.

Once dissolved, add the drained prickly pears a few at a time and cook uncovered until you have a clear jam, although note that because the prickly pears have seeds, you will see them in the otherwise clear, red and sticky jam. The jam needs to be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon well. A heavy droplet needs to be able to fall from the spoon once it’s at the right setting point.

Spoon into sterilised jars. Pour any remaining syrup on top. DM

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Writer 2023, jointly with TGIFood columnist Anna Trapido. Order his book, foodSTUFF, here

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.

This is photographed on a plate by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.