prickly pear mash

[pfshine]

I have access to a whole lot of prickly pear so i would like to do a mash of it. I know it has been done before and can make an aromatic whiskey but i am wondering where to start. Should i skin them first or should i just cook as is for nutrients and squish them real good. I have also been thinking of adding other things to the mash to give it a more manly taste like corn and wheat or barley. Just wondering what you think. Any ideas are helpful thanks.

[Tater]

search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&keywords=prickly+pear+mash

[pfshine]

i read those but they were all about the cactus pads or just adding juice as flavoring I did find a recipe somewhere else that is prickly pear and sugar so I guess I will go with that with a little modification.

[heartcut]

I'm told this is a good one for wine- might distill well, too.
http://www.finevinewines.com/Prickly-Pe ... Recipe.htm

[pfshine]

thanks heartcut I think i am gonna try a nchooch bourbon with the prickly pears added to the mash and run it through my boka in pot still mode, or i might just wait till i get my flute built.

[junkyard dawg]

I have to ask why you want to do this?

I've done a lot of things with prickley pear. Tunas are good, pads are good cooked right... but why would you add them to a whiskey recipe?

Whats the goal?

[pfshine]

well i have them and as an experiment. i think if the right amount is used it would create a very slight sour sweet fruity flavor. if it turns out bad i will just turn it into nuetral

[Prairiepiss]

You mite try this.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=29373

[junkyard dawg]

Those are pretty much the same recipe.

right down to the instructions...

Its sugar for the alcohol and prickly pear for... I don't know... a bit of flavor.

Good luck with the experiment. Keep us updated on what you find.

I'd love to be able to use the tons of prickly pear I have... I'm skeptical on what your will get tho... If it were a source of sugars then that would be a different story...

Now a tuna mash? There is some sugar in the fruits... but prollly not much....

[pfshine]

I am talking about the tuna fruit it has a pomegranit type flavor. I had never heard of it called that before here. The fruit we called prickly pear and the cactus we called beaver tail. I am gonna collect as many as i can and freeze them till i get a good flute built. thankyou guys for all the input.

[junkyard dawg]

That makes more sense. Around texas, prickley pear would be the green pads. People eat them, most often stewed with onion and tomato. The tunas, are the purple fruit. They are awesome. I've used them to color and flavor shines. People make a lot of jelly and I've had some wine from them. They are good for sweet likkers... The color is amazing.

Since they don't have much sugar, I've only used them on the back-end of the distilling process. I chopped them and boiled with sugar to make an electric purple syrup. I added that to some rums and sugarhead... It wasn't spectacular, but not a fail either. More research is needed

Good luck to ya!

[Ben Stillin]

I have found that prickly pear at its most ripe has a watermelon like flavor and has a purple juice color like nothing I have ever seen in nature. I don't know what it will distill into but I am keen to try it myself.