Delicious prickly pear ice cream made with prickly pear juice, milk and cream and sugar without any custard base.
This ice cream is rich, mildly sweet, and filled with full fruit flavor.
Prickly pears are beautiful, kiwi-like fruits with a few polka dots, and each contain tons of tiny thorns.
They are native of the American Southwest and Sonoran Desert in Mexico. The plant’s sweet with magenta-colored fruit (tuna) and its broad, flat stem /pads (nopales). It has been providing essential nourishment to the inhabitants in these regions for thousands of years.
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What Kind of prickly pears are good for ice cream?
I used the sweet, deep red variety which I got it from grocery stores near me. It’s dense, raspberry-watermelon flavor make it an excellent choice for ice cream and sorbet. There are yellow, orange, or green cactus pears you can make ice cream with those varieties too.
Always choose a fruit that is at its best when it is very plump, rotund, heavy for its size, and with a perfectly smooth skin. Any wrinkling towards the stem end means the prickly pears were harvested a very long time ago and will have a disappointingly mushy texture.
How to make this ice cream
For making this ice cream you need following ingredients..
- Prickly pears: Use deep red variety (Roja Pelona) for colorful ice cream
- Heavy cream: The high fat content in heavy cream and whipping cream coats ice crystals, preventing them from enlarging. It is also excellent at trapping and holding air when the mixture is stirred and frozen, which gives the ice cream more body.
- Half and Half: This also adds extra creaminess to the ice cream.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar is used to make ice cream.
- Lime juice: when you make fruit-based ice cream it is always needed to add some lime juice as it helps to retain the color.
- Salt: a pinch salt goes long way in desserts.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
First extract the prickly pear juice. Remove the skin with a knife and de-seed the prickly pears.
In a strainer mash the fruit using a spoon extract the juice.
Heat heavy cream and half and half and sugar until the sugar is melted.
To the prickly pear juice add lime juice.
Then mix well with cream-sugar mix. You need to refrigerate at least 4 hours before making the ice cream. Overnight will be best
Variations
If you like richer and custard base ice cream use eggs. I like to make homemade ice creams without eggs.
Instead of half and half you can use whole milk
If you want, you can add spices like cinnamon.
Tips
While churning the ice cream make sure not to over churn the ice cream as it gives buttery flavor more due to high fat content.
This ice cream is soft, you need to keep it in freezer until it is served.
Equipment
I used Cuisinart ice cream maker and Tupperware for storage for ice cream
If you like this prickly pear muffins you will love these too.
Prickly Pear Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 prickly pears or however much makes ¾cup
- 1 tablespoon lime juice from about ½ lime
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups half and half you can use Whole milk
- 1 ½ cups cream
- ¾ cup sugar
Instructions
- Cut the both end of prickly pear. Carefully peel prickly pears and discard the skins. Strain the pulp into a small bowl. Using back of spoon strain the juice using strainer. You should have about ¾ cup, so make more or use less depending on your yield so far.
- Add the rest of the flavor ingredients to the pear juice and stir to combine.
- In a non-reactive pot, stir, cream, and half and half. Add sugar and stir and heat until dissolved.
- Pour the prickly pear juice, lime juice and salt into the cream mix , stir it in smoothly. Let steep for 1 hour.
- Add mixture into a bowl or Tupperware with a lid and store in the fridge for about 4 hours or refrigerate overnight.
- Finally, put it in your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Once it’s done churning, move the ice cream quickly to a freezer-safe storage container and place in the freezer.
Video
Nutrition
This is Swathi ( Dr. Ambujom Saraswathy Ph.D) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen who loves to explore cuisines from all over the world. Whenever possible I try to to give an Indian touch to several of the world cuisine, and has weakness for freshly baked bread. All the recipes you see here are created by me and approved after taste-test by my family.
Elizabeth Istre says
We have tons of prickly pear cactuses on our property, and the tuna is at the height of its season. I’ve been harvesting them, but tired of making jelly. This is so fun and unique! Awesome recipe.
Ashley Marie Lecker says
I love prickly pear and this ice cream is so yummy! The color is beautiful too!
Melissa Cushing says
I have never tried Prickly pears but so want to after seeing this beautiful ice cream recipe! My kids will love this for the beautiful color and I would love to try for myself 😉 Pinning this recipe ... thank you!
Rosey says
What a good way to use up the heavy cream we still have in the fridge. We'll be trying this today.
Melanie says
I had prickly pears before but never thought of using them in ice cream, this is so unique I love it! Also, I have not eaten some in a while so thank you for this inspiration!
Glenda says
I've never seen prickly pears at the market, here, but now I am going to actively seek them out. I can't believe what a beautiful color your ice cream has and I'm looking forward to being able to make some myself.
crystal carder says
This is such a unique flavor of ice cream. It looks so yummy!
Monica Simpson says
I have never tried prickly pear. This ice cream sounds really good!
Sarah Bailey says
I have never had prickly pear in any form, but I am thinking I might just have to try it as ice cream! Delicious.
Kathy says
This looks really good. I actually just went shopping this morning and got some prickly pears. My oldest daughter loves them.
Dana says
I love the color that this ice cream produces. No need for adding dyes! I love it!!
Gloria says
What an interesting flavour of ice cream. I love the colour too. I need to give this a try.
Julie says
I got some prickly pear and was wondering what to do with them! This turned out great. The light flavor was simply perfect for ice cream
Natalie says
I will have to find pickly pears and make this. Color is fantastic. My son would love this.
Claudia Lamascolo says
sounds like a great refreshing desserts weve never seen or heard of these but if I ever see them this will be the first thing I try to make with them
Richelle Escat says
I can't imagine the taste of it, since I never had tasted a prickly pear before. But nice idea and I love the color so much.
Tara Pittman says
Prickly pears grow wild near me. I have plenty in my freezer, so I need to make this recipe.
Tammy says
I have never eaten a Prickly Pear but I hear it's really good. A must-try since I love to make ice cream.