Prickly Pear Liqueur

Prickly Pear Liqueur
Beautiful, bright, clear orange color for this, no ordinary liquor, prickly pear liqueur. A quite rare liqueur, since there are few "brave", which will deal with the Prickly Pears.
Prickly pears found in nature and can be cut with great care, but there are in supermarkets packaged in transparent packages whose spines have been removed, and is the safest and easiest way to treat and remove their peel.
Cheers!
work: 30′ time: 5 ημέρες easy:

Prickly Pear Liqueur

Prickly Pears: Fruit and Cactus

Prickly Pears you've seen them, maybe you even try them, but there are some who have not seen or noticed these strange fruits. Their name comes from the plant from which they are produced, the prickly.
So it is the fruit of a cactus, known by its Latin name as Opuntia ficus-indica, which was introduced in the Mediterranean countries from the Americas. It grows quickly and the summer months of the year this cactus fruit is loaded. Fruit and plant/cactus is filled with very fine, sharp hairs - minute spines, which make it difficult to clean the fruit.
The fruit is present in three different colors: off-white, orange-yellow and red. When you remove the outer casing, the fleshy and exotic fruit is ready to be consumed. It is sweet and has a very distinctive flavor. In some countries consume, other than fruit and young, tender leaves and cactus juice. Elsewhere from the fruit make the liqueur. The most famous liqueur is that of Malta, the Bajtra.
The color of the liquor is dependent on the color of the fruit.

Liqueur (1.5 lt Liquer)

  • 8 pearly pears, cleaned
  • 750 ml (1pt, 9.4 floz) alcohol for drinks
  • 1 star anise
  • ½ cinnamon stick
In a spacious, glass vessel put the prickly pears and add alcohol to completely cover.
Put the star anise and cinnamon stick.
Cover the glass jar and place in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Already on the second day the prickly pears begin to give color to the alcohol.

Syrup

  • 750 ml (1pt, 9.4floz) water
  • 400 gr (14.1 oz) sugar
In a small saucepan, add the water and the sugar. Boil for 4' over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Allow to cool completely overnight.
When 5 days have passed, remove the cinnamon stick, star anise and the prickly pears from the alcohol, whith the prickly pears discolored.
In the glass container, add the cold syrup.
Strain the liquor through a clean bottle, passing it through a funnel covered with a double cheesecloth.
Prickly Pear Liqueur Prickly Pear Liqueur

Author Z. G. Sifaki