Does anyone have a good recipe or an idea for using the fruit from the cactus?

Question

In Spanish there are called, "tunas", but I've always heard them called "prickly pear."

Answer 1

Texas Prickly pear cactur fuit

FRUIT PUDDING:

20-25 tunas (prickly pear cactus fruit)
2 Rome, McIntosh or Winesap apples
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. apple pie spice
1/2 tsp. mace
3 tbsp. flour
1/2 c. raisins OR pecans, chopped (optional)

TOPPING:

3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. flour
1/2 c. butter

Peel and slice tunas and apples (as for a pie). Mix rest of pudding ingredients together and add to fruit. Mix all together.
Mix all topping ingredients except butter together. Add butter and cut up or mix with fork until mixture has texture of cornmeal. Spread over top of fruit mixture. Bake in oven at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes to 1 hour (until fruit is bubbly and oozing around edges of topping). For quicker preparation, cook fruit 10 minutes in microwave before adding sugar, flour and spice mix.

Tunas are NOT user-friendly. Pick with leather gloves. Wash and scrub to remove spines (wear rubber or thick plastic gloves). Blanch for 1 minute in boiling water, drop in cold water until cool enough to handle. Remove and drain. (Don't let them soak in water or they will get mushy.) Peel by cutting off top first, then rest of skin. Slice in half and remove seed sac with tip of teaspoon, i.e. scoop out as you would with a cantaloupe, starting at top (widest) end. Most of time seeds will come out all together with enclosing membrane.

TEXAS RANCH CACTUS JELLY

1 gallon cactus tuna (pear apples)
3 3/4 c. juice
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 1/2 boxes fruit pectin (Sure-Jell)
6 c. sugar

Gather about 1 gallon of cactus tuna (pear apples), burn the stickers from each with a torch or candle flame. Pick tuna. Scrape away the burned sticker residue from the fruit with the edge of a sharp knife. The fruit can now be peeled easily, but rubber gloves are recommended to keep the juice from dyeing your hands purple. Cut the peeled tunas into quarters and place them in a saucepan, seeds and all, with just enough water to show through the fruit. Bring the water to a gentle boil, cover and allow the fruit to cook for about an hour. Strain the juice from the pulp and seeds and to 3 3/4 cups juice, add 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1 1/2 boxes of fruit pectin. Bring this mixture to a boil and add 6 cups sugar. Allow mixture to cook for 3 minutes. Remove the jelly from the heat and allow it to cool for 45 minutes. Skim off the foam and pour the jelly into hot, sterilized jars. Seal the jars immediately with canning lids or allow the jelly to set and seal it with melted paraffin.