Hot Pepper Jelly

 

 

Welcome!  Today I am going to share a wonderful Hot Pepper Jelly Recipe that I tried over the summer and fell in love with.  I have had different pepper jellies in the past and most were colored with food coloring (either green or red) and served with a block of cream cheese and crackers as an appetizer or party food.  I really thought that was the only use pepper jelly had…until…

On our vacation to Disney World we had dinner at The Boathouse restaurant located in Disney Springs.  The information I found on The Boathouse said it was a steak and seafood restaurant.  I really don’t prefer either but we were on vacation and I was focused on thinking outside the box and ordering something I wouldn’t usually order.  The menu item I chose was shrimp and grits with a side of cornbread.  Everything on the plate was delicious.  What I found most intriguing was the sweet cornbread with a hot pepper jelly on the side.  The pepper jelly was golden and pieces of the peppers shone through in red and green hues that were beautiful to my eyes and my palette.

After we got home, I decided that I was going to find a pepper jelly recipe and make jelly.  I’ve never made jelly before but the recipe I found online was submitted by a lady called Jellyqueen so I felt that her instructions wouldn’t fail.  You can find a link to the original recipe I used here.

I am the most sensitive to spicy-hot food in my family.  Donnie and the boys usually pour Tabasco on something at every meal and their pizzas are covered in red pepper flakes.  Not me.  Since I was making this jelly more for me than anyone else, I started on the mild side with three habaneros.

The habaneros were chopped and placed in a blender with one green bell pepper and white vinegar.

The mixture was then blended and placed into a large boiler along with sugar.

The mixture needs to boil for 5 minutes.  During this time a foam forms on the top.  I carefully ladled the foam off as much as possible.  I read in some of the comments underneath the recipe that you could add a tablespoon of butter to reduce the foam but I did not try that.  (I actually thought to skim the foam because I had seen an episode of The Pioneer Woman where Ree was making strawberry jam and she skimmed off the foam.)  See?  Watching television is educational!

The instructions said to strain the peppers out of the liquid but I wanted my pepper jelly to resemble the beautiful jelly I had at The Boathouse so I did not strain it.  I also chose not to add any type of food coloring.

Once the mixture boiled for 5 minutes I removed it from the heat and Certo (a liquid fruit pectin) was added.

While I was cooking the jelly, I had a second pot of water with the jars and lids boiling.  Boiling the jars and lids sanitizes them.

The jelly was then ladled into the jars and sealed.

It is recommended that any food that is canned at home in jars should be sealed by giving them a hot water bath.  This is accomplished by putting the sealed jars in boiling water for 5 minutes.  The entire jar must be covered in water so choose the deepest pot you have available.

Please don’t think I’m tacky or cheap (you are welcome to call me creative and frugal, though)…but I did not want to spend the money buying a canning pot for my first time making jelly.  I really didn’t want the expense (and the additional space needed in the kitchen to store another pot) for my first jelly-making attempt.  I took the basket from my old Fry Daddy and used it to hold my jars in.  I lowered the jars in 4 at a time, boiled them 5 minutes and then raised the basket for easy jar removal.

After the jars have sat and cooled you’ll hear them pop.  This is a sign that they’ve sealed.  When I was little, my Memaw would can pickles and other vegetables.  I remember me sitting and watching the jars-waiting for the “pop”.  That was exciting to me.  Honestly, when I made the jelly this summer I had forgotten that the jars would pop when they sealed.  When I heard that first popping sound, I was immediately transported back to Memaw’s house.  Isn’t it funny how a scent, song or even the simple sound of a jelly jar popping can trigger such sweet memories that you had totally forgotten?

I made some sweet cornbread to eat with the pepper jelly and the combination was delicious.  The cornbread I made was a little too sweet for me and my family so I’ll go back to the drawing board and search for the perfect sweet cornbread recipe to accompany this wonderful jelly.

I definitely would recommend making jelly.  The various jellies and jams that can be made are limitless…and tasty.  It was not only fun but it gave me a sense of accomplishment…like the first time I cooked the Thanksgiving turkey.  The entire process took less than an hour.  This would make a great gift for the holidays!  This is definitely a gift I’d like to receive.

 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by!

Until next time,

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