Monday, September 06, 2010

Hot Pepper Jelly

From the Joy of Cooking All About Canning and Preserving cookbook, which is excellent.

  • 1 pound ripe sweet red peppers, cored and seeded
  • 8 oz. jalapeno peppers, seeded
  • 1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 packet (3 oz.) liquid pectin

Preparation

1. Clean and sterilize jars; they say three half-pints; I used 4 oz. jars.

2. Mince or grind the peppers; I coarsely chopped, then processed them briefly in the food processor.

3. Combine the peppers and their juices in a large, heavy saucepan with the vinegar. Stir and bring to a simmer over medium heat until the peppers are thoroughly soft, about 10-12 minutes.

4. Strain. Use a jelly bag or four layers of cheesecloth in a colander, over a bowl, and leave it for 3-12 hours. Do not press on the remaining fruit/pulp, or the jelly won't be as clear. Pour into a glass bowl and allow to settle in the refrigerator 12-24 hours, then pour off the clear juice and leave any sediment in the bottom.

5. You should have two cups of juice; if not, add enough water to bring it up to 2 cups. Return to the saucepan, adding the sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and then add the pecton. Boil hard for 1 minute.

6. Remove from the heat, and skim off any foam.

5. Can leaving 1/4 inch of headspace in each jar and processing jars for 5 minutes.

This recipe did not set up well following these directions--it took a long time, and though we haven't opened one of the canned jars yet, it looks like it wept, at least in some of the jars. BUT I might have lost track of time and over-processed. Oops. So maybe that's the problem? It tastes good, looks nicely orange, and is perfect for cornbread. And was made with peppers from the farm!

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