Jalapeño Jelly
My husband and I are veterans of Farmers Markets and craft shows. We have been vending for over 12 years now. In that time, we’ve seen our share of home-crafted jellies and jams. After my husband fell in love with jalapeño jelly, I had to add it to my repertoire. One of our good friends kept us supplied until she quit vending. So I learned…and then we forgot about it for a while.
In March, a friend who moved to Florida was our guest, and he requested my jalapeño jelly. He wanted it HOT, so I added a hotter variety of pepper to the mix. It didn’t seem to make a difference. If you’re worried about heat, I suppose you could rib and seed your jalapeños, but I don’t think it’s a problem. I’m the wimpy one at our house, and I love it as is.
He took some home. We shared a few other jars, and suddenly 19 pints were nearly used up! You can bless your friends, especially when your garden begins to yield more jalapeños than you expected!
This is absolutely the best when eaten on top of cream cheese that’s on a cracker. It’s quick, easy, and makes a great gift, but don’t give it ALL away!
If for any reason you don’t get a good seal, just put the jam in the fridge and eat it up as you regularly would.
JALAPEÑO JELLY
Ingredients:
10-12 Jalapeño Peppers,
1 Red Bell Pepper chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper chopped
6 cups White Sugar
1 1/2 cup White Vinegar (can use cider vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 pouches Liquid Pectin or equivalent in powdered pectin* directions will differ slightly
(1 pouch of liquid equals 2 tbsp of powder)
Instructions:
Wash the peppers. Remove tops from jalapeños but don’t seed them. Core the regular peppers.
Dice the peppers or use a food processor, but do not mulch them!
Place the chopped vegetables in a large pot and add in the sugar, vinegar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 10 minutes. Add the liquid pectin and boil 1 more minute.* Remove from heat.
Ladle jam into hot sterile jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Top the jars with canning lids and seal jars. Water bath for 10 minutes. After you remove the jars from the water, check the lids to make sure they’re still tight. Set the jars in a draft-free place, on top of a dish towel. It may take a day until it fully sets up, so don’t worry if it still looks soupy. The recipe I started with said it made 6 pints. Really, I got 8 to 9 pints per batch. I usually make 2 batches, one right after the other. If it’s not set up enough for you, add more pectin next time, and cook it a little longer before you can it.
The bigger the peppers, the more jam. If the jalapeños have lines on the outside, or are turning to red, they are more mature and likely hotter.
*If you are using powdered pectin, add it at the beginning, before you begin boiling the peppers and vinegar. Once you have brought your mixture to a boil, boil it for a full minute before you add the sugar.
