Pepper Jelly

[vison]

So you guys are getting ready for Turkey Day tomorrow, but I'm not. I wish I was.
So, instead I made 2 batches of pepper jelly. Only takes about 10 minutes, really worth the little trouble:
1 small green pepper (I used a largish one and it still turns out fine)
5 medium jalapeno peppers (supposedly only 1/2 cup chopped, but I use what they amount to and it still works)
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup vinegar (the original recipe calls for cider vinegar but I don't like it so I don't use it)
1 - 3 ounce (85 ml) liquid pectin. NOT the "light" kind.
2 drops green food colouring if desired
This will make 4 to 6 little 125 ml (1/2 cup) jars. Wash them and have them in hot water. Put the lids and rings in hot water. I usually bring them to a boil, even though the directions don't tell you to. Then I just let them sit on warm while I make whatever it is I'm making.
- Wash, and then remove the seeds from the peppers. PLEASE wear rubber gloves!!!!!!!!!! :shock:
- Process the peppers in a food processor until pretty well chopped but not pureed.
-Put the chopped peppers into a large pot
-Add 3 cups of sugar
-Add 3/4 cup vinegar
-Bring to a rolling boil, boil for ONE minute.
-Take off the heat.
-Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a 4 cup measuring cup, or some similar utensil. A measuring cup works well because you can pour out of it easily.
-Let cool for 5 minutes.
-Add the pectin and food colouring if using. I find the jalapeno jelly needs that tiny bit of green to make it look pretty.
-Pour the jelly into the cute wee jars.
-Put the lids on and turn quite tightly. Set aside to cool.
This makes a nice, not-too-hot jelly that is lovely with crackers and cream cheese and makes absolutely swell Christmas or hostess gifts.
The first batch I made this evening was Jalapeno. The second batch was Chili pepper. It's pretty HOT. I used a sweet red pepper instead of the green, and 4 red jalapenos, and 2 hot red chili peppers. Same method. I've made this with all chili peppers but it's actually too hot, unless you like REALLY hot stuff. I didn't have any red food colouring but it's a pale orange-red and very pretty and no one will mix it up with the Jalapeno jelly.
Tomorrow or Friday I'm making another batch of Chili sauce. This seems to be a Canadian thing, oddly enough. I'll post the recipe if anyone wants.

[Zuul]

Oh, this sounds interesting. I'm going to save this recipe for next year when I've got a bunch of peppers to process.

What's pepper jelly good on, though? I've seen it before but never tried it.

[Sarahfeena]

THANK YOU! I have a bunch of jalapenos I'd like to use up, and this will be a fun project for the weekend. You are awesome, vison.

[Hatshepsut]

I love pepper jelly although I have never made it. It is really yummy on crackers with a dab of cream cheese.

Sarahfeena, if you REALLY have a lot of hot peppers, another way to use them up is to pickle them: lightly pack sliced peppers (with seeds) into clean jars and cover with boiling vinegar. (You can add some garlic cloves, bay, peppercorns, etc. if you like). Put on the lids and keep refrigerated. (Note that I'm taking the easy way out and not canning the peppers for room-temperature storage, although you certainly could do that.)

After a week or two the peppers are a wonderful addition to sandwiches, and they keep for a very long time. The jars are really pretty if you use a mix of colors. Best of all, the vinegar makes the world's best hot and sour soup: heat some homemade chicken broth, add your favorite Chinese soup lumps (tofu, shredded chicken, sliced scallions, soaked dried Chinese mushrooms, finely shredded ginger, bamboo shoots, etc.), then add soy sauce and the pepper vinegar to taste. It's to die for.

[PurdWerfect]

Pepper Jelly is good on crackers with cream cheese, and can be a nice addition to meaty sandwiches if you like the cranberry on your turkey sandwich kind of thing. Sweet and savory (and spicy) go really well together.

[Zuul]

Pepper Jelly is good on crackers with cream cheese, and can be a nice addition to meaty sandwiches if you like the cranberry on your turkey sandwich kind of thing. Sweet and savory (and spicy) go really well together.

So long as it isn't surprise cranberry, I like it just fine. One of my favorite things is a chicken salad sandwich with sliced up grapes and almonds in it. I'll see about trying pepper jelly on maybe a roast beef sandwich. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Hatshepsut]

"Surprise" cranberry? I'm almost afraid to ask what that is. (I see someone sitting there happily eating some cranberry jelly, and then .... SURPRISE

So, what is it?

[Zuul]

"Surprise" cranberry is when a friend of mine thought he'd be nice and get me a turkey sandwich for lunch. We were working the bookstore together back in college, on the first day of class. It was, to put it mildly, insane. So we're exhausted and starving and he takes off to get us lunch. He asks me what kind of sandwich I like and I say turkey.

He brings me back this big, thick sandwich from some deli nearby and tells me that it's the best turkey sandwich in the world.

So I take a bite and then nearly throw up. I don't remember what I said exactly, but it was something along the lines of, "Why is there goddamned jelly on my sandwich?"

Cranberry sauce on a turkey sandwich can be really good. "Surprise" cranberry sauce induces gagging.

[Sarahfeena]

Yeah, I think that cranberry sauce is the kind of thing you want to clear with a person before you put it on their sandwich. Not everyone goes for it (me, for example!)

PurdWerfect, I love the idea of the pepper jelly with cream cheese...sounds like it would be a nice little hors d'oeuvre for a party, too.

Hatshepsut, I'm sorry, I didn't see your suggestion before. We didn't get QUITE that many peppers this year, but I think I'm going to ask my husband to plant more next year, and some different varieties, too, so maybe we'll try it then.

[Nrblex]

Maybe next year you can pick a peck of pickled peppers? Which are, by the way, absolutely divine. It's my opinion that no sandwich is complete without some.