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This wonderful Jalapeno Pepper Jelly recipe, with comments and photos, is from Brad Bolton of San Diego, CA.
Brad says, "The jalapeno jelly is fantastic with cream cheese and Triscuit
crackers! It looks so pretty in red and green (for Christmas presents in pretty jelly
jars). The key to this jelly is in the cooking times and the amount of fruit/meat used."
Jalapeno Pepper Jelly
Recipe Type:
Condiments,
Jams and Jellies,
Chile Peppers,
Sweet Bell Peppers
Yields: 6 (1/2-pint jars)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients:
13 Jalapeno
chile peppers, 4 whole and 9 seeded chile peppers (see Comment #1 & #2 below)
2 medium or 1 large bell pepper (either red, yellow, or orange pepper) (see Comment #3 below)
1/3 cup freshly-squeezed
lemon juice
1 1/2 cups of vinegar (white or cider - didn’t seem to matter - white is cheaper)
6 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces liquid pectin (Certo Liquid Pectin ONLY) - Other brands do not work well.
(see Comment #4 below)
Food coloring (green or red), optional
COMMENTS:
#1 - The jalapenos
chiles I used for these batches were fairly large - none were small.
Note: Jalapeno jelly can be pretty "hot" if you have included a lot of the seeds
in your cooking. The fat molecules in the cream cheese absorb the hot capsaicin
of the jalapenos, reducing the heat, but leaving the flavor of the chiles.
#2 - IMPORTANT:
Wear rubber disposable gloves when you clean the jalapeno chiles! It's amazing
how HOT the oil from the jalapenos are. The first batch I made, I felt that I
did not need to wear gloves. After all, it's just jalapenos! After doing
the first batch, my finger and hands burned for nearly 4 hours (plus you can't
touch ANY parts of your body or you will burn there too), and I could not wash
the stuff off (and even the next day, my fingers were sensitive to hot water). I
now always use gloves!
#3 - Bell peppers were medium to
large. If you use TWO bell peppers, make sure they are medium sized. If you use
TWO large bells, they will make the jelly not set up because of the amount of
liquid produced. Unless you cook it longer… (I have no idea how much longer).
Green bell peppers seem to make the jelly taste to much like bell pepper and it
drowns out the jalapeno taste almost completely. Yellow, red or orange bell
peppers are ideal for this jelly because their flavor does not take away from
the jalapenos. They add very nice color to the final product.
#4 -
WE tired another brand of pectin - (BALL), and it did not work well at all.
I had to open all the jars, as they did not set up, and REBOIL the liquid for an additional 12 minutes before it would set up.
USE ONLY
Certo Liquid Pectin. NOTE: You can't substitute the
powdered pectin for the liquid pectin, as the jelly will not work right). THEY ARE NOT ALL THE SAME!
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IMPORTANT:
Only use sterilize jars for jams and jellies. Wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse.
Sterilize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, then keep the jars in
hot water until they are used. Keeping them hot will prevent the
jars from breaking when filled with the hot product.
Wash and rinse all canning lids and
bands. Treat the lids as directed by the manufacturers. Lids can be
used only once.
Prepare only one recipe at a time
because double batches may not gel properly. Use 1/2-pint jars to
avoid a weak gel that may result with larger jars due to residual
heat during cooling
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DIRECTIONS:
Remove stems from all 13
jalapenos; discard stems. Leave 4 jalapenos whole and remove seeds from the other 9 jalapenos.
Chop the 4 WHOLE jalapenos very fine or puree in blender, then add remainder of
the seeded jalapenos; chop medium to fine.
Remove stems and seeds from
bell peppers; add to blender.
 Add vinegar to blender to
help chop and mix together. Puree until coarsely ground and small chunks remain.
In a large non-reactive pot over medium-high heat, add
blended pepper mixture; bring to a hard boil. BOIL FOR A FULL 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and
stir in lemon juice and granulated sugar. Place back on medium-high heat and bring back to a hard boil.
Add liquid pectin (Certo Liquid
Pectin ONLY) and food coloring; again bring back to a HARD BOIL
for ONE FULL MINUTE. Skim off any foam (scum) that develops with a spoon. Remove from heat.
COMMENT:
We would generally add some of the strained peppers to the jelly after
straining. This worked well because the jelly was nice and clean looking (clear
red or clear green). The strained pepper added makes it have great color and
appeal. Ten (10) drops of food coloring didn’t seem to be all that much, so we
have added more at times, and just added it according to what it looked like.
Have hot sterile 1/2-pint jars and lids ready.
Carefully and quickly strain hot jelly
into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Add some of the chopped peppers if desired for more color; mix in
jars with spoon or fork. Wipe any spilled jelly from jar rims. Center lids on top of jars
and tighten screw bands securely, but not as tightly as possible. Test seal,
after cooling, with finger. If middle pops up when pressed, jar is not sealed.
COMMENT: We usually strained the jelly after coming off the stove as we were putting it in the jars. There were times
when we didn’t have a chance to strain it because it was setting up so
quickly. This was probably due to the fact that there was less liquid in the
pot.
Yields approximately 6 each
1/2-pint jars.
 Variations:
Medium to hot jalapeno
jelly - Use 5 1/2 peppers and do add any extra cooked chopped peppers to final mixture.
Mild to medium jalapeno
jelly - Use only 3 whole jalapeno peppers.
Storing canned jellies:
It is essential that jellied products,
especially jelly, be allowed to sit undisturbed for 12 hours after they are
made. Moving them could break the gel. After the jellied products have cooled
for 12 hours, check the seal, remove the screw band, label and store in a cool,
dry, dark place (50 degrees F. to 70 degrees F. is ideal). The shorter the storage time,
the better the product. Though most jellied products should keep for a least a
year, their flavor and quality begin to decrease within a few months.
Serving suggestion:
Include a block of cream cheese on a pretty plate (probably white), and
then you pour the jelly over the top of it and use it like a dip. It's a little
bit hotter if you leave it sit out for a while (like before a party) over the
cream cheese it builds a little heat.
Or use like any other jelly; it's
great for a spicy peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Makes it great basting sauce for
grilling meat and poultry.
Delicious over ice cream. Try
mixing some of the jalapeno jelly with cream cheese until smooth - pour over
top of ice cream.
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