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Hot Pepper Jelly; Sweet and Spicy!

© Judy Howle

Summer's bounty of hot peppers and bell peppers can be used in many ways and pepper jelly is a wonderful way to use hot peppers that can be enjoyed all year long. It has so many great uses besides just spread on cream cheese as a dip, which is delicious, by the way. I like it on cornbread and even biscuits, using a version with less vinegar. My mother likes it with turkey and dressing. It's also good on vegetables such as black-eyed peas.

Another use of pepper jelly is to melt it in a skillet and use it as a ham glaze when you are heating cooked ham in a skillet. It can also be melted and added to other ingredients to glaze chicken and other meats for grilling or roasting.

I use only hot peppers such as jalapenos and habaneros because I am not fond of bell peppers. You can use just about any variety you have on hand. In my last batch I used about 6 TAM milder jalapenos, seeded and chopped, and 2 seeded, chopped habaneros. It had nice heat, not blazingly hot, but that is a matter of taste and can be adjusted accordingly.

Here are some pepper jelly recipes:

Autumnal Jalapeno Jelly

• 1 cup red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup Jalapeno pepper
• 5 cupdsugar
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 Pouches liquid pectin
• 6 Canning jars

Remove stems, veins and most of the seeds of the peppers and chiles. Adding the seeds of 1 jalapeno chile will not make the jelly hotter since the sugar, the vinegar, and the cooking process tame (most) all the chiles. The floating seeds in the jar add character. Using the knife blade of a processor, mince the peppers and chiles with quick on and off pulsations. In a 5 qt. pot, mix the peppers, chiles, seeds sugar and vinegar. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes. Add the 6 ozs of pectin (Certo) and stir continuously for 2 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool for another 2 minutes and the stir again for 1 minute. This stirring will distribute the bits of pepper throughout the jelly. Pour into jelly jars that have been strilized and seal immediatly with lids that have been sterilized seperatly for 5 minutes. Test seal, after cooling, with finger. If middle pops up when pressed, jar is not sealed.

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