Garden Treasures: Red-Pepper Jelly

The joy of having a garden is that it can surprise you. Out of nowhere I had an abundance of spicy red-peppers. My dear college friend came to visit me in California about a year and a half ago. After visiting his mother for the day he returned with Red-Pepper Jelly she had made. During his visit we cooked together and had some friends over. We lived like we were entertaining a crowd even when it was just two of us. We had cheese plates and cocktails. Went in the spa and basically lived like we were on vacation though we were staying at my apartment or his friends house.








It was a wonderful time and the best part was I got his mother’s recipe. I was able to make it the original way once and when the peppers popped up in the garden, I decided it was time to make it again. This time I used the peppers from the garden as opposed to dried red-pepper flakes. It turned out beautiful. This is a great beginner jelly recipe and can be doubled. Once you make it it’s good for at least 6 months on the shelf. Plenty of time to plan a party worthy of a cheese plate to accompany this sweet and spicy jelly. The instructions come from an online version of the recipe here.

Red-Pepper Jelly

2 red bell peppers cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup hot red-peppers
3 tablespoons Sure-Jell less- or no-sugar-needed pectin (from a 1 3/4-oz box)
3 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: 4 to 5 (1/2-pint) canning jars with screw bands and lids; an instant-read or candy thermometer; canning tongs

Sterilize jars and lids:
Wash jars, lids, and screw bands in hot, soapy water, then rinse well. Dry screw bands. Put empty jars on a rack in a boiling-water canner or a deep 8- to 10-quart pot and add enough hot water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, covered, then boil 10 minutes. Remove canner from heat, leaving jars in water, covered. Heat lids in water to cover by 2 inches in a small saucepan until thermometer registers 180°F (do not let boil). Remove from heat. Keep jars and lids submerged in hot water, covered, until ready to use.

Make jelly:
Pulse bell peppers with red-peppers in a food processor until finely chopped.
Whisk together pectin and 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl.
Stir together pepper mixture, vinegar, butter, salt, and remaining 3 cups sugar in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot. Bring to a vigorous boil over high heat, then continue to boil vigorously, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Gradually add pectin mixture, whisking constantly. Return jelly to a vigorous boil, stirring constantly, and boil, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes (mixture will thicken slightly). Remove from heat.
Carefully remove jars and lids with canning tongs, then drain jars upside down on a clean kitchen towel and quickly dry lids. Invert jars and immediately ladle hot jelly into jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at top. (Last jar may not be full.) Run a clean plastic spatula between jelly and sides of jars to eliminate air bubbles. Wipe off rims of filled jars with a damp clean kitchen towel, then firmly screw on lids with screw bands.

Seal and process jars:
Put sealed jars on rack in canner or pot and add enough hot water to cover by 2 inches. (If you have a jar that is partially full, do not process it. Cover it with a lid and screw band, then keep in refrigerator.) Bring to a full boil, covered, then boil jelly, covered, 15 minutes. Transfer jars with canning tongs to a towel-lined surface to cool. Jars will seal; if you hear a ping, that means that the vacuum formed above the cooling jelly has made the lid concave. Remember that you may or may not be around to hear the ping. The important thing is for the jars to eventually have concave lids. Jelly will thicken as it cools.
After jars have cooled, 12 to 24 hours, press center of each lid to check that it's concave, then remove screw band and try to lift lid with your fingertips. If you can't, the lid has a good seal. Replace screw band. Put any jars that haven't sealed properly in the refrigerator and use them first (along with jar that was only partially full).