Tips and Advice - Canning and Preserving Food

Sweet Hot Jalapeno Jelly is a wonderfully delightful treat. Quite a zippy sweet-sort of spicy jelly that goes great with chicken, taquitos, and even with crackers and cream cheese for parties. This Sweet Hot Jalapeno Jelly is very clear with bits of the 3 kinds of peppers in it. The Red & Green Bell and Jalapeno Peppers have a wonderful interplay.

I made 3 different batches of Sweet Hot Jalapeno Jelly last summer and never thought to publish the recipe till just now when I was trying to link the Sweet Hot Jalapeno Jelly and the Cranberry-Pepper Jelly together. This was my first foray into making jelly years ago. I love making Fresh-Mex kinds of meals, almost as much as using local foods and teaching my kids to cook.

Makes 3 cups, so you'll probably want to double the batch to get 3 pints or 6 half-pint jelly jars.

Sweet Hot Jalapeno Jelly Ingredients

• 3/4 cup chopped red bell peppers
• 3/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
• 1/3 cup diced and seeded jalapenos
• 2 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 6 tablespoons Certo liquid pectin

Basic Steps for Making Sweet Hot Jalapeno Jelly

Step 1: Prepare for canning the Sweet Hot Jalapeno Jelly

Get the jars and lids sterilizing the dishwasher is fine for the jars. Be sure to let it go through the rinse cycle to get rid of any soap!  It's also a good time to start heating up the water in the canner and the small pan of water to boil the lids. Personally the trick I use is that I ran the jars through whatever my last load of dishes was and then leave them in the dishwasher. (I think I am like a lot of people in that I pre-rinse most of my dishes before loading them in the dishwasher anyway, right?) Then after washing with soap and other dishes, I just wash them again with no soap.

At this point where you are ready to start making your recipe, go ahead and get the water-bath canner water started heating. Let it get up to a boil and then turn it off if you are not yet ready for it. Keep the lid on it to retain heat and steam evaporation.

Lids:  Put the lids into a pan of boiling water for at least several minutes. This helps soften the sealing compound of the lid. This is why the little lid lifter with the magnet is cool, because they get very hot. I have also found it good to layer my lids in an alternating fashion in the pan, so they don't stick to each other.  

Step 2: Making the Sweet Hot Jalapeno Jelly

Combine the peppers, jalapenos, sugar, vinegar, and lime juice in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Heat until warm and sugar is dissolved.  Pour the mixture in a blender or food processor and blend for 5 seconds.  Return the blended mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil.  Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.  Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in the pectin, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and cool.  The jelly will set as it cools down.

Step 3: Processing the Sweet Hot Jalapeno Jelly in Jars

Fill the jars to within 1/4 inch from the top. Using thejar funnel helps with this. Wipe any spilled food from the rim, put a lid on and hand tighten the ring around them.  Put them in the canner and keep them cover with at least 1 inch of water and boiling. If you are at sea level and up to 1,000 ft, boil the jars for 5 minutes. Adjsut accordingly if higher than 1,000 ft above sea leval.

After carefully lift the heavy jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them on a towel in a draft-free place overnight  You can then remove the rings if you like. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it with-in a week or so. Make sure you label and date them. Use within 12 months.

 

About Michael Michael loves gardening, cooking, canning and playing with the kids. Teaching Max, Brandon and Jonathon about cooking from Scratch and Living with the Land and Off the Grid.

 

 

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