Habanero Pepper Jelly

Catherine Moulder (@CMoulder4)

Yield: 7 half-pints

Materials

Bell peppers (3 large or 4-5 medium)

Ripe habanero peppers (5-10)

Distilled white vinegar (1.5 cups)

Sugar (7 cups)

Liquid fruit pectin (9 fl oz, 3 certo packs)

*Safety Warning*

The admonition to wear gloves is very serious, I frequently forget and wind up with chemical burns on my hands from the spicy peppers. If I'm clever, I'll remember to wear lab goggles too.

Procedure

1. Remove stems, seeds, and membranes from all peppers.

2. Process peppers and vinegar in a blender or food processor (Figure 1) until smooth

3. Combine pepper, vinegar, and sugar in a non-corrosive pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

4. *Optional* For a clearer colored jelly strain through a cheesecloth or a large strainer there is no difference in taste.

5. Add pectin and bring to a boil while stirring for one minute. Canning process for 10 minutes.

Figure 1. Habanero peppers and vinegar in a blender.

Figure 2. View of the finished recipe.

Supplemental Information

• It isn't unusual for me to prep things like this in stages. For example, I'll freeze the habaneros for a hotter jelly or roast the peppers and then let them stew in the vinegar until I'm actually ready to make the jelly.

• Green chili pepper jelly is made using green chili peppers instead of the bell peppers and habaneros. You do have to roast those and remove the outer membrane from the pepper for the recipe to work. Similarly, jalapeno jelly is made the exact same way, but with jalapenos instead of habaneros.

• The color of the bell pepper determines the color of the jelly. We usually use orange or golden peppers so that people won't confuse it with milder jalapeno jelly.

• This pepper jelly goes great with cream cheese on crackers and bagels. It can also be used as the sauce for hot wings. My cousins tell me it is a pretty good sauce on fish, but I've never tried it.

• Roast the peppers before starting. This leads to a sweeter jelly that has a smokier flavor profile. (Figure S1).

Figure S1. View of the peppers after roasting.

Source

Own creation