Sweet Solution for Garden Hot Peppers

By lisajesselson

Ingredients

• 20 oz apple juice
• 12 cups sugar
• 1 TBS citric acid powder
• 2 pouches certo liquid fruit pectin

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from davesgarden.com

Preparation

Step 1

What do you do with hot peppers that you can't give away? Peppers can be quite plentiful - right through the fall. Homemade hot pepper jelly makes a sweet solution that pleases people who never thought they could enjoy hot peppers. Most hot pepper jelly recipes add vinegar, which can impart a vinegar flavor. Try canning this jalapeno pepper jelly recipe without added vinegar. Decorate the jar with a ribbon and a card for a welcomed holiday gift from your kitchen.

Once you've exhausted the usual recipes for sweet and hot peppers in salads, soups, stir fry's, peppers and eggs, and stuffed peppers - you may find yourself still looking for other creative ways to use up your hot peppers, especially since you can only eat so many.

. Hot peppers add the crowning touch to salsa and are the star in hot sauce.

Homemade pepper jelly makes a tasty topping for everyday meals like fish, pork or chicken. One of our favorite uses is to spread it on fresh baked cornbread or corn muffins. We prefer not to add any food coloring - why do that? The natural color is just as appealing with the pepper bits suspended in the glistening jelly.

You will need a boiling water canner, food processor, canning jars and lids, jar lifter tongs, a ladle, and jar funnel.

3 cups minced Peppers- any mix you want. This year we used all Jalapeños (both green and ripe red), but in the past we've added

Wash and sterilize your jelly jars, lids and rims in boiling water for 5 minutes and set aside

Fill your canner or large pot with water and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer until you are ready, keeping the lid on to avoid evaporation

Place pepper pieces into a blender or food processor. Pulse until finely minced but not pureed.

Add the minced peppers, juice, sugar and citric acid to a saucepan (not the pectin yet)

. And, if you want to make your pepper jelly even hotter, include some of the seeds.

Bring to a boil over high heat, frequently stirring

Stir in the pectin, bring back to a full boil, then turn off the heat. Don't worry about skimming off any foam that may form.

Put on the 2-piece lids and process as USDA recommends for your altitude. In New Jersey, we process in a boiling water canner for approximately 5-10 minutes