This is all that's left here! No food coloring is in this, just red jalapenos and red bells.
This recipe is for my Scottsdale neighbor Wendi, who several years back invited me to a Pampered Chef party at her house. As we chatted she mentioned that she’d really wanted to serve an appetizer of crackers with cream cheese and Jalapeno Jelly but couldn’t because she couldn’t find any of this wonderful spicy/sweet/hot jelly at the local supermarket. I laughed, walked to my pantry and pulled out a jar for her. Now that I’ve moved, she’s requested the recipe so she can make her own. Lucky for her, this is one of the absolutely easiest jelly recipes ever. So here it is Wendi! (And we all know that wearing gloves to make this is a necessity, right? If you forget, Aloe gel for sunburns seems to do the best job removing the capsicum oil,)
Jalapeno Jelly
makes ~4 pints
- 2 large red or green Bell peppers, partially seeded
- 6 green or red Jalapenos, partially seeded
- 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
- 7 cups sugar (didn’t say it was healthy)
- 1 pouch Certo liquid pectin
While you’re boiling your 4 pint jars or 8 cup jars (to sterilize you’d boil them for at least 10 minutes per USDA) process your peppers and vinegar in a food processor or blender until the pepper particles are pretty dang small. Place your sugar in a tall sided pot, like a Dutch oven, then using cheesecloth or a loosely woven cotton dishtowel, strain the liquid into the sugar. Stir well to get the sugar wet throughout, then bring this mixture to a roiling boil. Let it boil for a minute and a half. Remove from heat, leaving the burner on, skim off any foam (it’s not bad–it just makes the jelly cloudy), add the Certo and return to the heat to boil for another 1.5 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add a few drops of food coloring if you want a more vivid color (I never do). By now you should see the jelly jelling. Remove your jars from the water, turning them upside down on a clean dishtowel to drain, then fill them with your hot jelly to just below the screw lines on the jars. Dip the removable jelly lids into the boiling water, pop that on top and screw on the lids. Leave these on the dishcloth. You should hear them pop as they seal. (Processing them in a water bath will cause rock sugar crystals to form; I know this from personal experience.)
That’s it! Now, enjoy.