Pepper Jelly

Over the years, I have seen red pepper jelly and jalapeno jelly (bright green), but have always thought that it was really weird.  I think I didn't realize that there ARE other uses for jam besides a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!  I could not imagine why anyone would want pepper jelly.  So. Weird. 

 

Then, last spring, I had my first try of pepper jelly.  It was in an Amish store and they had samples out.  The pepper jelly was served over cream cheese, and one of my friends loved it.  I liked it, but still couldn't really think of any uses for it.  I didn't think about it again until a few weeks ago when another friend brought over a jar of it, served over cream cheese.  It was to die for!  So yummy!  I instantly became obsessed.  It's kind of funny how that can happen.  I finally realized it is/can be an appetizer!  So, yeah.  I'm embarrassed that it took so long for that light bulb to go off!  She left me the whole pint of pepper jelly.  Yum. 

But then that pint was gone and we needed more.  Lol.  (My teens tell me Lol is So. Last. Year.  But I'm frequently behind the times in teen-speak, so I'll use it anyway!)  I was at the grocery store, and happened to notice a bag of red peppers on sale for $3.  It had 7-8 large red peppers in it, all very fresh and pretty.  Knowing that red peppers are usually at least $1 each, I bought the bag (with a big smile on my face for the great price), hoping it would be enough to make a batch of pepper jelly.  Soooo funny.  Because as it turns out, you only need 1 cup of  chopped peppers (including the jalapenos) to make it--- which is only 1 pepper if it is as big as these ones were!  I followed Paula Deen's recipe found here, but used a red bell pepper instead of the green.  Then, because I had a lot of peppers to use up,  I doubled it.  And then made a second double batch (using a different recipe).  Good thing I bought a huge bag of peppers!  :)  The first double batch made 13 half pint (1 cup) jars. The second double batch made 10 half pint jars with about 1/2 cup left over. 

Oh, look at my pretty jar of pepper jelly.  Nice and blurry.  I held it up to the 2 minutes of sunlight (can I just say that I really, really miss actually having sunny days? It feels like they are nonexistent around here.)  that we were getting so you could see the pretty pepper bits floating around, but instead the picture just went blurry.  If I get around to it (yeah, right), I'll try to take another, more clear picture.  Anyway, Paula's recipe was yummy.  More tangy from the vinegar than the jar of jelly from my friend, but still good.  It probably could have used more heat, too.  But the end result reminded me (it's not the same thing, but sort of close) a little of a Thai chili sauce.  Without the garlic.  Or like the chili water that Iggy's Restaurant serves with bread before your meal, only thicker and more tangy.  Still delicious, either way. 

And now I can imagine all sorts of uses for it.  Over meat, subbed out for the apricot jam in Our Best Bite's cookbook's Apricot Glazed Pork chops (sorry- I was going to do a post on that yummy recipe, but it's only in their cookbook, not online!), in salad dressing, as a bread dip, with avocado veggie rolls,  there are lots of possibilities.....

Recipe Notes: I only found the liquid pectin in 3 oz packages, and Paula's recipe calls for a 4 oz. package.  Since I doubled it, I knew I needed 8 oz. of pectin, so I used 3 of the 3 oz. packages.  It turned out fine.  I then followed the recipe for pepper jelly that came with the Certo pectin and added the recommended amount of pectin, which was half of the amount that Paula's recipe called for.  It didn't set up at all.  It has a syrup-like consistency.  I tried the second recipe because it used less vinegar, so I thought I would see if I liked the jelly a little less tangy.  It tastes fine, and is still tangy.  But I will need to dump the jars out, cook the jam with more pectin, then clean and reprocess the jars.  What a pain.  Although I am perfectly happy with Paula's recipe, I think I will still try to find another one a little less tangy.  Just because I'm weird like that crazy pepper jelly!