Jalapeño Jelly

As most of you know (if you are a part of our facebook group Safe Home Canning ), we have been canning away and MAJORLY slacking on the posting side of things.

Before we dive into the jalapeno jelly, there are a few things that we wanted to cover about general Safe Home Canning.

- As of 2017, there are no proven methods to safely can dairy products (milk, cheese, butter, etc.) no matter the method, pressure, amount of heat, time, and so on… However, it has been proven safe to add up to 1tbsp of butter in a jam or jelly to minimize/eliminate the amount of foam.
- As of 2017, it has been determined that in order to safely can tomatoes, the skins must be removed. To read more about it visit the University of Minnesota Extension site here.
- Lastly, as mentioned in the above article, it is also no longer safe to can in open-kettles or ovens. This change has been made quite some time ago but many still continue utilizing these practices.

Now, we are not here to lecture anyone if you do or do not practice any of the above, we are here to educate you on why they should/shouldn’t be done. As always, if you ever have a question or a doubt about a recipe of safe practice, we are more than happy to help you.

Now, moving on to the fun stuff – Canning! Fair warning – my camera man (aka S.O.) was out of town for work so we had to resort back to photo evidence only. If you have questions or want more clarifications on any steps, let us know and we may make a mini video just for you!

Jalapeno Jelly

[Yield: (6) Half-Pints]

Materials: (all materials can be found on The Necessities for reference)

6 half-pint jars (plus flat lids and bands/rings) + a few extras
1 water bath
1 funnel
1 jar lifter
1 food processor
1 stainless steel ladle
1 large stainless steel pot (or dutch oven)
1 dish towel (large enough for the jars to cool on)
Kitchen gloves (optional but recommended)

Ingredients:

3/4 lbs fresh jalapenos, washed
2 cups apple cider vinegar (divided into two 1 cup segments)
6 cups granulated sugar
2 – 3oz Liquid Pectin packets(See Pectin for more information)

Process:

Inspect each of your jars for cracks, chips, and/or any other questionable markings before use.
Place wire rack into bottom of water bath with ‘arms’ up to allow jars to be placed.
Fill your water bath with enough water to cover each of the jars with 1-2″ of liquid and place on burner to warm jars (simmer but do not boil).
Remove the stem and de-seed all jalapenos and place in food processor.
Pour 1 cup of the apple cider vinegar in with the jalapenos and puree until smooth.
Pour jalapeno and vinegar puree into a cast iron with sugar, and remaining vinegar.
Slowly bring mixture to a boil, ensuring that all sugar is disolved.
Once boiling, continue boiling while stirring continuously for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes of continuous stirring, add in both packets of liquid pectin and maintain a hard boil for 1 minute.
Remove empty jars from water bath by lifting the wire rack and setting the arms on the rim of the water bath. Then, using jar lifter empty and remove the jar from the water.
Place funnel in jar and carefully ladle hot jalapeno jelly into each jar keeping a 1/4 in head space. [Head space is the distance from the top of the jar to the food filling the jar.]
Wipe the rim of each jar with a damp cloth ensuring that the rims are clean.
Place flat lid and screw band on jar and finger tighten. [Hint: Place the jar on a towel and using only your fingers, tighten the band until your jar spins on the towel.]
Once finger tightened, return to warm water bath to avoid thermal shock. [Thermal shock is the cracking of jars from an extreme temperature swing such as putting hot food into a cold jar.] Lower wire rack once full.
Place lid on water bath canner, return to high heat and bring water to a full rolling boil.
Once boiling, set timer for 10 minutes [refer to your elevations processing time for correct info].
After 10 minutes, turn off heat and remove the lid. Wait an additional 5 minutes.
Once again, lifting wire rack and placing arms on canner rim, use the jar lifter to remove your filled jars and place on a towel in a cool & draft-free location.
Wait 24 hours before touching the jars. After 24 hours, remove the bands and pick up each jar from the flat lid (this will help ensure that each jar is truly sealed). Once the seal is verified, you may wash the exterior of the jars, dry, label, and store for future use.

Credit:

Side note – if you have not purchased this book yet, I strongly recommend it. This book covers topics from basic canning, to jellies and jams, mustard & other condiments, meal in a jar, pressure canning, and even a list of common canning problems and how to resolve them.