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By Lorraine Shoemaker

Spicy Golden Pepper Jelly

For all you culinary jelly adventurers, this pleasantly sweet and curiously hot jelly is a must try.  This is a guaranteed delight for all you chili lovers out there!  Make it as hot or mild as you prefer.

You will need the following fresh (preferably homegrown) ingredients:

3 large yellow bell peppers

1 to 4 serrano chile peppers (to taste)

1-1/2 cups 5% white distilled vinegar

7 cups sugar

1 package (3 oz.) liquid pectin

Yield:

About 7 half-pint jars

Before you began, be sure to put on  plastic or rubber gloves and do not touch your face or eyes while handling or cutting hot peppers. The capsaicin oils can  be quite painful to sensitive areas.

Wash all the peppers thoroughly; remove the stems and seeds from the peppers. Preserve the membrane of the hot peppers, as the remaining capsaicin is located there. Place the sweet and hot peppers in a blender or food processor, adding just enough vinegar to puree the peppers.

Now combine the pepper-vinegar puree and remaining vinegar into an 8-quart saucepan. Heat the mixture to a boil, then boil for at least 20 minutes to extract the prime amount of flavors and color. Remove from heat and strain (through a strainer lined with several layers of cheesecloth) into a large bowl. Add the strained pepper-vinegar juice back to the saucepan.

Stir in the sugar until well dissolved and return mixture to a boil. Next add the pectin, then return mixture to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, quickly skim off any foam, and fill into sterile jars- leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Tighten the lids and process. For safe and thorough canning instructions visit http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html . Happy canning!