Green Pepper Jelly

Green Pepper Jelly is a wonderful, spicy jelly to put on sandwiches or served over a block of cream cheese, for a fast and festive appetizer. This jelly would be great served at any party where a green colored appetizer would be much appreciated. Think Christmas or St.Patrick’s Day. To learn more about canning, recipes and really everything you need to know about canning plus where to ‘pick’ fresh produce, head over to Pick Your Own

Pick Your Own

I can’t say enough about this incredible website. Pick Your Own offers everything for canning needs, recipes, and where to ‘pick your own’ produce. Find out where to Pick Your Own Farm in your area is simple. Click on your state or country to find pick-your-own farms in your area. Whether you call it pick-your-own, PYO or U-pick, it’s easy to find one near you! Find great ethnic recipes, parades, history and folklore.

There is a “Start here” button, that will get you started!  You then select your local area, country, state/province and then region/county or local metropolitan area.  Just scroll down the page that appears, to see farms or events listed by county. You can find related fruit or vegetable festivals, like tomato festival, corn fest, blueberry festival, strawberry festival or even an Easter Egg hunt at farms and churches! Pick Your Own

 

green pepper

Try It On

Green pepper jelly isn’t just for spooning over a block of soften cream cheese. No Sir! Green pepper jelly is delicious spread on anything and everything from bagels to sandwiches. It’s also great to use in sauces, marinades or as a glaze for grilled chicken, pork tenderloin or salmon. Green Pepper Jelly was one of, if not the first thing we ever canned or made. It turned out super good but one thing you need to remember is that some, if not most pepper jelly takes some time to “set up” or to “gel.”

 

Get Ready

One of the most important lesson or step I learned about canning is probably the simplest one too. Have everything ready BEFORE you actually start the whole process because once you start, you can’t stop. Line everything up, get the canner filled with water and start the process of bringing the water to a boil. The canners are large, so it takes some time to get the water going. Add enough water to the canner but don’t over fill it.

Remember, the jars have to be carefully dropped down into the water and you don’t want the hot, boiling water to over flow! (I’ve had this happen, once.) Have some extra large towels, preferably beach towels, on hand. Just in case! Like I said above, if you have everything lined up and within reach, things will go smoothly. The actually making of the recipe, filling the sterilized jars, and loading the jars in the canner, goes remarkably fast!

The most important thing to remember is; have fun! Canning is a fantastic way of preserving summers bounty. You can’t beat the taste of homemade jams, jelly, relish, vegetables, and my favorite Pie Filling! Making homemade pie filling is easy, delicious and once you get started, you may not be able to stop. Some people like to can jams and jelly, some like to can pickles and the like, and then there are people like me whom love to can pie filling.

 

 

Green Pepper Jelly

Ingredients

  • 7 sweet green peppers
  • 1 jalapeno pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups apple juice
  • 3 tablespoons ball classic pectin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 5 cups sugar
  • green food coloring, optional

Instructions
 

  • To Prepare Juice:
  • Wash peppers; remove stems and seeds. Cut peppers into 1/2-inch pieces.
  • Puree half the peppers and 3/4 cup vinegar in a food processor or blender. Puree remaining peppers and vinegar. Combine puree and apple juice in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  • Strain pureed mixture through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth. Measure 4 cups juice. Add additional apple juice if necessary, to make 4 cups.
  • To Make Jelly:
  • Combine juice, classic pectin and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off foam if necessary. Stir in a few drops of food coloring, if desired.
  • Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps.
  • Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. Carefully remove jars from water using special tongs. Place on counter top and let sit 24 hours undisturbed.

 

Note: When cutting or seeding hot peppers, wear rubber gloves to prevent hands from being burned. Yield: about 6 half-pint jars.

Kitchen Tip: Canning Supplies

 

green pepper