Tag: jelly

Appetizers · Holidays

Cranberry Pepper Jelly

cathysmahaLeave a comment

A tangy, yet spicy jelly on top of a mild cheese is such a wonderful appetizer. I’ve enjoyed many of these appetizers through the years but Christmas 2021, I made my own! After the epic fail of Grape Jalapeno jam a few years ago, I was a little nervous. Never fear, this recipe is a winner! Other than cleaning and chopping the jalapenos, this was an easy recipe and yielded 7 half pints of Jelly and a little more to enjoy immediately! It was wonderful on top of cream cheese or brie. It would be marvelous with chicken or fish, too.

It you make homemade Christmas gifts, I would highly recommend this for friends and family!

Cranberry Pepper Jelly

INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (I used a 12 oz. package of fresh cranberries)
  • 1 cup jalapeno
  • 2 cups cider vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 6 tbsp. Ball RealFruit™ Low or No-Sugar Pectin
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Sort & wash cranberries. Measure pectin and add 1/2 cup sugar to it.
  2. Add vinegar and water to large stock pot.
  3. Chop and remove seeds from jalapenos. 1 cup of jalapenos makes a fairly mild jelly.
  4. Add peppers and cranberries to the vinegar and water to pan.
  5. Bring to boil.
  6. Reduce heat.
  7. Simmer for about 10 minutes until everything is soft.
  8. Strain out the cranberries and pepper mixture with a slotted spoon to a food processor or blender.
  9. Blend until very smooth. (you can add some of the liquid from the pan to help break up the cranberries and peppers, if you need to)
  10. Return to the saucepan.
  11. Add sugar/pectin mixture. Bring to rolling boil.
  12. Add the remainder of the sugar.
  13. Bring back to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute.
  14. Fill hot jam into hot jars.
  15. Wipe rims.
  16. Attach lids. Tighten bands finger tip tight.
  17. Process in water bath canning pot for 15 minutes. Turn of heat, allow jars to sit in hot water for at least 5 minutes.

Recipe from blinkysculinarycarnival

Losers!

Grape Jalapeno Jelly…Maybe, Maybe Not!

cathysmaha6 Comments

Grape Jalapeno Jelly may not be the best idea!  Each year I have a small harvest of concord grapes, if the birds and squirrels decide they want to share.

In the past, I have made grape biscuits (to be shared another year), but this year I wanted to try something different.  I like grape jelly and I like jalapeno jelly…why not try a combo?  Sounded like a good idea.

I searched the web and did not find ONE SINGLE recipe.  I adapted a blackberry jalapeno jelly but decided to cut back on the jalapeno so it wasn’t too hot.  Big mistake!  While the grape jelly is beautiful and tastes good, the slight jalapeno aftertaste is perplexing to my taste buds.

Grape Jalapeno Jelly

Not all of my great kitchen experiments are winners.  This is one of the losers.  I will not share the recipe but I’ll share photos. I’m hoping to salvage this disaster by using the jelly in a meatball sauce or perhaps mixing with a hot pepper jelly and serving over brie or cream cheese. I’ll keep you posted, but be aware…if a recipe isn’t posted anywhere on the internet, there may be a reason for it.

Lesson learned!