Jalapeño Jelly

When we were packing up to leave Christchurch, car full to bursting, every bit of consolidation seemed a small victory. I took our bulging bag of jalapeños and reduced half of them into jalapeño jelly. It was my first attempt at making jelly, and it turned out great, so I decided to share the recipe here.

Jalapeños are almost unheard of in New Zealand. If you're unfamiliar with them, they are a small to medium-sized spicy capsicum pepper that originated in Mexico. They're very popular in Texan cuisine, but I never knew I would miss them so much when I came here.



Thanks to Chris Miller for giving me the idea to make pepper jelly, and also for the tips. His mother runs Tavish's Kitchen in Cromwell and makes all sorts of delicious preserves.

Jalapeño Jelly

Adapted from this recipe and a recipe on the back of Hansell's jam setting mix packet

Makes 6 or 3 half pint jars
15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cook

Ingredients:

Full Recipe 1 lb jalapeños, stems and seeds removed   2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar 7 1/4 cups sugar 1 packet (70g) Hansell's jam setting mix

Half Recipe 1/2 lb jalapeños, stems and seeds removed 1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar 3 5/8 cups (815g)sugar 1/2 packet (35g) Hansell's jam setting mix

Directions:

Sterilize jars in dishwasher or by boiling, then allow to dry thoroughly.

After removing stems and seeds from jalapeños, chop in food processor with vinegar until somewhere between a mince and a puree. The chunks will give the jelly a nice confetti look, especially when using both red and green jalapeños. If you're making a full batch, use only 1 cup vinegar so you don't overfill the food processor, then add the rest after.

Place jars in oven and heat to 100ºC.

Add puree to a large saucepan with jam setting mix. Bring to a boil, then add sugar. Bring to a boil again and boil for 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Skim foam, if necessary, and let sit for 10 minutes. Ladle or pour into jars.



Jalapeño jelly gives a nice sweet heat to toast, on its own or with cream cheese. It's also a nice addition to blue cod, as we discovered with our couchsurfing hosts in Oamaru. I was surprised how easy it was to make, and I look forward to making more when we're back in Texas.