- I used the Jalapeño pepper jelly recipe from the Complete Ball book, but because I mixed all these different varieties of hot and sweet peppers (Korean, Syrian, Japanese, NuMex, Brazilian, and Italian peppers ...there were green Peppadew in there, too where’s that from? Africa?) in varying colors, it developed a fantastic, complex flavor. I also had to tweak the sugars since I didn’t have granulated sugar — I used a blend of organic cane sugar, organic date palm sugar, raspberry orchard honey, and home-made bourbon vanilla sugar... and added a teaspoon of sea salt.
- I might take a photo or two of the hot water bathed jars for this post later — maybe tomorrow when the lighting is better.
...Although I believe they mellow and taste better after a month or so, I couldn’t get organized to preserve all of the batch, so about 1-1/2 cups went into the refrigerator, and of course I had to try some right away.
I just bought some chewy crust Italian and Semolina breads, so I tried two slices each with cream cheese and with butter. I have to say the jelly was already ridiculously good — I wanted it to be relatively mild and easy to eat ... and I found out the cream cheese slices obscured what heat there was, while the buttered slices enhanced it. Looking forward to sampling the fridge jelly over the next few weeks, and I will have four 8-oz jars in the pantry for later.
) waiting to see if there was any undue reaction after each (does feeling somewhat hot count?) I also drank a dose each of my elderberry syrup and blackberry syrup. FWIW, I’m not overly congested to the point of choking upon waking this morning like I have been for the last three or four days.
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...as well as snacking on unexpeced treats — alpine strawberries, a red raspberry, and some yellow raspberries. Not enough to take inside and call them a “harvest” but totally satisfying. 