That time of year is upon us. It's time to start preserving the taste of the wonderful glorious summer season for the "unmentionable" time that lies ahead! These Six easy little steps gave me the most delicious home-made Balsamic Red Pepper Jelly I have E-V-E-R tasted! I have been longing to make this jelly for weeks, but because of one reason or another I haven't been able to to make it until this afternoon!
I found the recipe in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. If you don't have this book, it's worth buying. In fact, it's being sold at Sam's Club and BJ's, I don't remember the cost, but it's worth the small investment.
Since I love red pepper jelly, and I love balsamic vinegar I thought this would be a winning combination ~ it is! You won't be disappointed - at all!
This mouth watering jelly would be great served over cream cheese as an hors d'oeuvre served with crackers, or as a glaze on chicken, pork or fish!
Balsamic Red Pepper Jelly
5 medium red bell peppers, stemmed and seeded
3 medium jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and deveined
2 cloves of garlic
½ cup red wine vinegar (125 ml)
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar (45 ml)
2 tbsp. lemon juice (30 ml)
1 package regular powdered fruit pectin (1.75 oz /49=57 g)
3 ¼ cups granulated sugar ( 800 ml)
1. Finely dice enough red pepper to measure ½ cup and set aside. In a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade, puree remaining red peppers, jalapeno peppers and garlic until smooth.
2. Transfer puree to a dampened jelly bag or a strainer lined with several layers of dampened cheesecloth set over a deep bowl. Let drip, undisturbed, for 30 minutes. Measure 1 ½ cups pepper juice. If you do not have the required amount, add ½ cup biling water to the remaining pulp in the jelly bag to extract additional juice.
3. Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars and lids. This recipe made 3 - 12 oz. jars.
4. Transfer red pepper juice to a large, deep stainless steel saucepan. Add reserved diced red pepper, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Whisk in pectin until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add sugar all at once stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and quickly skim off foam.
5. Quickly pour hot jelly into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch (0.5 cm) headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
6. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.
Enjoy!
P.S. Thank your for all your lovely comments over the past year. I truly treasure each of you and I hope to spend more time with each of you over the next year.
