My mom is something of a miracle. She is in constant pain from Rheumatoid Arthritis in her spine, along with several back fusions that have now failed, and she pretty much lives on morphine and various other prescribed medications to give her some quality of life. She needs crutches or a walker to help her walk and she really only has so many steps she can take in a day. I'm not painting a pretty picture, but here's the thing, she would work you or me or anyone else under the table, even in her condition! She is always up for anything, willing to go, do, try and when it comes to seeing her grandkids or great-grands - fohgettaboutit! She's there! So when mom says she wants to make her red pepper jelly, I just get out of her way!
If you've never had red pepper jelly then you might be wondering what to do with it...everything! Most people I know pour red pepper jelly over a brick of cream cheese and serve it with crackers as an appetizer. I love it that way, too, but really it's good with any cheese and crackers or with chips or poured over chicken, pork or even fish. My favorite way to use it is to pour it over meatloaf...Heavenly! Once you taste it you'll spend more time than you'll want to admit thinking up new ways to use it so you'll have an excuse to open another jar!
Mom doesn't have a food processor but she does have a little gadget that whirls around and chops things pretty quickly. If you have a food processor, use it, if not, use whatever gadget or knife you have to chop your peppers into very small pieces. And then let those pieces drain.
Even though it's blurry you can see how much liquid came out of those peppers! You want to make sure you remove as much as you can. Mom likes to use an assortment of peppers, it makes for a prettier jelly. She uses sweet red bell peppers, green bell peppers, yellow bell peppers and 2 jalapeno peppers. If you want more heat in your jelly, you can add in another jalapeno. This pepper jelly is not hot, it has only a teensy-tiny little kick so you make yours as hot as you like!
Mom is going to be mad at me for posting this - she's in her pajamas but look how cute she is!!! She is 85 and still as pretty as ever! Mom adds a few drops of red food coloring to her jelly - if you decide not to add it your jelly will have a more golden-brown color - we think the red is best.
Not all of the peppers were pulverized into tiny bits - some larger pieces were left, they were about 1/2-inch in diameter and we think that adds to the jelly. If you want to leave larger pieces, do...or process them until they are all the same size.
We processed the pepper jelly for 10 minutes in a water bath, now it will keep in the pantry for a year! If you don't process the jelly, you can store it in the refrigerator for one week...sadly, it doesn't last nearly as long as it should!
We were able to put up 20 half-pints of red pepper jelly. Mom insisted that I bring half of them home with me...my bag was tagged as "heavy" and TSA opened my bag, unwrapped each jar from the bubble wrap but didn't bother rewrapping them...luckily all of them made it home with breaking!
Mom's Red Pepper Jelly - From Carol Wagner, My Sweet Mom!
8 large red bell peppers
4 large green bell peppers
2 large yellow bell peppers
2 medium jalapeno peppers
12 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups cider vinegar
2 teaspoons butter
Pectin: If you want a saucy-runny jelly, use two packages of Pectin. If you want a true jelly, use 3 packages.
Core and stem all of the peppers, removing all of the seeds and membranes. Cut into chunks and put in food processor and process until very small. It's okay to leave a few larger pieces. Work in batches until all of the peppers have been processed. Put peppers into a colander and drain over the sink or over a large bowl, until all of the excess liquid is removed. Put peppers into a large pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add in sugar and cider vinegar and butter. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam. (The butter is supposed to prevent foam from happening but if there is any you can remove it if you want.) Boil for 4 minutes, then add pectin and boil for 4 more minutes. Pour into hot, sterilized jars. add hot lids and rims and process 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Remove from bath and let sit for 24 hours - now mom will tell you to not even think about touching those jars! You don't want to do anything that will make them not seal! So hands off! Makes 20 half-pints. If any of the jars don't seal, keep in refrigerator. After 24 hours, store in a dark, cool place for up to one year.
I think the steam in the kitchen made it to the lens of my camera! It was about 90 degrees outside that day and probably 85 in the kitchen by the time we were done! This jelly is truly a treat - make it while the peppers are fresh at the market! And let me know if you do!
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