RE: [CH] pepper jelly recipe request (and scales....)

T. Matthew Evans (matt.evans@ce.gatech.edu)
Wed, 18 Sep 2002 13:36:53 -0400 

Gary --

Usually, when I am going through the seeding process, I cut the chiles in
half, remove the seeds, and then cut the halves in half once or twice.
Thus, each chile will produce 4 to 8 "chunks" -- I go through this process
only as an aid to measuring the chiles, because they are pureed later in the
recipe anyway.  The ideal solution, of course, would be an accurate kitchen
scale....

Which makes me wonder....does anyone have a good, accurate, low cost
(preferably digital) scale that they use in their kitchen?  I have an old
crappy one that will weigh up to 7 or 8 pounds and is probably accurate
enough for my purposes when in the 2 - 6 pound range.  However, I'd like to
get a smaller scale for the 0 - 1 pound range.  Thanks....

Matt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
T. Matthew Evans
Geosystems Group
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
URL:  www.prism.gatech.edu/~gte964w
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for the recipe Matt! Just one question, when you say to chop up the
chiles, is that the same as grinding them up. I grinded them last year and
it seemed to come out okay.

Gary

> Gary --
>
> My recipe is fairly simple, but I have always been happy with the
> results....
>
> Pepper Jelly
>
> 3-4 cups seeded, rough chopped chiles (see note)
> 1.5 cups white vinegar
> 6 cups sugar
> 1 box powdered pectin
> dash of kosher salt
> few drops of food coloring (optional)
>
> NOTE:  You might want to cut the chiles with some bell peppers if you are
> using hot chiles (although I made one batch this year with 3 cups of
> habaneros -- haven't tried it yet).  Either way, just look for 3-4 cups,
> rough chopped.
>
> Puree chiles with enough vinegar to lubricate the blades of your blender
> (about half of the vinegar or so).  Combine puree, sugar, remaining
vinegar,
> and salt in saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes
and
> add food coloring (you don't need this, but it does make the jelly look
> _significantly_ nicer).  Add pectin, return to a boil, and boil for
exactly
> one minute.  Pour into hot, sterilized jars, top with hot lids and rings
and
> invert the jars on a towel.  Allow jars to cool and refrigerate any that
do
> not seal.  NOTE 2:  I know that this method isn't "USDA approved" (they
> require you to process the jars for 5 minutes) but I think that the jelly
> has a nicer (thicker) consistency when it is not processed.  Besides, I
have
> always made it this way, my parents made jelly this way, my parents'
parents
> made jelly this way, my parents' parents' parents....well you get the
idea.
>
> My wife and I typically make three types of pepper jelly each year --
orange
> (habanero), red (cayenne), and green (jalapeno) -- we adjust amounts and
> color of bell peppers accordingly.  Good luck.
>
> Matt
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> T. Matthew Evans
> Geosystems Group
> School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
> Georgia Institute of Technology
> URL:  www.prism.gatech.edu/~gte964w
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com
> [mailto:owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com]On Behalf Of Gary Bellinger
> Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2002 11:33 AM
> To: luke Speer; Chile-Heads
> Subject: [CH] pepper jelly recipe request
>
>
> Looking for a good recipe for pepper jelly. I seem to have lost mine when
> transferring data to my new hard drive. Can anyone out there help me out.
>
> Gary
>
>
>