Strawberry Pepper Jam Recipe

Continuing with my jam and jelly recipes . . .

Strawberry Pepper Jam Recipe
Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
• 1/2 c minced Serrano peppers (measure after mincing)
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 large bell pepper, also minced
• 1 tsp butter
• 4 cups white sugar
• 1-1.75 oz pack powdered pectin, plus 1 TBSP from another pack
• 1 1/2 tsp Serrano pepper seeds
• 1/2 tsp bell pepper seeds

Directions

1. Clean and sterilize jars, lids and rings.
2. Make sure you wear gloves when dealing with the peppers. Also, set the seeds aside for later use.
3. Place strawberries in a blender with the lemon juice. Blend until it reaches the desired chunkiness. Pour into large pot with peppers, butter and sugar.
4. Place pot on  medium heat and bring to simmer. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the pectin and the pepper seeds.
5. Turn heat to high and bring to a rolling boil (bubbles stay when you stir). Boil 3 full minutes or until it reaches 221 degrees.
6. Ladle into prepared jars. Screw on lids.
7. Water bath: place the jars in a large stock pot or canning pot. Add enough water to cover plus 1 to 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes.  Remove the jars from the pot and let cool at room temp for 24 hours. 
8. Check to make sure the lids sealed by depressing he center. If it pops back, it is not sealed. Try giving it another water bath. If it still doesn't seal, refrigerate it and use it within the month.

Abita Strawberry Beer Jelly Recipe

With the last of my jellies simmering on the stove, I'm going to try to take a minute to get another recipe written down. Right now, 6 or 7 of my original recipes are floating around the kitchen written on the backs of receipt paper. As they emerge, I'll post them so that I don't lose any. The ingredients are all similar - it is, after all, jelly or jam, which is always some fruit, sugar and pectin with a couple of other optional things thrown in. But the proportions for each one is different.

So before I lose one . . .

Abita Strawberry Beer Jelly Recipe

Yields 24 ounces of jelly
Ingredients:

• 1 - 12 oz bottle Strawberry Abita Beer
• 1 cup thinly sliced strawberries
• 1 - 3 oz pack liquid pectin (I used Certo)
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 TBSP lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp butter

Directions:

1. Wash and sterilize lids and jars.
2. Use a pot that is much deeper than the ingredients - this jelly will foam quite a bit, even with the addition of the butter. Place all of the ingredients in the pot. 
3. On high heat, while constantly stirring, bring to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirring) for 3 minutes. 
4. Skim off any foam and then ladle them into the prepared jars. Screw lids on tightly. 
5. Place jars in a large stock pot or canning pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the jars plus 1 to 2 inches.  Cover the pot with a lid, and bring the water to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then remove from water using a jar lifter device. 
6. Let the jelly sit at room temp for at least 24 hours to make sure to gelled.

A Jelly Tale of Woe and Strawberry Jam Recipe

Ever since I stepped off the path well-traveled (i.e. using other people's recipes) I knew that one day my jelly would fail to gel. Especially with my goal of using less sugar and more fruit.  The Strawberry Jam I made Thursday failed to gel. It's runny to say the least, and even when refrigerate, which gels even runny jelly. So lets give this story a happy ending and turn that runny jam into toast and jam.

4 reasons why jelly fails:

1. Didn't reach the correct temperature.
2. Not enough sugar. 
3. Acid content too low.
4. Not enough pectin.

I boiled the heck out of it - 3 minutes of a rolling boil at least.  A rolling boil is where there are big boiling bubbles even when you stir.

I'm not willing to add more sugar. Most jelly and jam recipes have far too much sugar in it. The ratio is often 1 cup fruit to 1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar. Insane! I want jelly fruit, not fruit flavored sugar. I reversed the ratio for this recipe to 1 1/2 cups fruit to 1 cup sugar, so I knew there was a good probability that it wouldn't gel. Still - no more sugar.

Acid content was good. 1 cup of lemon juice to that amount of sugar and fruit is fine.

What went wrong? I suspect my ruby liquid was a product of the last. By pureeing the strawberries before measuring, I used a much higher quantity of fruit than standard recipes would use. I think 1 1/2 boxes of pectin powder would have been fine, but 2 boxes would make it perfect.

How do I fix it now? Start by pouring all those jars of jelly back into the pot. Now rewash and re-sterilize those jars. I need to get another 1/2 box of pectin into the jam, but at this point, the powder would not dissolve in the slightly gelatinous state of the jam.

Also, I want to fix this recipe in a way that I can duplicate the recipe without having to go through this "re-batching" process again.  I'm going to use 1/4 cup of warm apple juice to dissolve the pectin. Next, bring the jelly to a simmer, and then add the juice/pectin mix to the pot.

I bring it to a rolling boil for 3 full minutes, and then re-jar them.

Result: It's much better, but still a slight bit runnier than I'd like. I'm leaving it as it is - it's a great Strawberry Butter, but next time I make it, I'll start with 2 packs powdered pectin.

And now the recipe in it's new and improved form:

Low Sugar Strawberry Jam Recipe

Yields about 70 ounces 

Ingredients:

•  7 cups fresh strawberries, pureed in the blender
• to measure after pureeing, first add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the blender, add strawberries and blend until you have 4 cups (that would 3 1/2 cups berries and the 1/2 cup lemon juice). Repeat once more for a total of 7 cups pureed strawberries and the 1 cup lemon juice called for below)
• 1 cup lemon juice (see above)
• 1 1/2 tsp butter
• 5 cups sugar
• 2 - 1.75 oz packs powdered pectin (such as Sure Jell)

A note on berry selection. If you look at my pic above, you'll see some green berries. Why would I put very unripe berries into the jam? Because the less ripe, the more pectin it has. A few unripe berries added to the mix are like pectin filled pearls and help the jam set better. But don't use too many; they're also less sweet.

Directions:

1. Prepare lids and jars like normal (see previous posts)
2. Put pureed fruit, lemon juice, butter and sugar in large pot.
3. Bring mixture to a simmer, and simmer on low for 15 minutes, while occasionally stirring.
4. Add both packs of pectin. Increase heat to med-hi and bring to a rolling boil for 3 full minutes while constantly stirring.
5. Remove from heat and ladle into prepared jars filling to 1/4 to 1/8 inch from top. Make sure rims are clean and screw lids onto jars.
6. Place jars in a large stock pot or a canning pot and cover with water plus 1 to 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil, and then boil for 15 minutes. This water-bath helps prevent the jam from spoiling.
7. The only thing left to do is to let it cool and enjoy!

Mango Jalapeño Pepper Jam Recipe

I'm keeping it short and simple tonight. The boys are driving me nuts, and I have freshly cleaned cake decorating stuff all over the kitchen counters that I need to put away, but I wanted to get my recipe out before it slipped my mind.

Pictured above, one way to eat it - over cream cheese and then spread on crackers.

Mango Jalapeño Pepper Jam Recipe
Yields: ~50 ounces
Has a mild to medium burn. 

• 2/3 cup Jalapeño Peppers (measured after chopped), ~7 to 8 small peppers
• 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Jalapeño Pepper Seeds
• 3/4 cup Lemon Juice
• 5 cups Mango, diced small. ~5 Mangoes
• 1/2 tsp Butter
• 4 cups White Sugar
• 1 Package Powdered Pectin (I used Sure Jell)

Directions:
As with all Jelly and Jam Projects:

• Sterilize your jars by immersing them in water, plus an inch and bringing said water to a boil. Remove them from the boiling water with a jar removal thingy, and place them upside down on a clean towel to dry.
• In a medium pot sterilize your lids and rings by immersing them in water and bringing water to boil. Turn the stove down to low and leave the lids and rings in the pot while you make the jelly.

Chop Peppers

• Wear gloves when working with the peppers. The oil will burn long after the jelly has set.
• Wash and dry the peppers. Remove the seeds and set aside 1/2 tsp for later. Remove and discard the white membrane parts.
• Then chop - and now is when you measure them. Place them in a mini-chopper or food processor with 1/2 the lemon juice to make them fairly fine, but not pureed. It's perfectly fine to go over or under a bit of the 2/3 cip. All that will happen is that your jam will be more or less hot than mine is.
• Do the same to the bell pepper and the other 1/2 of lemon juice, but discard the seeds. 

Chop Mangoes

• Peal the mangoes and remove the fleshy part from the seed. Chop the fleshy part into small chunks.

Bring to Simmer

• Place the mangoes, peppers (in the lemon juice), 1/2 tsp jalapeño seeds, butter and sugar in a large pot.  Everything but the pectin. Tip: use a pot about 3 to 4 times deeper than the ingredients because jelly and jam like to bubble up and expand a good deal.
• Cook uncovered over med/low heat. The sugar will dissolve and become liquid. 
• At this point, unless you want it really chunky, use a stick blender (aka immersion or hand blender) to get to the chunkiness or smoothness you want. Mangoes don't cook up as much as other fruit. If you want a really smooth mango texture, but still have chunks of pepper, use a food processor on the mangoes prior to placing them in the pot.
• Bring to a simmer, but don't boil, on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. The simmering evaporates the excess water which can make your jelly runny. Tip: DO NOT breathe in the fumes. The pepper fumes are strong for some people. Keep your stove fan on high.

Boil Jelly

• After 15 minutes of simmering, add the pectin and turn the heat up to med/high and bring the mixture to a full roiling boil - which means it doesn't stop bubbling when you stir.  Stir constantly. Let it stay at a full roiling boil for 2 whole minutes.  Tip: you may want to wear those full length kitchen gloves about now to avoid the jelly spits.

Remove from heat and place in jars

• After 2 minutes, immediately remove the pot from the heat.  Using a large ladle, ladle the jelly into your sterilized jars, filling them up to 1/4 inch from the top. Tip: I used a razor knife and cut the bottom off a cheap plastic funnel to increase the hole and used that so that the jelly wouldn't spill in the jar's edges. Jelly edges prevents proper sealing of jars.

Screw on the lids and rings

• The boys confiscated my magnet wand earlier in the week. I last remember seeing it sticking off the side of an old metal coffee can.  So I had to drain the lids and rings, and empty the pot onto a towel. Make sure they are screwed on tightly.

Water Bath

• Place the lidded jars in a large stockpot. Cover the jars with water plus another inch or two. Over med to med/high heat (not high), bring the water to a boil and boil the jars for 15 minutes.  This kills off any bacteria or fungus which may still be present in the mixture or on the jars.
• Remove the jars from the water bath after 15 minutes - do not let the water cool and then remove them. That's why we have those jar lifter thingies. Place the jars on your kitchen towel to dry and cool.

Once the jars are cool, the lid should not pop back when pressed. If it does make a popping sound, it is not sealed. Try another water bath. If it still pops when pressed, refrigerate and use.

Raspberry Jalapeño Pepper Jelly

Can't believe it's been 20 days since I've blogged!  The boys got sick, and it lingered longer than it should have, but it's the bug that's been going around. I've been busy working on stuff and taking pictures, but I haven't had the time to do the write-ups.  But I've gotten a-lot of snuggling with little boys and sipping tea done.

On to the experimentation.

Jelly is not as easy as it sounds. Like soap-making, to get a good jelly you need to balance several things:

• Sugar: if you've made fudge or pralines, you know that the heating of sugar helps things gel (and makes it sweet).
• Acid: changes the flavor a bit, but more importantly, it helps the jelly gel and keeps bacteria from forming.  You don't want to spend your time and money making fabulous jelly that goes bad in 2 or 3 months from too little acid. Most fruit has some acid in it, but adding citric acid, lemon juice or vinegar increases the acid content in low acid fruits.
• Pectin: it's a natural substance found in fruit, but oddly enough the more ripe the fruit, the less pectin it has. Sure Jell, Fruit Jell and Certo are a few commercial pectins that you can add when the fruit is naturally low in pectic, like strawberries, or overripe.

When reading up on making jelly (it's been years since I've made jelly in large amounts), I found 2 rules repeated over and over:

1. Never decrease the amount of sugar called for in a recipe
2. Never substitute liquid pectin for powder pectin or  vice/versa.

So I went in search of recipes, and I found recipes that called for the same amount of fruit with the sugar amount either halved or doubled - defying rule #1. Then I found recipes that were identical except for using one or the other kind of pectin. And there went rule #2.

After all is said and done, there is a good deal of forgiveness when making jellies and jams.  If it's too runny, you can always poor it back into a pot and add more of whatever caused the problem. 

Raspberry Jalapeño Pepper Jelly Recipe
(w/ recommendations and explanations)
Yields: roughly 44 to 50 ounces

Technically this is a Jam recipe - I'm using whole fruit and not fruit juice. But locally it's called jelly whether or not it's from juice or fruit. So I'll stick with the local name in case someone googles for it.

• 5 cups Frozen or Fresh Raspberries, whole (about 24 oz frozen)
• Jalapeño Peppers
• For very mild jelly: 1/3 c Jalapeño peppers (~4 small, measured after chopping) and 1/2 tsp of the seeds
• For a little bite, but still mild: 1/2 c Jalapeño peppers (~5 to 6 small, measured after chopping) and 1 tsp of the seeds
• If you want it hotter, increase the amount of peppers. Since I've not yet gone above 1/2 c, I can't say what it will do.
•  1 small to medium Red Bell Pepper (or 1/2 large)
• 1/2 tsp Butter (to prevent foaming)
• 4 1/2 cups White Sugar
• 1/2 c Lemon Juice (to increase acidity)
• 1 Package Powdered Pectin (I used Sure Jell)

A side note on picking peppers: 

• You don't need a peck of pickled peppers (just kidding)
• Pick fresh, crisp peppers. Old peppers make jelly taste bad.
• Cut off and discard any soft or diseased spots.
• Smaller peppers are better - they are less fibrous and less stringy than large peppers.

Directions:

Clean and sterilize the jars:  Place all the jars you'll use in a large pot and cover with warm water. They can be upright or on their sides, but they must be totally covered plus 1/2 to 1 more inch with water.  Bring water to a light boil. Remove jars being very careful not to let the hot water scald you. I use a special jar lifter thing like this one. You can find one anywhere canning stuff is sold. For years I used salad tongs and was just extra careful. Place drained jars upside down on a clean towel to dry.

Sterilize the lids and rings: Place all the lids and rings you'll use in a small pot. Cover with water and bring the water to a simmer.  Leave pot on low heat throughout, adding more water when necessary.

Cutting the peppers: Two words: wear gloves!  The oil from the hot peppers can stay on your skin, despite multiple washings, for a day or two.  And then when you touch any mucus membrane (eyes, nose, mouth, other more interesting places), it will burn. So wear gloves.
Wash and dry the peppers. Remove the seeds and set those aside for later. Remove and discard (i.e. mulch!) the white membrane parts.
I then chopped and placed them in a mini-chopper to make them fairly fine, but not pureed. This actually works better if you add 1/2 the lemon juice to the mine-chopper with the pepper. The liquid helps it chop better.

Do the same to the bell pepper and the other 1/2 of lemon juice, but discard the seeds too.

Simmer some ingredients:  In a large pot , place your raspberries, peppers, lemon juice, butter, sugar, and seeds. Everything but the pectin.  Tip: use a pot about 3 to 4 times deeper than the ingredients because jelly and jam like to bubble up and expand a good deal!
Cook uncovered over med/low heat. The sugar will dissolve and become liquid and the fruit will start to break apart.  Simmer, but don't boil, on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. The simmering evaporates the excess water which can make your jelly runny. Tip: DO NOT breathe in the fumes. The pepper fumes are strong for some people. Keep your stove fan on high.

To let you know how often I stirred, at this point, my 2 year old had an emotional breakdown because he couldn't find his Captain America toy. So I stirred a little, and then spent a minute looking for the toy. Stirred a little again, and then spent a minute looking for his toy. It did make the 15 minutes go by much quicker.  Also, if the berries don't look like they are breaking down that well, use the back of your spoon to crush them.

Boil Jelly:  After 15 minutes of simmering, add the pectin and turn the heat up to med/high and bring the mixture to a full roiling boil - which means it doesn't stop bubbling when you stir.  Stir constantly (that means don't stop!). Let it stay at a full roiling boil for 2 whole minutes.  Tip: you may want to wear those full length kitchen gloves about now. Roiling boiling jelly sputters (say that 5 times real fast).

Remove from heat and place in jars: After 2 minutes, immediately remove the pot from the heat.  Using a large ladle, ladle the jelly into your sterilized jars, filling them up to 1/4 inch from the top. Tip: I used a razor knife and cut the bottom off a cheap plastic funnel to increase the hole and used that so that the jelly wouldn't spill in the jar's edges. Jelly edges prevents proper sealing of jars.
Screw on the lids.

Water Bath: Place the lidded jars in a large stockpot. Cover the jars with water plus another inch or two. Over med to med/high heat (not high), bring the water to a boil and boil the jars for 15 minutes.  This kills off any bacteria or fungus which may still be present in the mixture or on the jars.

I never used to do the water bath part, and my jellies were fine up to 2 years. But I quantify things now, and the fruit other ingredients are expensive, but, more importantly, my time is expensive. And I don't want to spend 2 to 3 or even 4 hours making preserves that don't persevere. So now I water bath.

Remove the jars from the water bath after 15 minutes - do not let the water cool and then remove them. That's why we have those jar lifter thingies. Place the jars on your kitchen towel to dry and cool.

Once the jars are cool, the lid should not pop back when pressed. If it does make a popping sound, it is not sealed. Either put it in another water bath or open and eat then and there. I usually do the latter.

Voila! Homemade Raspberry Jalapeño Pepper Jam!  The doohickey on the left is my jar lifter, and the one on the right is my magnet wand, which is good for lifting the lids and rings out of the hot water (and for giving to little boys to distract them when you're making the jelly).

12 Weird Jellies

Now on to my next project, or at least one of the dozen I'm working on simultaneously.

A Basket of 12 Weird Jellies

This is another UCBR auction item. 2 baskets, each with 12 -12 oz jars of weird jellies - the kind that goes well on soft cheese, like Neufchâtel or brie, and then spread over crackers! I eat this stuff for lunch now like other people eat PB&J sandwiches. I figure it has a protein (the cheese), a dessert (the jelly) and a bread (Wheat Thins!). But it is so good, and I've grown tired of the selection at Whole Foods and want to try some of my own.

The ones I buy at WF's are $7 a 12 oz jar, so this is around a $91 value (with tax) and not including the cool basket.


Now to choose the 12
(PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE leave a comment of which 12 of these you like or suggest your own. And in case you're thinking that since you're not a UCBR member and it isn't relevant to you, guess who's gonna be sampling them!):

1. Basil "Banana Pepper" Jelly (not to be confused with Basil, Banana and Pepper Jelly - yuck!!)
2. Beer Jelly
3. Blackberry Pepper Jelly
4. Blueberry Lime Jam
5. Blueberry Pepper Jelly
6. Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Jelly
7. Cranberry Mango Pepper Jelly
8. Cranberry Pomegrante Pepper Jelly
9. Darjeeling Tea Jelly
10. Hibiscus Jelly
11. Hot Garlic Pepper Wine Jelly
12. Lavender Jelly With Chamomile
13. Mango Pepper Jelly
14. Mint Jelly
15. Pineapple Pepper Jelly
16. Raspberry Pepper Jelly
17. Red Pepper Jelly
18. Rose Petal Jelly
19. Sangria Jelly
20. Strawberry-Lavender Jam
21. Strawberry Pepper Jelly
22. Vidalia Sweet Onion Jelly
23. Whiskey (sweet or spicy) Pepper Jelly

Some Use Ideas:

• W/ Cheese and Crackers: (my fav) spread some over a soft cheese like brie, cream cheese, soft goat cheese or Neufchâtel. Then spread it over hard crackers or hard flat bread.
• Used as a glaze: either straight out the jar of diluted w/ come balsamic vinegar, use to glaze roast beef, chicken or fish.
• For a unique desert experience try some with chocolate or vanilla ice cream.
• Sandwiches: Not your Grandma's PB&J. Or (a tip from the cheese guy at BR's Whole Foods) a bit spread on a finnger sandwich with a slice of cucumber and a thin slice of bree.
• On a slice of fresh baked bread.
• On a bagel w/ cream cheese.
• As a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets.
• Microwaved, then poured over New York Cheese cake.
• Salad Dressing: mixed w/ vinegar and oil, and then poured over salad.

Not only will I be documenting making these, but I'll share my recipes. Half the fun is getting other people to experiment and share their results too.