We still have a good amount of raspberries on our patch, so I’m thinking I need to make another batch of this. I didn’t get around to posting i before the end of raspberry season last year, and luckily I remembered this year. 🙂 I am lucky enough to have a steam juicer (because I found one for FIFTEEN dollars on Craigslist. Talk about a bargain.)
It makes jellies SO much easier, not to mention the juices I throw in the freezer for making syrups or flavoring lemonade. If you don’t have a steam juicer, you can look here for directions on extracting the raspberry juice using a jelly bag. I won’t go into all the technicalities of canning, except to say that it really is not like regular cooking. Just like anytime you cook, if you are careless, unsanitary, and don’t follow food safety rules, you can make someone sick. And that’s not good eats.
But, if you are clean and follow proven guidelines then you really don’t need to worry. There is a great resource, the National Center for Home Food Preservation, that offers great education on the matter.
Moving on, this jelly is my favorite to make. While it may not work for PB and Jelly sandwiches, it is great on crackers, or especially as my friend Janine suggested, with a little cream cheese on the crackers as well.
And while we don’t love hot peppers and spicy food, this is spicy without being overwhelming, especially when paired with cream cheese.
RASPBERRY PEPPER JELLY
1 3/4 cups white vinegar, divided
1 red bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, optional *
5 red chili peppers (also called fresno peppers or red jalapenos), stem removed, seeds left or removed for more mild heat
raspberry juice, about 1 1/2 cups, give or take
6 1/2 cups sugar
6 oz Certo liquid pectin
Put the peppers and 1/2 cup of the vinegar in a blender and process until smooth.
Add enough raspberry juice to bring the total liquid to 2 1/2 cups.
*If you want a more mild jelly, I would leave out the bell pepper so you’ll be using more raspberry juice.
In a large pot combine the remaining 1 1/4 cups vinegar and the sugar.
Bring o a boil over medium high heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally.
Add pepper mixture while stirring and bring o a low boil. Let boil for 5 minutes while stirring.
Remove from heat and add the pectin.
Pour into jelly (1/2 pint) jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Recipe source: My friend Janine
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups white vinegar, divided
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, optional *
- 5 red chili peppers (also called fresno peppers or red jalapenos), stem removed, seeds left or removed for more mild heat
- raspberry juice, about 1 1/2 cups, give or take
- 6 1/2 cups sugar
- 6 oz Certo liquid pectin
Instructions
- Put the peppers and 1/2 cup of the vinegar in a blender and process until smooth.
- Add enough raspberry juice to bring the total liquid to 2 1/2 cups.
- *If you want a more mild jelly, I would leave out the bell pepper so you’ll be using more raspberry juice.
- In a large pot combine the remaining 1 1/4 cups vinegar and the sugar.
- Bring o a boil over medium high heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally.
- Add pepper mixture while stirring and bring o a low boil. Â Let boil for 5 minutes while stirring.
- Remove from heat and add the pectin.
- Pour into jelly (1/2 pint) jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
