Pepper Jelly

It's the first day of fall and the perfect day to make Pepper Jelly. My CSA share this week complied by providing everything but the sugar to make one of my favorite condiments: it is the perfect amalgamation between sweet and heat. Pepper Jelly makes an awesome fall/winter appetizer with cream or goat cheese on crackers. It also is a tasty accompaniment to beef or pork and even works as a glaze or marinate. Sarah Foster adds fresh mint to her Seven-Pepper Jelly and serves it with lamb. This is one of the simplest jellies to make as it does not require any added pectin and a great way to preserve several pounds of apples. Because the color is so great, kinda pink with flecks of red and green, Pepper Jelly makes an attractive gift.

All you need is:

5 cups sugar

2 cups of water

8 large apples

4 peppers (depending on heat level)

Rough chop the apples (hold each apple perpendicular on a cutting board and make four straight cuts down leaving only the core standing) and dice. There's no need to peel the apple, the skins produce the pectin needed for the jelly to gel. Put the diced apples and the core into the saucepan with the water and sugar to prevent any discoloration. Next finely dice the peppers. Remember the peppers won't breakdown as much as the apple so the smaller the better. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer.

While you are stirring and tending to the jelly, wash the glass jars and lids you plan on storing your jam in and place them in a 130° degree oven to dry for 30 minutes. They will be ready by the time your jelly is. After you put the jars in the oven, put a small plate in the freezer to help you test for consistency.

As the fruit begins to break down, remove the apple cores. Keep stirring until the spoon leaves a track on the bottom of the pan. To ensure that the jelly has reached your desired consistency, drip a teaspoon onto the frozen plate and tip the plate to one side. A looser jelly will still have some liquid while in a firmer more jam like consistency, nothing should move.

Use tongs to remove the jars from the oven, and let them cool a bit. When they are ready, fill each jar with your pretty pink jelly and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.