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Red Pepper Jelly

With red peppers plentiful and inexpensive, now is the time to make that Red Pepper Jelly for those holiday appetizers and gifts. Served on crackers with Cream Cheese or as a garnish on those tiny quiche it is always a hit.



  • 2 cups finely chopped red bell peppers
  • 5 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1 or 2 finely chopped jalapeno peppers *
  • 1 pouch liquid Certo
*If you're not a fan of heat, you can use 1/2- 1 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce may be substituted for the Jalapeno pepper.
  1. Cut open and take seeds out of 2-3 red bell peppers and the Jalepenos.
  2. Chop fine in food processor or blender
  3. Place peppers, sugar, red wine vinegar and water in large dutch oven over high heat
  4. Heat and stir until it boils
  5. Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes
  6. Place pot back on heat and reheat to boiling
  7. Add lemon juice and liquid Certo and Tabasco Sauce stirring well
  8. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil 1 minute
  9. Cool 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
  10. Pour into clean, hot 1/2 pint canning jars
  11. Top with hot lids and screw bands
This is a nice condiment to pork, chicken or turkey and adds great flavour to a sandwich.
NOTE:
* I added one small Jalepeno which is enough heat for me but you can make it as hot as you like.
You do not need to put this in a hot water bath. As long as you use hot jars and hot sterilized lids they will stay sealed. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 2 years.




















56 comments:

  1. Oh boy .. .my mouth is watering .. I think I'll try this .. my kids love the bought red pepper jelly. .

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    Replies
    1. does anyone add salt to their pot of peppers, vinegar?

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    2. I never have. I don't think it needs salt as it is a sweet jelly.

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  2. Looks wonderful...another recipe for me to try.

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  3. yes! Good stuff....and great Christmas gifts. This was on my list of weekend jelly(s) but I did not get to it. Now I don't have to look up the recipe...just turn on this handy dandy computer in my kitchen! Thanks for posting.

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  4. Bev...being relatively new at this...can you tell me how long they last and how to store them? Do I need to do this 'bath' thing I am all paranoid about when I 'can'...do I seal with wax or is it like a regular jelly...just put the sterlized lids on and store in a dark, cool cupboard? For up to a year? Oh, one last question, can I use yellow and orange with the red peppers?

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  5. Oh, man... Mom's jelly is the absolute crem de la crem (or however you spell that) when paired with Costco's mozzarella sticks. SO GOOD.

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    Replies
    1. Never tought of that awesome!!!!

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  6. mmmm love red pepper jelly, not something i grew up with but with goats cheese on crackers this stuff is to die for! a couple of questions re this recipe: do you need to follow regular canning methods with this or do you just put the lids on and you are done? where do you store them and how long do they last?

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  7. I just found this blog.
    My Grandmother was a teacher for the Mennonites in Oregon. She used to RAVE about the meals the women would cook.
    Now I understand! I am inspired to try them all!
    I will be posting the results on my blog ! Thank you so much!

    http://mylifewithstar.blogspot.com/

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  8. No hot water bath involved. Just slap those hot seals on screw the rings on ( not too tight) and store in a dark cool room. It lasts a year or two in those conditions but not likely. It will be gone long before that. Thanks for the reminder Chris - Mozza sticks are made for this jelly. Trish - if you use yellow or orange peppers the colour will be affected but otherwise, I think you can use whatever peppers you can get.

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  9. I make this every year. Love it!

    I love to put it on chicken. Just sprinkle with Spike seasoning (or your favorite seasonings. Roast until done, then top each piece with a little pepper jelly and roast until melted and well glazed. Yum!

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  10. Oh my Bev...this turned out great! I even got a bit creative adding a bit of fresh ground ginger on a few batches...putting them into cute little 125 ml jars all tied with raffia tie and green and red cotton 'hats' (tops) for Christmas gifts...(if I hid them well enough).

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  11. I made this today and it is wonderful!! I also posted it on my recipe blog!

    We snacked on it tonight with cream cheese and crackers. But I want to make pork chops tomorrow and thought it would go well with that!

    Thanks for sharing your recipes!

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  12. Thanks for the recipe. I like to eat red pepper jelly on grilled Quail. Then, after dinner, use the same pepper jelly on vanilla ice cream!

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  13. I made the red pepper jelly but I doubled the recipe - used 3 liquid certo and now I have 17 small jars of red pepper jelly - **that didn't set** Sealed but didn't set. Any idea how to repair? Or just open them all and recook?

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  14. I'm sorry the jelly didn't set for you. I usually make a single recipe at a time. I would recook it and try again. Be sure you use new seals and wipe the tops of the jars clean before putting on the seals and lids. Good luck.

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  15. Just wondering if you have to strain the peppers after you put them in the blender. Thanks

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  16. I never do - I don't mind the little bits of pepper in the jelly but go ahead and strain it if you like a clear jelly.

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  17. Making this right now..Ill let you know how it turns out.

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  18. Do I have to let Pepper Jelly sit for two weeks before using? My friend told me its like pickles you can't just can them and eat them an hour later. Any ideas?

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  19. Making my third batch right now..It just keeps disappearing..Thx again..

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  20. I am going to make this, however, the jar I bought had some citric acid in it, and used cayenne instead of Tobasco. It's good stuff!

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  21. This sounds wonderful...can you use cider vinegar instead of the red wine vinegar?

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  22. I'm sure you could although it may alter the flavour just a bit.

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  23. I have powdered pectin. How do I use it in place of liquid pectin??

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    Replies
    1. dissolve the package in 1/2 cup cold water. boil for 1 minute and then add enough water to make 1 cup and its equal to liquid pectin and much much less expensive to buy.

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  24. I really want to try this but don't have tobasco sauce, any suggestions for a substitute? Could cayenne pepper or chili pepper flakes work, in what amounts? Thanks, can't wait to try, sounds delish!

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    Replies
    1. I made a very similar pepper jelly recipe but used dried cayennes instead of red peppers. It turned out great.

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    2. I always use Jalepeno peppers - chopped and seeded - if you don't blend or cook to much the bits of green are visible -- very yummy

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  25. About the powdered pectin, I would not use it in this recipe.
    Substitute for tabasco? Sure. .add a about 1/4 teaspoon red pepper chili flakes. .

    Let me know how that works. ..cause I'm guessing but think it should be fine.

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  26. Another alternative is to add a jalepeno pepper to the sweet peppers. I'm not fond of too much heat so I use tabasco instead of the jalepeno. Hope this helps.

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  27. I made the jelly, and it turned out fabulous! I used about three tsp red pepper flakes and it added some heat but not as much as I would've liked, might try again but add some cayenne pepper as well. Definitely a keeper recipe though, planning to give as Christmas gifts. Thanks so much for posting!

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  28. I made two batches of this jelly, separately, and the first one set, the second one didn't. So to fix it, do I just bring to a boil, boil 1 minute, and then let cool 5 minutes? Or does it need to cook longer this time? Really want to use as gifts, so if it can be fixed that would wonderful! Thanks in advance for the advice.

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  29. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  30. here is my best attempt to try and help you - try reboiling it - I'd do it longer than a minute though. at times we have all had time with our jellying and i can't explain why that happens....sorry about not giving you a more concrete answer.

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  31. Thank you thenk you thank you for sharing this great recipe! http://zsuzsaisinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2011/12/red-pepper-jelly.html

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  32. Hi there, i'm planning on making this jelly as favors for my August wedding. How many jars does this recipe fill? & at how many mls? Thanks so much!!

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    1. I'm not at home right now to go and look up how many jars but I'm thinking it's around 8 1/2 pint jars. I suggest having a few extra jars ready just in case it makes more. Hope that helps.

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  33. Thanks so much, my jelly turned out just perfect !

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  34. What size is the certo pouch? I could not find certo. I got the ball brand. The box has 2 3oz. pouches. I don't know if I use 1 pouch or 2. Thanks!

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  35. The pectin packages are all standard sizes so I'm sure your Ball brand pouch is the same size as the Certo brand.

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  36. Can you use the certo crystals instead of the liquid certo? Thanks!

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  37. I've never made it with powdered pectin and I don't think I would. The method for cooking jellies is different and I would not advise switching one for the other.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks I will buy the liquid certo and try it!

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  38. I made 7 batches and everyone was beautiful. My grandkids love it! I have been sharing the recipe with others in my family. Thank you for sharing!!!

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  39. Last year I made two batches and I did the same this year. My family and friends love it, and it makes a nice gift to bring to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Thanks for the recipe.

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  40. I find tabasco too raw a heat so substituted hot chinese chili sauce to taste; also used the peppers I had which were red, red/green and yellow. The resultant jelly is orange - pretty

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  41. I've been making this for years and I use a combination of red peppers as well as chili,jalapeno and even tried a habinero or two. All very good and really not too hot at all.

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  42. I made this last year for Christmas as gifts for our family. it went over so well my sister in law asked me to make a big batch for her as a wedding gift!

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  43. How much does this make. I have little jam jars.

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  44. This is a wonderful glaze for chicken...

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  45. TRIED SOME THAT A FRIEND MADE..IAM NOW HOOKED. GOING TO MAKE SOME TONIGHT. WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW IT TURNS OUT.

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  46. I was able to get 17 small jars (125 ml or 1/2 cup size) of jelly with this recipe.

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  47. How much tabasco sauce? no measurement in the recipe

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  48. I apologize for the confusion. When I first made the jelly, I used Tabasco sauce instead of the Jalapeno pepper. You should omit the Tabasco if using the Jalapeno. I believe I used about a 1/2-1 tsp. Tabasco originally. I will edit the recipe to clarify.

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