We had our first harvest of jalapeños last week, and we decided to use the first batch to make Jalapeño Jelly. It was very easy, and turned out delicious!

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
3/4 lb jalapeno peppers
2 cups cider vinegar, divided
6 cups sugar
6 ounces liquid pectin

1. Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers. Note that I used food service gloves. You might also want to use other tricks like cutting the peppers under running water to reduce the effects of pepper juice in the air: you won’t even notice it at first, but by the end of the pile of jalapeños your eyes may start watering. Oh, and don’t rub your eyes or face!

2. Add one cup of cider vinegar…

…and puree the mixture.

3. Combine the puree, 1 cup of cider vinegar, and sugar in large saucepot. Bring to a boil. boil 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Stir in liquid pectin, then return to a rolling boil and boil hard for one minute, stirring constantly.

5. Skim foam, if necessary, and stir in a few drops of green food coloring, if desired. We did not add food coloring– what you see is all natural.

6. Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

7. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

We served it on sesame crackers and brie, but cream cheese will work nicely as well.

Enjoy!