Strawberry Habanero Pepper Jelly
This Strawberry Habanero Pepper Jelly is sweet, spicy and oh-so-delicious! It's fabulous paired with cheese and wonderful on a charcuterie board. It's also great with biscuits, muffins... and SO much more!
Ingredients
For the strawberry juice:
- 2 quarts fresh strawberries stemmed and sliced
- ½ cup granulated sugar
For the pepper jelly:
- 1½ cups strawberry juice
- 1 medium red bell pepper seeded and diced small
- ½ medium apple (red, yellow or green) cut into 4 slices
- 3½ cups sugar
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 habanero pepper finely chopped (see Café Tips above)
- ½ teaspoon butter
- 3 ounces CERTO Fruit Pectin pouch (1 packet)
Instructions
For the strawberry juice:
-
Combine sliced strawberries and sugar in a medium large pot over medium heat. Stir until berries begin to release their juice.
-
Bring mixture to a full rolling boil and boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Drain berry mixture through a fine strainer or a (regular strainer lined with several layers of cheese cloth) for 30-45 minutes until you have 1 ½ cups of clear berry juice.
For the pepper jelly:
-
Combine exactly 1 ½ cups of strawberry juice, the vinegar, sugar, diced bell pepper, apple slices, habanero and butter in a large saucepan (at least 6-quart size). Stir and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes, watching carefully to keep the mixture from boiling up over the top of the pot and stirring occasionally.
-
Add Certo pectin and bring to a full, rolling boil (that can’t be stirred down.)
-
Boil for exactly one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and remove the apple slices with a slotted spoon. Skim off any foam with a metal teaspoon.
-
Taste (be careful, it's hot!) and add more habanero if desired, to taste. Ladle into clean jars, leaving ½ inch headspace at the top.
-
Cover jars and , if storing in the freezer, allow the jars to sit at room temperature for 24 hours then refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or store in the freezer for up to 9 months.
-
Jelly can also be processed with a hot water bath at this point, using these directions.
Recipe Notes
See Café Tips above in post for lots of additional information and specific tips for making this recipe.
Makes about 4½ cups of jelly or 9 4-ounce jars.