Saturday 2 November 2013

Retro-pepper jelly


I've been craving pepper jelly for a while and when I noticed a recipe for it in the new Joy of Cooking, I thought I'd give it a go. 

Only I hadn't noticed that the Joy recipe sieved the peppers out, which is why the recipe called for 1/3 less sugar than other recipes. And I didn't have liquid pectin.  

But, crucially, all the chopping could be done in the food processor - which given that I still can't use my right hand, seemed essential.
So I improvised quite a lot to get just what I was looking for - roughly one part chopped peppers to 1 part vinegar and two parts sugar with a sachet of pectin added before-hand.  


Like the rhubarb chutney, pepper jelly was something the  neighbours used to give us.   I remembered  it being mostly clear, with little flecks of different coloured peppers in it, so I didn't want to strain it as the Joy advocated, nor add food colouring like most of the on-line recipes.


Amazingly, it turned out just like I remembered - a warm zingy heat, but mellowed by the addition of bell peppers along with hot peppers from the farmer's market. It's not something you eat everyday, but it's very nice on an oatcake with cream cheese, or with cornbread. 

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