Every year, I plant habanero peppers to specifically make my hot pepper jelly recipe. I also plant an accompanying spicy pepper for this jelly recipe. This year, I planted Jalafuego jalapenos and waited until they ripened to a beautiful red color. Last year I planted Caribbean red hot peppers and used those in conjunction with the habaneros for the hot pepper jelly recipe. We have a native pepper that grows wild in south Texas called a Chile Pequin and I always throw a few of those into this recipe as well. The key is to use a combination of habaneros and any other hot pepper of your choice.
Peppers are measured in heat units on the Scoville scale to determine the heat index of peppers. A bell pepper would be 0 units while a Caroline Reaper pepper would measure in the millions of units. The habanero pepper ranges from 100,000 – 350,000 units on the Scoville scale while the jalapeno is in the lower range of 2,500 – 8,000 units. The “mild” jalapeno helps balance out this jelly so it doesn’t light everyone on fire who tastes it.
A word of caution when preparing any hot pepper jelly recipe is to wear gloves and avoid touching your eyes or exposed skin with your gloved hands. Wearing gloves is of the upmost importance; do not skip the gloves.
Start preparing the peppers by removing the seeds and membranes from the majority of the peppers. I leave the seeds in membranes in about 10% of my peppers. Next, put half of the peppers into a food processor and pulse them into they are into small pieces. Place these peppers in a large stainless steel pot on the stovetop and place the remaining peppers in the food processor. Chop the remaining peppers and place them with the other peppers in the stainless pot on the stovetop.
Add the apple cider vinegar and powdered pectin to the pot with the peppers. Stir well, but be cautious not to put your face over the pot. Stir continuously until the mixture boils. Avoid the fumes from these peppers. Once boiling, add the full amount of sugar and stir until the mixture reaches a full boil once again. Once a full boil is reached allow the mixture to hard boil for one minute.
After one minute, remove the mixture from the stovetop and quickly ladle it into sterilized glass canning jars allowing for 1/4″ of headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with white vinegar to remove any stickiness. Place your lids and rings onto the jars until they are finger tight. Process for 10 minutes at a rolling boil using a water bath canning method. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat from your canner and carefully remove the jars to a towel to rest. Do not move the jars for 24 hours to ensure a good seal. If you’re looking for canning jars I use these from Kerr Half Pint jars.
Serve this over a block of room temperature cream cheese with crackers for an appetizer or snack!
Hot Pepper Jelly
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Fresh Habanero Peppers You may use a combination of habanero, jalapeno, serrano, bell peppers, etc. Orange and red colored peppers are preferred.
- 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 box Powdered Pectin
- 5 cups Granulated Sugar
Instructions
- Start by sterilizing 6 pint canning jars.
- A word of caution when preparing any hot pepper jelly recipe is to wear gloves and avoid touching your eyes or exposed skin with your gloved hands. Wearing gloves is of the upmost importance; do not skip the gloves.
- Prepare the peppers by removing the seeds and membranes from the majority of the peppers. I leave the seeds and membranes in about 10% of my peppers. Next, put half of the peppers into a food processor and pulse them into they are into small pieces. Place these peppers in a large stainless steel pot on the stovetop and place the remaining peppers in the food processor.
- Add the apple cider vinegar and powdered pectin to the pot with the peppers. Stir well, but be cautious not to put your face over the pot. Stir continuously until the mixture boils. Avoid the fumes from these peppers. Once boiling, add the full amount of sugar and stir until the mixture reaches a full boil once again. Once a full boil is reached allow the mixture to hard boil for one minute.
- After one minute, remove the mixture from the stovetop and quickly ladle it into sterilized glass canning jars allowing for 1/4" of headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with white vinegar to remove any stickiness. Place your lids and rings onto the jars until they are finger tight. Process for 10 minutes at a rolling boil using a water bath canning method. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat from your canner and carefully remove the jars to a towel to rest. Do not move the jars for 24 hours to ensure a good seal.
Great recipe. Will be making this soon.
Lisa,
Please share pictures if you make this recipe! Thank you for visiting!
I’d love to try this! We love habanero jelly but i’ve never made my own. stopping by from a little bit of everything party!
Thank you for visiting Tanya!!
I am just now getting back into canning after a 20+ year pause. I feel like with all that’s going on in the world, turning back to some older and simpler ways of providing are in order. I feel like I want to conquer this recipe of yours. If I do it, I will send pictures of my finished jars. TY for this!
I love the older and simpler ways our grandmother’s used to do things. I remember seeing my grandma’s canning cupboard. It was always so colorful and interesting to me when I was a kid. I think that is one of the many reasons I’ve gotten into preserving lately.
This looks like a great recipe to try!
Thanks a bunch for sharing at Fiesta Friday!
I LOVE pepper jelly, but I’ve never made it myself. This looks delicious and very doable! I’ve pinned this for future reference–I want to try it.
Thanks so much for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!
I’m growing hot peppers this summer and will try this
Whoo! Sounds spicy!
Thanks for sharing your recipe at the Homestead Blog Hop
Laurie
Ridge Haven Homestead
What do u do with the other half ofthe peppers u put in the processor make another batch? you didnt say.
No, this recipe is for one batch of jelly. The peppers chop better in the food processor when it’s not so full, so I chop the peppers in 2 batches.
I accidentally planted Hungarian ghost peppers and thought that I would try a hot pepper jelly! so far everyone loves it!