Keeping in mind the disastrous batch I made in the fall, I went to the website of Mennonite Girls Can Cook for the recipe. Thanks to the ladies we now have great pepper jelly for Christmas! I was out of 250 ml jars, so I used the 500 ml jars instead. I made two batches and each batch gave me two 500 ml jars of jelly and some. The one thing you have to remember is never double a Certo recipe, always cook it one batch at a time.
RED PEPPER JELLY
2 cups finely chopped red bell peppers5 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
Tabasco Sauce to taste [optional]
1 pouch of liquid Certo
• Cut open and take seeds out of 2-3 red bell peppers.
• You can also add one hot pepper for more heat.
• Chop fine in food processor or blender.
• Place peppers, sugar, red wine vinegar and water in large dutch oven over high heat.
• Heat and stir until it boils.
• Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Place pot back on heat and reheat to boiling.
• Add lemon juice and liquid Certo and Tabasco Sauce stirring well.
• Bring to a full rolling boil and boil 1 minute.
• Cool 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove all floating bits with a small sieve and discard.
• Pour into clean, hot 250 ml canning jars.
• Top with hot lids and screw bands.
• 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.
• Prepare a dry pack: line a basket or a box with tea towels.
• Encase the dry pack into an old quilt or several blankets and leave it to cool.
• By evening, the jars will have sealed.
• Store the jars in a cool, dark place for up to 2 years.
