Monday, October 24, 2011

Habanero Gold


When I saw the recipe for this fiery golden, translucent jelly with colorful suspended fruit and vegetables... I had to make it... it was so pretty! It goes great with cheese, on a cracker with cream cheese, or melted onto grilled or sauteed dishes to add sparkling flavor highlights.

Here's what I did...


I started out finely slicing 1/3 cup dried apricots

I poured 3/4 cup white vinegar over the apricots...


...Covered it and let it stand at room temperature for at least four hours, or overnight...

Next morning...


I poured the vinegar/apricot mixture into a deep stainless steel saucepan and added

1/4 cup finely chopped onion


1/4 cup finely chopped seeded red bell pepper



1/4 cup finely chopped seeded habanero pepper (wear rubber gloves, habaneros are HOT!!! According to the Scoville scale of heat units that measure the hotness of peppers, jalapenos have a Scoville number of around 5,000... to me jalapenos are plenty hot... habaneros are at 100,000-350,000 on the Scoville scale... HOT!!!!)


3 cups granulated sugar


Over high heat, stirring constantly, I brought the mixture to a full rolling boil (one that cannot be stirred down). I stirred in...


1 pouch (3 oz.) liquid pectin (I used 3 ounces of my homemade pectin I had made previously from apple peelings)

I boiled the mixture hard, stirring constantly, for one minute. I removed it from the heat and quickly skimmed off any foam.


I poured the hot jelly into hot, sterilized half pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. I wiped the rim, and tightened the hot lids on to fingertip tightness.


I placed the jars in the canner, ensuring they were completely covered with water. I brought it to a boil and processed for 10 minutes. After processing, I removed the jars, placing them on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool, and to listen for the PING of each successfully sealed jar.

*This jelly is a particle suspension jelly... to enhance the suspension of these solids, it may be necessary to gently manipulate the jar after processing. This procedure can be used only with jellies prepared in 4 or 8 ounce jars that have been processed for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. To enhance particle suspension, cool the processed jars upright for 15-30 minutes or just until the lids pop down but the jelly is not fully set. As soon as the lids are concave, carefully and gently twist and/or tilt - do not shake and do not invert - individual jars to distribute solids throughout the jelly. The sealed jar must not be inverted as this might prevent the formation of a vacuum seal. Repeat as needed during the cooling and setting time until solids are nicely suspended in the jelly. 


For a printable copy of this recipe, click here... Printable Recipe

17 comments:

  1. i,m going to make this one. its so beautiful and i cannot believe how your portrays the processing so we can all do this. god bless. i am so excited.

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  2. Thank you for reading and good luck! ~~Granny

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  3. Great demonstration of the process! Makes such a wonderful product! I am saving this recipe for my next crop! Thank you so much!

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  4. how long does this take to gel...I noticed in your pic that when you bottled it did not gel...does this take a while to gel in the can???

    1st time i tried this recipe, 8 hours after canning the gel was still very liquidy in the can. I took it out, and basically reheated (I added powdered pectin while it was heating up) and then added another packet of liquid pectin once it was up to a rolling boil. Awaiting to see if this gels any better, I certainly used an awful lot of pectin...

    any help wouuld be great...

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  5. By the time mine was cool, it had gelled beautifully (maybe 1-2 hours). I only used 3 ounces of pectin (the recipe made 3 half-pints). Sounds like you did everything right... was it a rainy day? Humid? or something like that? Sometimes humid weather will cause gel problems. Did you reduce the sugar amount? Sometimes that will cause problems. Here's a link that might help http://www.pickyourown.org/how_to_fix_runny_jam.htm
    Good luck!

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  6. I multiplied the recipe by 5x...so it was a very large batch, which I recently saw is a no no...could this be my issue, and why are large batches causing problems with jams likethis?

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  7. That could very well be your problem. According to the website http://www.pickyourown.org/FAQ_jamsandjellies.php
    Making too large a batch can cause runny jelly... because it needs to cook longer than a smaller batch... I'm sure you can recover by rebatching and cooking your jelly down further... or you can call it Habanero Gold Sauce and use it like a syrup or sauce and no one would be the wiser. I'm sorry you had troubles!!!! ~~Granny

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  8. granny, A little update... my second batch turned out nicely, I just made it a little too hot so I need to decide how and in what recipes I can use this for :) ...thx, paul

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  9. Yay Paul!!! Way to go! ~~Granny

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  10. I am SO excited to make this and give for gifts!!!!

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  11. It's so good!!!! Go for it! ~~Granny

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  12. Its also great made with dried cherries or blueberries. I use purple onion. And add green bells as well for more color.

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  13. Love the idea for jelly, will be trying one. This is wonderful Granny, great job on making it easier to find recipes. Thanks.

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  14. I have made pepper jelly in the past from the Ball Blue Book using habaneros and love it!

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  15. Pomona pectin will allow large batches.It is organic and citrus peel based.You can adjust your sugar or make with stevia. A box seems pricey at around $5 but it is 2.5-3x normal dry oectin.Avail at healthy type stores or on line. POMONA PECTIN.is a brand name.

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  16. I made my second batch of this yesterday, the recipe is in my Ball book of canning and preserving. I don't like anything spicy but my girls do and they loved it. Made three batches in a row and have a good deal of it to share with family and friends. It is so beautiful in the jars!

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  17. It's great that you publish such and similar posts. Thanks for sharing
    Destinations worldwide

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