Habanero Gold Jelly

Jan in Lanark's Note:

Love the hot and sweet of this jelly. Like most hot pepper jellies, it is wonderful spread over a block of cream cheese. I also sometimes melt it down and use as a final baste on grilled back bacon, pork chops or chicken. Prep time does not include sitting time for apricots and vinegar.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 3 250 ml ...

• 1/3 cup finely sliced dried apricot
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 1/4 cup finely diced red pepper
• 1/4 cup finely diced habanero peppers, with seeds or 1/4 cup finely diced jalapeno, and scotch bonnet peppers combined
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 (3 ounce) envelope bernardin liquid pectin

Directions:

1. Cut apricots into 1/8 inch slices and measure into large stainless steel saucepan with the vinegar; let stand for four hours.
2. Cut onions and peppers into 1/8 inch slices; cut slices into a 1/4 inch dice.
3. Add to apricots and stir in sugar.
4. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil.
5. Stirring constantly, boil hard for one minute.
6. Remove from heat and immediately stir in liquid pectin, mixing well.
7. Stir for about 3 minutes to mix solids, but put into jars before it gets too firm.
8. Pour into hot sterilized jars, dividing solids equally and fill to within 1/4 inch from top of jar.
9. Apply snap lids and process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes if you choose.
10. Once sealed you can rotate or invert jars while still warm to distribute solids if needed.

Reviews

[Mary K. W.]

Great hot pepper jelly! I've made this twice now and today was a double batch. I personally loved it just as submitted, but my daughter thought it was too sweet. I cut back on the sugar today so we'll see if she likes this better. I tried several pepper jelly recipes this year and hands down this is my favorite. The apricots just take it to another level. I did use a stick blender to chop up the solids. They seem to stay suspended in the jelly without turning the jars after processing. Thanks for sharing.

[ucnclmeal]

I made this last summer while I was canning, and then again tonight. It is a wonderful jelly spicy & sweet with just a little vinegar tartness to it. I think its best to use a food processor to do the apricots and habaneros/jalapenos; it helps limit the amount of contact my hands and skin have with the pepper oils and helps me pack a little bit more apricot into the jam for my own personal taste.
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing.

[=^..^=]

My dad introduced me to this jelly after he made a batch and it is wonderful! I recently tried my hand at it and I messed up a little. All I could find in the store was powdered pectin and, since I had never made jelly before, I wasn't sure how to use it correctly. So the jelly didn't come out as thick as it should have. Chalk that up to operator error. Also, I thought I'd kick it up a bit and leave half the seeds; bad idea. This stuff was so hot my mouth was burning a half hour after just tasting it. However, many people like super hot and I was able to give it all away and get my jars back so I can try it again with more knowledge :) Great recipe!