Very unusual for white distilled vineger to be lower than 5%. Heinz brand, as far as I know, is always consistent. The cider vinegar may impart a different flavor, but with all that heat, it may not matter. I like using cider vinegar in sweet pickles as they tend to also have several spices that go well with the cider vinegar.

The super market didn't have the Heinz brand when I bought it and I didn't think to check the acidity until I got home with it. So......used the cider vinegar and the jelly taste pretty good.

Could I use the 4% acidity for making jelly?

Jessie

Usually with those jellies the vinegar is important to safety since the peppers are low-acid. Actually, I think the cider vinegar would work really well. The sweetness would go great with the habs, which are also fruity.

The only advantage of the white distilled is a slightly brighter color. The cider will darken the jelly a bit. But in a contest between color and flavor, I figure flavor always wins!

Carol

Jessie,
Water doesn't really help a chili burn. Next time try milk instead. Or better yet, ice cream. I can personally vouch for milk. Here's an article for you about it.
Melly

Here is a link that might be useful: fiery foods

Thats why they serve refried beans with hot spicy foods in Mexico. They tend to absorb some of the heat of the peppers.

Have to be careful when purchasing white distilled vinegar at the supermarkets here too. Some of the cheaper ones are 4% acidity.

Jessie, I will post my recipe for pepper jelly if you want me too, I use a combination of hot peppers and dried apricots and it is probably not as hot. Although, I have not made the habanero gold.

But it does look like confetti in a jar! LOL

I also have a recipe for cranberry pepper jelly, I haven't made it the last couple of years because we just like the apricot-pepper, but the cranberry sure is pretty. I used to make a plain green pepper jelly and cranberry pepper jelly and would use them side by side at Christmas, just because I thought they looked Christmasy,,

Jessie, I hate to tell you this, but Carol's Hot N Sweet Confetti jelly is basically a double batch of Habanero Gold. LOL She was kind enough to develop that recipe to double my yield, I was only getting 3 half pints out of my original recipe and I wanted more! Carol, being a veteran jelly maker, stepped in and made the Confetti Jelly, for which I am extremely grateful. Thanks Carol.

It's good stuff, though, isn't it? It'll clear your sinuses and make you break out in a sweat!

Annie

Thanks, Annie. It's because I'm too cheap to pay for two packages of liquid pectin if I can figure out how to get a double batch with one. Mainly it's the method I changed. There's less of a problem with floating particles and it's not necessary to do so much twisting and turning of the jars.

But I did also increase the apricots and made a couple of very minor changes. For those concerned, I was very careful to keep the low-acid veggies within the original safe range.

Carol

Well I made the Hot N Sweet Confetti Jelly and it is only slightly milder than the Habanero Gold!! LOL. My DH asked me how the heck was I going to eat 12 jars of pepper jelly by myself?! *Shrug* I'm already giving one jar of each to my Grandparent's, with a warning label! Since I got the habanero's from them they know just how hot they are though.

Carol, the Confetti Jelly hasn't set yet. I made it exactly as the recipe stated. Well I didn't exactly. I didn't let it sit overnight, because I've got to take DM to the doctor early this morning. But I did let it sit for about 6 hours. What did I do wrong? Do you think it will set after a while? I canned it last night and checked it this morning. If it doesn't set is there a way I can go back and recook it and add more pectin? Oh well, if not I bet it would be killer on grilled chicken.

Thanks,
Jessie

Jessie, welcome to the wonderful world of liquid pectin (which I hate and find inconsistent).

If it helps, a group of Cooking Forum members got together this weekend and KatieC and I helped them make Habanero Gold. Katie's been canning for 30+ years, I've been canning for over 40. I've made the Gold for two years now, numerous batches, and it has never failed to set. Yup, you guessed it, one batch didn't set, one did. Sigh.

Same ingredients, same cooks, same recipe, same day and in excess of 70 years of combined canning experience. :-( It was an excellent lesson, though, in the inconsistencies of home canned jelly.

As for yours, you can recook it but I hate the texture when I do that, it's much like gummy bears or taffy. I use it to glaze chicken or pork on the grill, I mix it with cream cheese as a spread for bagels and I use it as a topping for savory cheesecake appetizers. I also put a drop in the middle of a cheese thumbprint. All those things can be done with the syrupy stuff anyway.

Annie

I hate, hate, hate liquid pectin. The viscosity, the smell, the chemical taste. But it's the only way to produce a pepper jelly and in pepper jelly it's really hard to detect any flavors except hot-sweet.

Jessie, not letting it sit overnight shouldn't have made a difference in how the jelly set up. The overnight setting is to equalize weights so the little bits are less likely to float. What you did was just fine.

Perhaps, depending on your stove and the pan, the jelly didn't achieve a strong rolling boil for long enough, but as Annie said, I wouldn't take any bets. My experience is that liquid pectin is highly unreliable.

I've never figured out the "logic" of liquid pectin. Last time I made this it was setting up before I could even get the jelly in the jar.

But the nice thing is, as Annie said, this is a jelly that doesn't need to set firmly. In fact, in some respects, it may be more usuable in its less-firm state. Half the time you're melting it anyway. The only way you couldn't use it would be dabbed on cream cheese on individual crackers. And those cheddar-cheese thumbprints are killer.

I never re-cook any preserves. The firmer texture comes at too high a price. Thin preserves can always be used; overcooked ones are unsalvageable.

If something doesn't set I figure it's the will of the canning gods and let it go. I'll always choose flavor as the primary value and if it's syrup instead of jelly, I still serve it proudly. You know, never apologize, never explain.

I can think right off the top of my head of three very experienced preservers - Beverly Alfeld, the Jamlady; Christine Ferber of Mes Confitures; and June Taylor, California purveyor of fine preserves - who all acknowledge the element of chance in the making of jams and jellies.

That being said, your HG may still set up somewhere down the road. Six weeks from now you may grab a jar for chicken and there it'll be, a lovely jelly.

Oh, and feel free to cut back on the peppers or substitute a bit more of the bell to reduce the heat, if that's your preference. Just don't exceed the total amount. It's always hard to tell. One batch of habs will be hotter than another.

Carol

Thanks ya'll for all the great advice. Now I don't feel so bad since I'm not the only one who's had these problems!! I think I will just leave the jelly alone the way it is. It has set a little more since this morning. Kinda jellied but still kinda soft. I'm looking forward to trying it on grilled chicken soon.

Oh and I've given another jar away as a thank you gift for a 5 gallon bucket of pears from my DM neighbor. She said her husband loves hot food so........I'm gonna give her a jar for him.

Now off to find the perfect recipe for pear preserves!!!

Jessie

Reading Lady,
Have you tried the Pomona pectin? Even though is a dry powder, I still mix it with some of the liquid or water to help prevent it from clumping. Works best in a blender.

Jessie, here is Carol's Pear Preserve recipe. I just love this preserve, it's my all time favorite:

Old Fashioned Pear Preserves from Carol (Readinglady)

Yu can also make Pear Preserves if you want chunks of pear suspended in syrup. By weight use equal amounts of pears and sugar. You also need the juice and seeds of one lemon. I wouldn't go over about 4 pounds of fruit because it takes too long to cook larger amounts. This takes several days, but it's mainly waiting and the results are wonderful. Here's what you do:

Day 1: Peel, core and cut firm-ripe pears into chunks or slices. Leave pieces large enough to retain character in preserves. Place pears in acidified water (Fruit Fresh or Ascorbic Acid).

Rinse and drain pears. Place in large bowl and add sugar equal in weight to pears. Add juice of lemon and place pips (seeds) in small bag. It's messy but I also add any of the pulp that was reamed out. Add to bowl. Stir gently
to distribute syrup and refrigerate overnight. Throughout evening stir occasionally to distribute sugar. (I usually don't do this more than once.)

Day 2: Place macerated pears and sugar syrup with lemon seeds in bag in large pan. Bring to a boil and cook about 10 minutes, skimming foam.

Reduce temperature and continue to cook (about 20 minutes) until pears are translucent and candied. Turn off heat and leave pears and syrup overnight. (This can be room temperature.) Cover pan with a cloth, not a lid (to
prevent condensation).

Day 3: Using a slotted spoon lift pears from syrup and place in a strainer. Collect any additional syrup in a bowl beneath the strainer. (I drained syrup left in pan into a bowl and washed the pan because the syrup was
crystallized along the rim then I put the syrup back.) Bring syrup to a boil and cook to gel point stirring frequently. (Depending on how thick you want the syrup, this can be anywhere from 218-222°.) You can also use the frozen plate test.

The advantage is you get to thicken the syrup just the way you like without cooking the delicate pears to the point of disintegration.

Return the pears to syrup and boil 1 minute to reheat them. Pull off heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (This allows fruit to equalize with the syrup so it doesn't float to the top of the jar.)

Place preserves in sterilized jars and BWB 5 minutes or clean, hot jars and BWB 10 minutes.

Annie

Ken, I don't care for the chalky aftertaste in Pomona's so I prefer not to use it. However, I have recommended it to my cousin, who is diabetic. DH is having some problems with elevated sugar levels, so at some point I may have to switch. Thanks for the reminder. I know Linda Lou, among others, has had great success with Pomona Pectin.

Carol

Annie that's the recipe I'm using. I used the search engine on here last night and it actually worked! The pears have been sitting in the fridge all night soaking up all that sugar. Gotta get busy though, I still have enough pears to make another batch or maybe even two of preserves.

I've already promised a couple of jars to my Grandpa. I hope they turn out as good as advertised. He's really looking forward to them. He said he hasn't had good homemade pear preserves since he was a kid and his Momma made them. He's 75 so that's been a long time waiting!

By the end of this week Grandpa's grapes will be ready and I'll be on the lookout for a good grape jelly recipe. Do you have one you'd like to share that is as good as all the other recipes I've gotten from ya'll. (Annie, the strawberry preserves recipe that I got from you earlier in the season is AMAZING!)

Oh by the way, what size jars to you can the pear preserves in? I have quarts and pints.

Grandma just sent me this recipe. I've never had pear relish, what do ya'll think?

Pear Relish
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
12 pears
6 medium onions
2 green peppers
2 red peppers
2 small hot peppers
1 small jar mustard
2 tbl salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vinegar

Peel and grind pears, onions and peppers through food chopper. Add
other ingredients and cook 20 to 30 minutes. Put in sterilized jars
and seal while hot. Process in water bath.

Jessie, I put all my jams, jellies and preserves in half pint jars because I get "bored". That way I only have to eat a little bit and then I can open a new flavor!

So, if it were me choosing, I'd go with the pints!

Annie

Jessie, I put all my jams, jellies and preserves in half pint jars because I get "bored". That way I only have to eat a little bit and then I can open a new flavor!

So, if it were me choosing, I'd go with the pints!

Annie

I've never canned the pear preserves in anything bigger than 12-oz, but that's because there's only the two of us. I'd go for pints. You might want to increase the BWB time to 15 minutes.

Carol

Thanks! I've got maybe 5 or 6 little jars. I guess I'll do what I can with those and then move on to the pints.

I really wish I would have bought another pack of the half pints when I was putting up the Habanero Gold but for some reason I was thinking that the preserve recipe called for pints! Guess thats what I get for not double checking before I leave the house!

I might just run by the store while I'm gone to see my new neice. My little sister just gave birth to her 3rd baby! A 7 pound 1 ounce baby girl. Much smaller than all her other 2 kids. Gotta run.

Thanks,
Jessie

Congrats on the new niece, Jessie. Now, about canning baby food...

Annie

You can mix the hot, hot pepper "syrup" into a sweet and sour sauce and add it for a kick to other sauces. Sort of like a version of tabasco, just dab it into recipes that need a lift.

I wonder if CA habaneros are hotter than MI ones? I know peppers do get hotter in drier and sunnier conditions.

Pepper jelly can firm up over time.

I was looking for a recipe and just found an old forum post from last year that I did when I had oodles of hot pepper "syrup." I put it in coleslaw, mixed it in with mayo for dressing and it was very yummy.

Thanks lpink for the ideas. I would have never thought to try it in coleslaw. MMmmmm grilled hababnero gold chicken with habanero coleslaw.......gotta find something for the kids to eat though! Maybe I'll make them homemade pizza...gotta make my grocery list.

Annie I don't think I want to venture into canning baby food. LOLOL! No, I'll leave that to the Gerber company they seem to do it so well.

By the way, the neice is too cute. Fat checked, a head full of black hair, and already sleeping through the night. Little sister needs all the sleep she can get! With 3 kids under the age of 2 I don't know how she's going to do it. I keep trying to tell her what causes that, but I don't guess she cares. The thing is, she want's more! Whew, better her than me.

Jessie

Whew, better her than me too, I stopped at two and they were six years apart!! I did have one just like me, though, so that's probably what stopped me. (grin)

Sleeping through the night already? Now that's impressive. Nothing's cuter than a sleeping baby, I love 'em when they sleep!

The Gerber company is only 15 miles from me and I have lots of friends that work there. They tell me about the percentage of "particulate matter" and other stuff that makes it through quality control. Twigs, leaves, rodent hair and droppings, fingernails, whatever. Particulate matter.

I canned all the food for my grandbabies after that.

Annie

Oh, don't forget those possible chemicals they used to grow them, or spray them. Yes a nice big home garden and a big blender makes for a lot of safe baby foods.

UHGGGGG!!! Rodent hair and droppings! Maybe I'll look into canning some after all. Feel free to post any recipes. I've got months before she can eat solid food so I have plenty of time!

Jessie

I made all of my son's baby food, and will do the same thing with his little brother (due Christmas). It's not hard, but I didn't can it--I froze it.

Mostly, it's just pureeing basic grown-up foods. The Super Baby Food book by Ruth Yaron has good information. She recommends freezing in ice cube trays, then popping the cubes out. That gives a serving size. I did that for new foods, then once I found out my son liked it, I'd just freeze the purees into those small round rubbermaid take-along containers. He's in daycare, so those were more convenient for me than the cubes.

I bought or grew organic veggies, cooked them and then pureed with my hand blender. I could make enough for several weeks at a time, pop it into the freezer and then thaw in the fridge or microwave when needed. FOr meats, I just cooked until very tender and then pureed with water or broth. I found the chicken left from making stock was perfect!

Sorry to go on so much about this, but I found it easy and satisfying to make his food. When I was uninspired, I'd look at some of the combinations the commercial baby food companies put together, and go from there.

Oh, I did can applesauce for him! Much cheaper than buying the no-sugar-added stuff!

Leigh