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Habanero Jelly

I dearly love this recipe. This is one of my first “my” recipes. I would make jars of this and we would use it at home and my husband would give away jars of it to his buddies. And, while it is not a big deal, it was one of the first things that I ever created that made me feel like I was good at cooking.

Also, jelly making is sort of a lost art. I like the very idea of it. Jelly is kind of like pie in that way. When you make it, you feel like you are connecting yourself to a bygone era.

You might wonder if habanero jelly is, frankly, a bad idea. After all, habanero peppers are ridiculous, really. Peppers are ranked by their heat in something called Scoville units, named after the pharmacist who first devised the measurement. While generalizing about the pungency of peppers can be misleading given that any two peppers of the same variety can have very different levels of “heat,” one can generally say that habaneros rank wildly higher than most peppers in Scoville Heat Units. For instance, jalapenos get a score of about 2,500 units. Habaneros garner a score between 100,000 and 350,000 Scoville Heat Units. Therefore, for most purposes, habaneros are practically a gimmick. No offense to people who love them, but they are brutal. I have a bottle of habanero powder that I use only for scaring squirrels away from my tomato plants. One half teaspoon of the stuff made a batch of chili inedible.

But, when you add 5 cups of sugar to them, all of a sudden you have one of those delightful culinary contrasts. It is sweet and spicy. It is cool and hot. It is just delicious. And it is not painful, in any way. My husband eats it straight on Triscuits and even on peanut butter sandwiches. But it is best served on goat cheese or cream cheese on crackers. It is the easiest nibble in the world to have on the table in 10 seconds for guests, if you have a stash of the jelly in your pantry. It would also make a fantastic glaze for pork, I think.

Give this a shot. It doesn’t matter if you have never made jelly before. This is a great starting place. Basically, you chop up some habaneros…enough to make a packed ½ cup. You are welcome to use more, but don’t blame me if it makes people cry. I keep my habaneros in the freezer. They are very easy to handle frozen. Do not thaw them, just put on your rubber gloves and start cleaning out the seeds and stems. (Also, they have some magical anti-frost property that fascinates me. I hope some really smart person is studying that.) Meticulously clean all of your knives, cutting boards, and your hands as you go. Please.

Precap: You whiz up the peppers in the food processor with vinegar and an apple and then you heat that mixture with sugar until you have a hot syrup. Next add pectin, which is a food gelling agent. It is found naturally in many fruits, including apples. I use Certo. You will need 1-½ packets of the gel. Eyeball the half packet amount. Make sure you check the date on the package. If it is even close to expiring, do not buy it. Old pectin will not set the jelly and you will be (as I have been) very irritated. After some additional cooking, the jelly is ready to go. Simply put it in jars and seal them. Placing the jars upside down for a spell and then inverting them causes a vacuum seal that renders the jelly safe to store in the pantry. This is not the case for all preserved foods and is particular to high acid mixtures such as this. Do not use this method for any other purposes. But, boom, that is all it takes. Let’s go.

Supplies:

Jars: This recipe uses 8 oz. jars with lids and screw bands. You can buy a set of 12 for about 10 dollars. Any extras are great for kids drinking glasses, piggy banks, dressing shakers, etc.

Rubber Gloves: Habaneros are ridiculously hot peppers. If you get pepper juice on your hands and rub it on your eyes (or any other sensitive parts) or, God forbid, touch a child’s owie or eyes, you will never forgive yourself or me. Habaneros are far hotter than jalapenos. This is not a good recipe for kids, by the way. The combination of nuclear hot peppers and boiling syrup are not suitable for the small set. In fact, this is a project for a day when they are no where near your kitchen.

Pots and Pans: A large stock pot for sterilizing jars and another saucepan for boiling the jelly.

Dish Towels: You will need many dish towels or paper towels for this. You will need to do a lot of tidying up after you handle the peppers. You need fresh, clean towels to dry the jars and lids. You need another one for the surface that you are using to fill and invert the jars. And you will need yet another fresh, clean towel for cleaning any sticky mess off of the finished jars.

A ladle: For dipping the jelly into the jars.

Ingredients:
½ cup habanero pepper, seeds and stems removed
1 apple, peeled and cut up
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
5 cups sugar
1-½ packets liquid pectin (one pouch plus one-half pouch)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Preparation:

In a large pot of simmering water, sterilize six 8 oz. jars. Leave the jars in the water until you are ready to use them. You will need tongs or other long grabbing device to remove them from the hot water.

Place the habanero peppers and apple in a food processor. Add the vinegar and process until fine.

In a heavy, non-aluminum saucepan, combine the processed peppers and apples, water and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for one minute (it takes about 15 minutes to get it to simmering and an additional minute to get it to boiling on my stove). Take abundant care at this stage. You need to be present to adjust your stove as the syrup bubbles. It can quickly boil over which is not only exceptionally dangerous, but very messy.

Meanwhile, pour boiling water over the lids and screw bands in a small bowl. Leave them in the hot water until you are ready to use them.

After the syrup has boiled for one minute, remove it from heat and stir in the pectin. Then, return to heat and boil one minute longer.

Remove the mixture from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Using a wooden spatula or other tool, skim off any foam or white film that accumulates on top. Use a light hand when doing this, as a large proportion of the peppers tries to get stuck in the foam. Removing too much of the pepper bits will reduce the heat of the jelly. Stir in chopped rosemary.

Ladle the jelly into sterilized jars. Wipe the rims of the jars and dry the lids and screw bands. Seal the jars. Place sealed jars upside down on a towel. Leave them inverted for approximately 20 minutes and then turn them upright. To distribute the peppers and rosemary equally, turn the jars occasionally until the jelly sets.

Beware: If the jelly sets entirely while the jars are upside down, you have a problem. I have done this. I ran to drop off my kids at camp and left the jars upside down. By the time I returned, they were setting and I was barely able to get it all back down to the bottom of the jar. Lest you think I am a moron, you should know that the jelly can take from hours to days to set up. This batch took 3 hours flat. When you notice that the bits in the jars are not floating up and down when you turn the jar over, you may just leave them upright.

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57 comments to Habanero Jelly

  • I made pineapple habanero jelly this year. I’m obsessed with food preservation and will can anything that sits on my counters long enough. Anyway, it’s awesome in many of the ways you advised for your jelly, plus makes an awesome marinade for grilling. Pics look great!

  • Karen Mertens

    I am going to try this for gifts. I am positive that I am part squirrel because canning makes me feel so good just like a squirrel must feel when he buries his food. A fenced garden is in my future.

  • Hello kindred spirit :D
    Love this recipe…great post. Habanero jelly … yum.
    Well done. Extremely stupendously well done.

  • Kelly

    Viviane, what a lovely thing to say. And thanks to Karen and Laurie, too. I appreciate the feedback on this one in particular, because it really is on that I think few people will end up trying. It is not the kink of project that fits into a busy day easily. But, once started, it is very rewarding. And, it is nice to know that I have a few kindred spirits where this one is concerned.

  • Lindsay

    lovely post. do you have to boil the jars again after you’ve filled and sealed them for them to keep indefinitely? how long will they last otherwise? what’s the rule on this? anything to avoid botulism ;) thanks!

  • Kelly

    Thank you, Lindsay. Good question. You do not have to water process after filling the jars. You seal the jars, invert them for 5 minutes and then turn them right side up. This causes the vacuum seal to occur. You can do the water bath method if you choose.

    When the jars are cooled, press the middle of the jar lid with your finger and if the lid springs back it isn’t sealed and needs to be refrigerated. But if the seal is good, you can store it in a cool, dry and dark place for up to a year. The reason you can skip the water bath is because it is such a high acid preparation. But I believe the USDA always recommends a water bath to be on the safe side. I’ve always been comfortable doing it this way, though…and I’m still here. The key is the high acid recipe and being meticulous about sterilizing your tools and jars.

  • I love to combination of spicy and sweet! This sounds like it would be perfect for bread and a soft cheese like goat or melted on a grilled cheese. I might even make a sauce with it to drizzle over fried chicken. Can’t wait to try it out.

    The Dinner Belle for Kimberlybelle.com

  • I’m truly impressed with the idea of using “HABANEROS” – so hot they really command respect; hence the ‘caps’.

    Your jars appear to be filled with summer sunshine!

    Did you double up, making 12 jars? I ask because the photo depicting the peppers looks closer to a cup.

  • Kelly

    I’m glad you asked. I made 6 (8 ounce) jars. All of the jelly info I’ve ever read say don’t double recipes that work…as thought that somehow changes the essential mojo. I really don’t know. But I never double this recipe. Habaneros do command respect. That is a good way to put it.

  • Hey! Just finished making this recipe. The jars are to be turned over in about 8 minutes. I loved it! I had a good time making it and so far from what we have tasted, the boyfriend and I think it is delicious. We used a full cup of habaneros and are thrilled with the outcome so far.

    Thanks for sharing!
    Ashley

  • I’m going in! I’ll let you know how it comes out!
    Can you tell me about how many habaneros to buy to make 1/2 cup?

    Thank you!

  • Kelly

    I think 7 or 8 made a half a cup for me. But, buy 10 to be on the safe side. Some are very thin and small. Some are a bit meatier. With 10 you should be able to get there either way. Good Luck! Let me know how it turns out.

  • I’m growing my own habaneros this year, along with 5 other varieties of hot peppers. I love hot pepper jellies. I was introduced to them at a gift shop that sold sets of 3, mild green, medium yellow, and hot red. That way party-goers could decide how hot they could handle. And it made a lovely presentation. I’m looking forward to making my own! Thanks for the great recipe.

  • Liv

    Fantastic. Rosemary never occurred to me as a nice compliment to this jelly. I make habanero, and it is indeed fantastic heated in the microwave with a little bit of water, and then brushed over a pork tenderloin. The extra tablespoon of water makes this mixture a wonderful solution if you’re like me and have been sipping your cocktail instead of minding the grill—way to un-overdo the pork, Liv! :-) I’d think this would be great with rack chops of lamb.

  • Carla

    I made apricot/habanero jelly two years ago and again this year. It’s fantastic but I did have to learn the hard way about not touching your eyes after handling these peppers. They are ridiculously hot! Thank you so much for the great photos and recipe. I’ll have to try it like this as we love our jelly and cream cheese on crackers.

  • Love the look of this recipe and plan to try it very soon. I too have been making hot pepper jams. Any type of jam recipe that you already have can be jazzed up by adding hot peppers to it. I have used lemon drop habanero peppers in citrus marmalade, wild brazil ( or some call them bird peppers) in mango jam with guava and papaya. Just use your imagination and go to town. I do agree also about the hors d’ouvres – I very often put out some goat cheese on a pretty plate and top it with the hot pepper jam – to die for!

  • Hi Kelly! Just checking in. I made the jelly yesterday. Ended up using 8 habaneros and it is purfect!!! Love it! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. It’ll be something I’ll make over and over from now on. Just gotta eat cheese with it, cuz it’s pretty hot!

    PS. It’s beautiful too!

    Thanks!

  • did I read right,just 1(one) appleI put jalapenos in all my jams~jelly takes the sweetness away

  • Kelly

    Yep…just one apple. Funny you should comment right at this moment. I am eating a biscuit with smoked ham and the habanero jelly and it is so so so good.

  • Nancy Lindquist

    Kelly: Can this recipe be doubled? I made this twice and everyone loves it. We put it on everything. Thanks for a great recipe!

  • Kelly

    Nancy, I very much want to say yes. But I cannot. I have never tried to double this because I have been give the very good advice previously not to double. The logic is that it alters the cooking time and can impact the way the pectin behaves. You, therefore, could end up with a really large batch of syrup instead of set up jelly. So, the answer is maybe you can…but I sure wouldn’t want you to risk all of that effort. One person recently suggested that you could do two batches at once separately, but not a double batch in one pot. It sure would be easier to just double it, but I wouldn’t risk it.

  • Louisa

    Good morning, Im new to the web site and have been looking for a jelly that I can serve with Brie cheese. Can anyone tell me if I can use porto in this recipe. If I could what qauntity should I be using. Can’t wait to try this. The pictures are great and the instructions easy to follow. Thank you for sharing.

  • Kelly

    Hi Louisa, I think this would be delicious with brie. I know this will not inspire confidence, but I do not know what porto is. I think there is a variety of wine called porto, but I’m not sure. So get back to me again and let me know what porto is and I’ll give you my best answer. And, thanks for your kind words about my little website.

  • Al

    Thanks for the tips, Kelly. I’m new to making jelly but an avid cook and food lover. I have been growing habenero and other pepers this year in my garden so I was eager to find uses for these spicy beasts. I appreciate how this jelly recipe uses less of the apple cider vinegar than some of the other recipes I’ve seen. Last night I attempted to make a habenero/pear jelly using a box of pectin. I did not have much foam, and the jelly hasn’t set… although I know it can take up to a week for this to happen. I’m going to try the liquid form this time. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the taste of the jelly. The recipe I used called for 2 cups of apple cider vinegar; the stuff came out tasting like tang city… something I want to stay away from. I’m going to try your recipe with a few modifications of my own. I’m going to go with the habeneros, apple, and ratios for sugar/vinegar/water, but I’m also going to add in some fresh ginger, and sub out rosemary for mint, along with the zest of an orange. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

  • Kelly

    Oh man, the ginger sounds like a fabulous idea. I can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you. The first few times I made this recipe I used a lot more vinegar and I didn’t care for it either. So this recipe is the culmination of several attempts to scale it back as far as practicable. It can be totally overwhelming when there is much more than this. I guess it all depends on what a person likes, though. But, I’m with you on that count. Most of the times that it has taken more than a few hours for this recipe to set up it has been because I used pectin that was past, or pretty close to, the expiration date. Now, I am vigilant about label checking for the date. No need to waste all of that effort (and good peppers) on questionable pectin. Good luck!

  • Randi

    Can I omit the rosemary? Would it have an impact on the jelly,or just be habanero jelly without rosemary? I keep forgetting to buy some fresh, and I don’t think using dried would be the same.

  • Kelly

    No problem, Randi. It shouldn’t make any difference whatsoever, other than that little savory hint of flavor. Leave it out and move on down the road. It will just be habanero jelly without rosemary.

  • Al

    I made the recipe with the inclusion of ginger. It was good, but a little strong, I think I used around 1-2 tablespoons of fresh ginger. A teaspoon or 2 would be perfect.

    I’m going to make another batch tonight. Kelly, what are your thoughts on using fresh lemon juice instead of vinegar? The flavor and heat profiles are great, but it’s that vinegar odor, it’s just not my cup of tea! Maybe a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and the remainder of the half cup acid with lemon juice? They PH levels are similar… maybe I just need to experiment and test the results!

  • Kelly

    I love the idea of the ginger. Thank you for letting us know the amount. I’m trying to think through the lemon juice substitution. Gosh…I’m just stumped. I’m not sure. The funny thing is, I was just eating some of the jelly on crackers a few minutes ago. I also remember whittling down the vinegar little by little as I developed the recipe. I completely understand being overwhelmed by the aroma and flavor. I’ve gotten it right to where it is perfect for me, but that doesn’t help you much. Is is possible that there are some vinegars that are less forceful than others? I’d love to hear how the lemon juice experiment turns out, but I’ve never used it in a jelly (because this is just about the only jelly I make) so I don’t feel comfortable guessing at the result. Please let me know how it works if you give it a shot.

  • Jeff

    I just made a batch and you describe the recipe perfectly, even down to the skimming off the foam part. I used dried rosemary and its seems just fine. Thanks for sharing a recipe with something scary in it, HABANEROS. I’m off to make a batch of Jalapeno jelly now.

  • Thanks for the great recipe! The stuff is delicious, like habanero candy:) This is my first foray into the realm of pepper jellies and after I made this I made some jalapeno jelly – also good but not as good as the habanero! I am off to the store to get the pectin to make another batch. BTW I used low sugar type powdered pectin as the liquid variety is not available locally. It worked fine, in fact it may be a bit too firm…

  • Kelly

    I’m so glad you like it. I’m also glad to hear the other kind of pectin works. Good information to have. I really appreciate you coming back and reporting.

  • Anne

    I just finished jarring up a batch of this as my very first foray into canning. It tastes awesome from what I could tell from tasting the spoon :) My batch set up really, really fast – it was already jelly-like when I went to turn the jars right side up after 20 minutes. I was able to just barely get the jelly to go back to the bottom of the jar after shaking it down. My pectin must have been exceptionally fresh :)

  • Kelly

    I’m so glad it worked for you. The pectin thing is tricky. I’ve had batches take hours and have had some sneak up on me like yours did. I’m glad you were paying attention. Having jelly stuck at the top of jars is maddening. I hope you enjoy it.

  • Hollie

    I made this jelly and my husband ate almost a whole jar in one evening. I think next time I might add a few more habanero’s as mine is not too spicy at all. I think when I skimmed off the foam I took a lot of pepper pieces with it. I wish I knew a trick for skimming without taking the bits with it… The jelly is very delicious and I will be making it again! Thank you for the great recipe!

  • Tim

    I can answer the double batch question that a few have asked. I grew habaneros in my garden this year, and wanted to make them into jelly. I thought your recipe sounded the best of the ones I found, especially since my garden also has fresh rosemary–bonus!

    Anyway, as a novice jelly maker I didn’t know you shouldn’t double jelly recipes, but I had well over a cup of habaneros. So I doubled it. And it came out PERFECT. I just made another batch tonight to give as Christmas gifts.

    Thanks for recipe! Everyone loves it!

  • Kelly

    Tim…I’m so glad to hear that you had luck with the double batch. Fantastic. I spent the weekend doing some canning with a friend and hope to do some more jellies and jams soon…I might even take the plunge and buy a steam canner. We can all be novices together.

  • Hi,
    I couldn’t find liquid pectin anywhere so I bought the powdered kind, but I don’t know what measurement to use for it! Help!
    Thanks :)

  • Kelly

    My understanding is that they are not interchangeable necessarily, and that you typically add them at different times in the process. If you are in the middle of making is and do not want to find liquid, I found this tip on Food52, a reliable cooking website. It was in a comment.

    “I found this at homesteadingtoday.com:
    How To Convert Powdered Pectin To Liquid Pectin
    When you cannot find liquid pectin it is useful to know how to turn the powdered form into liquid. Mix 1 package powdered pectin in 1/2 cup water and boil for 1 minute. Pour into a measuring cup and add enough water to make 1 cup. Use as you would liquid pectin.”

    My recipe uses about 1/2 cup of liquid pectin…however, the amount of powdered pectin in a packet is about half of what my recipe calls for if you use the standard conversion of 2 Tablespoons liquid equals 4 teaspoons powdered. What to do? The answer is that I don’t know, because I’ve only used liquid pectin in this recipe. I might try to do 1-1/2 packets of powder in 3/4 cup of water as advised above to try not to upset the balance too much. I really don’t know how sensitive the recipe is to change, because I developed it using liquid. If you try the powder, I’d sure like to hear how your jelly turns out. I think it would work, but I don’t want to waste your effort and your ingredients. I did find one other website that does a 1 to 1 ratio on the packets so it would be worth a try. Or, you could read the instructions with the pectin and add it at the stage of cooking that they advise (probably with the fruit way before I add the liquid). I wish I had a box of it in front of me so I could help more.

    Merry Christmas! I hope this recipe crisis isn’t getting you down. There is nothing as aggravating as not having what you need in the middle of a big project. For what it is worth, the general opinion of jelly makers seems to be that the powder works better anyway. I will try the powder the next time I do the recipe and get a good conversion for the recipe. Thank you for asking b/c it is really something I would like to know, myself.

  • Tony

    Any thoughts on halving the recipe? I don’t need 48 ounces of product, but 24 would be great. Also, I just want to refrigerate in glass containers rather than can. Acceptable?

    Thanks

  • Kelly

    Hi Tony,

    My thought on halving is that it seems like it should work, but I simply do not know. I always have folks wanting to take any extras off my hands, so I never considered making a small batch. Jelly is temperamental when you deviate from recipes and it might work great and it might not set up at all (in which case you have an excellent glaze for pork tenderloin). If you try it, would you please let us know if you have success.

    On the canning, this is minimal processing and it buys you good shelf life. As long as you have fresh lids, it practically self-processes. If you choose to just use refrigeration, your shelf life will be dramatically lower. And, I don’t know enough to give you a time range. But, I’m sure it would still set up the same and work. Given how simple this method is though, I’d encourage you to try it just for safety sake.

    (this is where you can see the lawyer in me coming out…I rarely say “go for it” when there is any potential for illness or injury involved…sorry about that).

    Thanks for joining in the conversation, Tony. I hope you will come back and let us know what you do and how it works.

  • Tony

    Kelly,

    Great recipe. I actually did a 2/3 recipe to use just one packet. Turned out perfect. I did refrigerate but next time will can them, just don’t have the material on hand. Reading from other sources indicated just to use the product with 3-4 weeks if refrigerating jellies. Thank you for sharing this!

  • Glena

    Loved the jelly, however it never set up. Taste great. Any suggestions? Have you had this happen prior? any insight would be helpful, am going to give it another try, Thanks

  • Kelly

    Oh, Glena, how I hate to hear that. I hope you haven’t thrown it out. I have had batches take 2 days to set up. Also, did you check the date on your pectin. That is my most frequent culprit. Now I won’t even use the stuff if it is even close to the expiration date. If you eliminate that as a possible problem, maybe we can think of what else might have happened. I’m happy to trouble shoot. Let’s check the pectin first. So sorry. Save it for a glaze for sure.

  • Shirin

    Tony/Kelly -

    Yes, you can go to glass in refrigerator (more on that below).

    First, thank you Kelly. A little background: My godbrother had a wondeful garden, and I use hot pappers as an analgesic for chronic illness. So recently he showed up with a bag of habaneros, and I don’t know what to do with them all, but I remember once loving jalapeno jelly, so I thoguht I’d see if someone makes habanero jelly. So thank you for starting this, and thanx also to everyone who suggested variations like ginger and other fruits. I love to bake and to cook and to develop my own recipes (like blueberry roasts and really simple bread and kuchen doughs). I even once accidentally shook out what I thoguht was paprika all over a brisket and found out that cinnamon is wonderful on beef!

    Back to the jelly: what makes most things go bad in the fridge is the introduciton of contaminents. In other words, NEVER use anything other than a clean knife or fork or spoon in refreigerated goods and they last much longer. I’ve had salsas and jellies last for many months without going bad – as long as they are kept clean.

    I plan to try your recipe as soon as I can find pectin. Question: why buy it at all? There is pectin in many fruits, and you can boil apples to make it. Does the one you use simply reduce that time, or is there anotehr reason to buy pectin? [I have never made jelly, but generally don't buy what I can make, so I am sorry if this is a stupid question.]

    Thank you again, Kelly, for starting this (and thanx Tony for reduced recipe confirmation)!
    - Shirin

  • Kelly

    Hi Shirin,

    You are certainly correct that jams and jellies can be made without pectin, however it must be a fruit that naturally contains high levels of pectin and requires much longer cooking, as I understand it. This one apple batch probably wouldn’t have enough pectin to get us there. I have not tried. This is supposed to be a “quick jelly” and the pectin allows it to set up nicely (usually) without the worry.

    I look forward to doing some canning this spring and trying some no pectin jellies, but I don’t think this is the one. I’d be happy to hear anyone else opine on this though, because I’m not jelly expert. Let us know what you do Shirin. I look forward to hearing your results.

  • Melody

    I made this tonight and it DOES taste delicious, although I thought 5 cups of sugar seemed a bit excessive with the small amount of other ingredients. I put in 3 and it ended up being very sweet with that alone. I also only got four jars out of this recipe rather than six. I don’t see anyone else mentioning that. I’m unsure what I could of done wrong because I’m pretty positive that I followed the directions to a T. I also had problems getting it to gel and ended up unsealing all of them and cooking it down further. Maybe my pectin wasn’t fresh enough,who knows. I did also add garlic which was a tasty addition.

  • Kelly

    Oh, Melody, I’m so sorry you had a bad result. But omitting 40% of the sugar in the recipe is a fundamental alteration which would not only drastically change the yield, but also the nature of the jelly. Jelly is just one of those tricky things that way. If you want a less sweet version you would also have to alter the amounts of fruit, vinegar and pectin, and it would be a completely different animal.

  • Martha

    Sounds like a wonderful recipe. I just canned some Hot and Sweet Habanero Confetti Jelly. It’s fabulous.

    I love canning but sometimes I lag a few years in doing so. This is my first time making jelly recipes. My question to you would by why is it necessary to turn the jars upside down? Mine have always sealed when sitting upright and have always heard to be very cautious about applying any pressure on the lids because it would cause premature sealing. Since I am new at jelly canning, could you enlighten about the sealing process by inverting it?

    Any information you can provide is greatly appreciated.

  • Kelly

    Martha, great question! My first part of the answer is to say that I am not jelly pro. I’m not a big canning pro, for that matter. This method is one that has been used for ages in leiu of the water canning method. The jelly forms a vacuum when you turn the jar back over. I’ve not heard about the pressure issue. But, I know for certain that the water canning method is presumed to be a superior method, especially if you are storing for long periods of time. As the months pass by I’m less and less intimidated by water canning and I need to just apply it to this recipe. But many folks, and even many of the canning companies still suggest the inversion method and I’m comfortable with it. I wish I had a better answer for you than that. I always like a more scientific answer but I think this is just one of those traditions in jelly making that is still in use to avoid the trouble (not such a trouble actually) of water canning.

    That being said, the reason that I really like the inverting for this recipe is that it re-distributes the rosemary a little bit before it gets jelled into place. That makes it worth doing all on its own.

    Thanks for dropping by!

  • [...] the heat and distinctive flavour go perfectly in Mexican style food. I used a simple recipe from The Meaning of Pie which includes half a cup of hananeros, one apple and a ton of sugar. All the articles I read on [...]

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