Jelly
Pepper Jelly with Sugar or Honey
Pepper Jelly with Sugar or Honey is a low-sugar or low-honey cooked hot pepper jelly made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener.
Yield: 3 to 4 cups
Ingredients
1 cup seeded, finely chopped bell peppers
1/3 cup seeded, finely chopped jalapeno peppers (leave seeds in for more heat)
1 1/3 cups vinegar standardized to 5% acidity
2 teaspoons calcium water
1½ cups honey or 2 1/3 cups sugar, divided
1½ teaspoons Pomona’s pectin powder
Before You Begin
Prepare calcium water. To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well. Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
Share & Save
facebookpinterestinstagram
If You Like This Recipe Try
Directions
1) Wash jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and keep jars in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small sauce pan; cover and heat to a low boil. Turn off heat and keep lids in hot water until ready to use.
2) Wash, seed, and finely chop bell peppers. Then measure into sauce pan.
3) Wash, seed (if desired), and finely chop jalapeno peppers. Then measure and add to sauce pan.
4) Measure vinegar into sauce pan.
5) Bring peppers and vinegar to a boil and simmer covered for 5 minutes.
6) Turn off heat, add calcium water, and mix well.
7) Measure ½ cup of the sugar or ½ cup of the room temperature honey into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into the ½ cup of sweetener. Set aside.
8) Return pepper mixture to the heat and bring to a full boil. Add pectin-sweetener, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin.
9) Add remaining sugar or honey once pectin is dissolved. Stir well and return to a full boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
10) Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.
Options: It is fine to vary the ratio of finely chopped bell peppers and jalapeno peppers as long as you don’t exceed a total of 1 1/3 cups of finely chopped peppers.
It is fine to use peppers other than jalapenos for the hot peppers.
Use white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or wine vinegar, as long as it is standardized to 5% acidity.
[et_pb_signup mailchimp_list="JAM Notes|5fa02a8028" layout="top_bottom" first_name_field="off" last_name_field="off" success_message="Thank you! You can opt-out at any time by clicking the link in our email." title="Join the Pomona Community" button_text="Sign Up" description="Sign up for our JAM NOTES newsletter and receive new recipes, jamming info, and product updates!
" form_field_background_color="#ffffff" focus_background_color="#ffffff" focus_text_color="#0c71c3" admin_label="Email Optin" _builder_version="3.19.15" header_font="Cabin Condensed||||||||" header_text_align="center" header_text_color="#000000" header_font_size="32px" body_font="||||||||" body_text_color="rgba(0,0,0,0.68)" body_font_size="16px" result_message_font="Antic Slab||||||||" result_message_text_align="center" result_message_text_color="#0c71c3" result_message_font_size="18px" use_background_color="off" border_radii_fields="on|2px|2px|2px|2px" custom_button="on" button_text_color="#ffffff" button_bg_color="#0c71c3" button_border_width="0px" button_border_radius="2px" button_font="Antic Slab||||||||" button_icon="%%3%%" text_orientation="center" max_width="60%" module_alignment="center" custom_margin="180px|||" custom_padding="||"]
Aleysa
Can you do 1/4 or half pints with this recipe?
Shelby Collings
We would not recommend using that size jar, as it will need to be used up within 3 weeks once opened.
John
I’ve used Pomona Pectin for all kids of jams and it’s always nearly perfect.
This time I got zero jell and zero heat( 1/3 c jalapenos with seeds and followed all.instructions to a ‘T’.
Put it in the fridge and two days later,no jell.
Any ideas?
Shelby Collings
Hello John,
We have a wonderful troubleshooting page, HERE, that can help you determine why this batch was different. If you are unable to determine a cause/fix, please email us at info@pomonapectin.com.
Sharon
This is not a low sugar/honey recipe. Is the boiling water bath manditory? Previously, I have made a similar recipe with Certo Light and lower amounts of sugar and never had to boil it in the jars after filling. Always had great success.
Shelby Collings
This is a low sugar/honey recipe.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends water bath canning for safely preserving jams/jellies made with low sugar.
Certo Light contains acids and preservatives…Pomona’s Pectin does not.
Arvella
I would like to make pepper jellies in the Ball-Tech Jam & Jelly Maker, but the jellies are cooked for 20 minutes in the jelly maker, much longer than stated in your recipes. Is this a problem?
Shelby Collings
Yes, you can use Pomona’s to make jam in your electric jam maker or bread machine. You will need to follow a Pomona’s recipe and the basic directions for Cooked Jam – Low Sugar or Honey for it to work properly.
You need to mash & measure the fruit into a bowl. If our recipe is too big for your machine, then you can do a half recipe. Add the calcium water & lemon juice (if called for) and stir well. Then mix the pectin into the sugar (or other sweetener) and then add the pectin-sweetener mix into the bowl of fruit and stir well. Then put the bowl of jam mixture into the machine and turn it on.
Alexis Tull
I’m looking for a low sugar recipe for pepper jelly. This recipe seems to have a lot of sugar. Is this required?
Shelby Collings
Hello Alexis,
You are welcome to add less if you’d like!
Noreen E Griffiths
My red pepper jelly doesn’t seem to be jelling. Does this take longer than a couple of hours?
Shelby Collings
Sometime it can take up to 24 hours to reach a full jell!
Trina
Hi there! I wanted to use fresh peaches with the hot pepper jelly. Is this okay to do?
Shelby Collings
Hello Trina,
Thanks so much for reaching out! Our Peach Jalapeno Jelly. can be found, HERE on our website.
Happy jamming!
Nancy
My peppers seem to stay at the top everytime I make this… Am I doing something wrong?
Shelby Collings
Hello Nancy,
What you have is called “fruit float.” or “veggie float” in this case! When the jars of jam are very hot and there is no jell yet, the pulp, which is lighter than the juice, is able to float to the top of the jar. Strawberries are prone to fruit float although it doesn’t always happen. Other fruits can have fruit float also. You are not doing anything wrong. However, if you want to discourage fruit float from happening, you can mash/chop your fruit a little more and you can cook your fruit for a little while before you bring it up to the full boil. You could even add a little of your sweetener to cook with the fruit, still leaving enough sweetener to adequately disburse the pectin powder without going over the sweetener limit.
In the future, when you take the jars out of the water bath, leave them for about an hour to start cooling and seal. Then come back and check to make sure they are all sealed. If you see that you have fruit float, turn the jars upside down to force the pulp to redistribute through the jar. Come back in about 45 minutes and turn the jars right side up to once again force the pulp to redistribute through the jar. Check again in another 45 minutes and if you have a distinct dividing line, turn the jars upside down again. Turn the jars right side up again in about 30 minutes. You always want the jars to end up right side up. By keeping the pulp well distributed throughout the jars, there will not be a dividing line when the jell finally starts and locks everything into place.
Carol Mills
I want to make a cranberry pepper jelly using. cranberry juice. I have the peach pepper recipe but cranberry is not one of the juices that can be substituted but I can’t find any of the juices listed in pure form. Is there a recipe using cranberry juice?
Shelby Collings
Hello Carol,
Great questions! Cranberry should be just fine to use in this recipe as it is more acidic than peach. It sounds delicious! We would love to hear how it turns out 😊
Maggie
I made a batch with honey, hot banana peppers and red bell peppers and it is amazing!! Everyone in the house was oohing over the smell of it cooking and the floral, local honey I used really shines. Bonus, I really needed a use for a glut of banana peppers!
Could I add a tablespoon of fresh ginger to this, in place of a tablespoon of the peppers?
Shelby Collings
Hello Maggie,
Yum!! Adding ginger in place of the peppers should be just fine. 😊
Susan Mann
I want to make a muscadine pepper jelly, can I add fruit to this basic pepper jelly and if so do I need to change the amount of calcium water and pectin?
Thanks
Susan
Shelby Collings
Hello Susan,
We have never done a Muscadine Pepper Jelly before, but you should be able to simply substitute muscadine juice for the peach juice in this recipe, HERE.
Yvonne
Can I double the recipe?
Shelby Collings
Absolutely!
Janet
Hello! I would like to make sweet banana pepper freezer jelly. Would I follow the pepper jelly/sugar recipe? Thank you!
Shelby Collings
Hello Janet,
Yes, you sure would! Happy jamming 😊