Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

 A friend had bushel baskets full of peppers that they had picked before a freeze and offered some to me.  I was excited because I have been wanting to try to make Jalapeno Pepper Jelly for a very long time.

 

I used this recipe from allrecipes.com:  Hot Pepper Jelly 

I didn't measure each type of pepper exactly, but made sure that I had 4 cups of peppers total and that worked fine.  I just used what I had.

  

I learned a couple of lessons:

• The recipe is perfect.  A lot of the reviews suggested doubling the pectin.  Don't do it.  If you bring the jelly up to a rolling boil (which is a boil that can't be stirred down) it will gel.  We panicked and added more pectin because it didn't seem thick enough.  It will set up more with time.  My jelly is now too gelled.  (Does that even make sense????)
• Many cooking experts tell you to wear gloves when cutting hot peppers.  I didn't do it.  Very bad idea. Please wear gloves.  OUCHIE! 
• If you don't wear gloves, be of good cheer.  Your hands will eventually quite burning after HOURS of pain. 
• This is a fantastic way to eat your vegetables, but the scale is telling me that it does need to be eaten in moderation.  Dumb scale. 

We used FlipSiders crackers.  The ones with pretzel on one side and a buttery cracker on the other. And we had cream cheese, because I ♥ cream cheese☺

Is it snack time yet?