Ghost Pepper Jelly

If you've got a hot pepper lover in your group, you're going to love this small batch recipe for Ghost Pepper Jelly! My sister-in-law grows ghost peppers in her garden and gifted me with some of her overflow peppers, so I whipped up a batch of this jelly for my husband, who loves spicy foods. It was a winner.

This recipe follows water bath canning instructions. Printed water bath canning directions are usually included in each package of pectin, and you can also find the complete instructions online. If you have never used a water bath canning method to can jams or jellies before, you'll want to read these instructions before you start making your Ghost Pepper Jelly recipe.

Tips for Working with Ghost Peppers in the Kitchen

If you haven't handled ghost peppers in the kitchen before, keep in mind these must-follow rules when cooking with ghost peppers:

1. Wear protective gear (disposable gloves, face mask, and glasses or goggles).
2. After handling (even with gloves), wash your hands thoroughly. I use Dawn dishwashing detergent to ensure that any oils that may have made their way onto the skin are absorbed and washed away.
3. Label your final jelly clearly when finished and before gifting so that they don't inadvertently get mixed in the refrigerator with similar-looking (but less hot) jellies.

Ghost Pepper Jelly

1/2 pound ghost peppers, chopped (about 20-30 ghost peppers)

4 cups granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup lime juice

1 teaspoon salt

3 oz. liquid fruit pectin

8 drops red food coloring, if desired (if you don't use food coloring, your jelly will be yellow in color)

4 half pint (8 oz.) glass preserving jars with lids and bands

1 4 oz. glass preserving jar with lid and band

1. Finely chop the ghost peppers and add them to a large pot.
2. Add sugar, vinegar, lime juice, and salt.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Strain out the ghost peppers and return the mixture to the pot.
5. Return heat to high and bring liquid to a boil. Stir in pectin and boil for exactly one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
6. If using food coloring, add it now and stir.
7. Remove any foam with a spoon.
8. Ladle the hot liquid into sterilized jars and screw on the lids.
9. Follow water bath canning directions to complete the canning process. Process Ghost Pepper Jelly 10 minutes.
10. Recipe yields 4 half pint jelly jars plus 1, 4-oz. jar for taste-testing.

Notes:

Jam and jelly recipes are finicky, so these types of things can cause your recipe not to set:

• Doubling the recipe.

• Measuring less than the full amount of sugar listed in the recipe or using a sugar substitute. If you want to use less sugar, use a recipe specifically developed for low sugar.

Straining the ghost peppers out in step 4 makes it a jelly. If you leave the ghost peppers in, you'll be creating a ghost pepper jam.

Serve this spicy jelly:

• as an appetizer with cream cheese on crackers.
• as a glaze for chicken, steak, fish, or pork
• slathered on biscuits, peasant bread, or cornbread, fresh from the oven

Or if you make a few batches of this jelly and know quite a few people who appreciate spicy foods, you can always package these jars as gifts. Because of the Ghost Pepper name, they'd be perfect as party favors for a Halloween party, and the pretty red color also makes them a great Christmas gift.

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