Nope, I haven’t been abducted by aliens. I have been down with the mother of all colds which has now moved into my sinuses. I always say, go big or go home, but I didn’t necessarily mean in all areas…
Anyway, the contractors are starting today and I have a few minutes of free time, so I wanted to share the magical recipe I stumbled upon last night. This weekend, thanks to my incredibly generous neighbor, Ms. Darlene, the boys and I picked about 4 gallons of blackberries. Now I love a good blackberry jelly, but 16 jars should tide me over for quite a while, so I was left with deciding what to do with the remaining berries. I love a good sorbet, but as sick as I’ve been, that seemed like a lot of work (it’s not), so I decided to use the jalapenos I just harvested and jazz things up a little. My boys have already killed two jars of this stuff because it is so yummy!
If you are new to canning, it can all seem a little daunting, but it really is easy and very addictive. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
The first thing you’ll want to do is soak your berries in salted water. This will coax any critters out and you can rinse everything away before cooking. Rinse in a large colander and pick out any shmutz you don’t want in your food; grass, leaves, dried berries, etc.
I am not a huge fan of seeds in my spreads, so I always make juice first, milling out the seeds. There was just enough pepper to give you a hint of the flavor, but I may use another 1 or 2 next time. Here we go…
Blackberry Juice
Ingredients
- 4 cups blackberries
- 3-4 cups water, to almost cover the berries
Directions
- Mash the berries in a pot with the water and cook for about 20 minutes over medium high heat, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and cool, then strain through a food mill, sieve or cheese cloth to remove seeds.
Blackberry Pepper Jelly
Ingredients
- 1 (1.75 oz) package powdered pectin
- 1/2 cup + 3 & 1/2 cups white sugar
- 4 cups blackberry juice
- 3 small jalapeno peppers, minced
- 1/2 tsp butter, if desired, to minimize foam
- 6 half pint canning jars, lids and rings
Directions
- Boil enough water in a large canning pot to cover jars with one inch of water and submerge jars, lids and rings to sterilize.
- In a large sauce pan, whisk the pectin and 1/2 cup sugar with the blackberry juice until well combined then add the butter and jalapeno and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop when stirred) for 1 minute.
- Add the remaining sugar and return to a rolling boil for an additional minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, continuing to stir while removing jars, lids and rings from the canning pot. Scoop away any foam (foam adds air to your jelly which can promote bacteria growth).
- Ladle jelly into jars leaving 1/4 inch head space and top with lids and rings.
- Boil five minutes in a hot water bath to seal.
- Serve over cream cheese on crackers or enjoy by itself. So good!
Suburban Homestead Nerd 