This jelly can be hot-hot-hot (or not)
Aug 18, 2011 Uncategorized
I have to admit that my first foray into making jelly from jalapeño peppers was an unmitigated disaster.
I have a bit of experience in making jams and jellies out of fresh fruits that are heavy on the natural sugars and the added sugar so that you easily end up with a thick, gooey base that morphs into a spreadable jam with a little pectin and some heat.
Working with peppers is a little different. It needs a little more pectin to thicken up the jalapeños that don’t have so much pulp and little of their own thickening sugars.
My first batch looked like a clear thick water with some tiny chunks of pepper floating at the top. I tried to add a bit of food coloring as per the recipe I had been given, but then I just had green thick water with tiny chunks of pepper floating at the top.
Oh well – if at first you don’t succeed…
So, I dumped the first batch and sterilized the jars and tried the whole thing again, making adjustments to the recipe. This time it was better.
I added the food coloring, though I generally don’t like to do that, just because it looked prettier for the picture. It makes no difference in the flavor so leave it out. You’ll have a sort of speckled clear jelly, but once you slather in on a hunk of bread with some cream cheese, the color doesn’t matter. The sweet-hot flavor will make you close your eyes to enjoy the taste.
Jalapeño Jelly
- 12 jalapeño peppers
- 1 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 4 1/4 cups of granulated sugar
- 4 ounces of liquid pectin
- 4 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped (the heat is in the seeds and membranes so if you want more heat, leave in some seeds and membranes. For a cooler jelly, take all of that out.)
•Put the 12 jalapeno peppers in the container of a food processor or blender. Process until finely chopped.
•Transfer the peppers to a large saucepan, and stir in the cider vinegar. Bring it to a boil, and let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
•Strain the mixture through at least 2 layers of cheesecloth, and discard pulp. You should have about a cup of liquid.
•Return the liquid to the saucepan, and stir in the salt and sugar until the whole of it is dissolved. Bring everything to a to a boil again over medium-high heat. When the mixture comes to a rolling boil, keep it going for one minute, then stir in the liquid pectin.
•Stir in the remaining peppers, and ladle into sterile jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. •Seal jars in a hot water bath.
Vegan
Tags: Added Sugar, Apple Cider Vinegar, Blender, Cream Cheese, Food Coloring, Food Processor, Foray, Fresh Fruits, Hunk, Jalapeno Peppers, Jams And Jellies, Liquid Pectin, Making Jams And Jellies, Morphs, Natural Sugars, Pinch Of Salt, Saucepan, Tiny Chunks, Unmitigated Disaster
I may never drink lemonade again…
May 15, 2011 Uncategorized
Let me start by saying I love lemonade. Lemonade made from fresh lemons picked from the tree.
It is one of the top two drinks of all time.
But, thanks to the by-product of making Crystalized Ginger (for future ginger snaps), I may never drink lemonade again.
We’re talking Ginger Ale.
Nothing against the stuff made in the factory, but most of the time I really don’t even taste the ginger. It’s good, but it is more like Ginger-ish Ale.
The stuff you can make at home is GINGER Ale.
Now, I love ginger. Steve does not. As a result, I love this drink and he does not. So, keep that in mind when you make this. If you are not a fan of this cousin of turmeric and cardamom, this is not for you. I’ll give you some really great lemonade recipes.
For those who drink the stronger stuff, I am guessing (though I haven’t tried it myself) this tastes great with vodka.
Ginger Ale
1 cup of peeled, thinly sliced ginger
3 cups of water
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of club soda
1 teaspoon of lime juice
- In a covered saucepan, bring the water to a boil.
- Add the ginger pieces and sugar. Cover.
- Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow it to sit for 20 minutes.
- Strain the mixture. Set the ginger aside and use to make crystalized ginger.
- Once the liquid has cooled, put it in the fridge.
- Once it’s cold, mix the gingered sugar water with two cups of cold club soda. Add the lime juice and stir. (Alternately, you could use lime flavored carbonated water.)
Tags: Boil, Cardamom, Club Soda, Cold Club, Cold Mix, Cousin, Flavored Carbonated Water, Fridge, Ginger, Ginger Ale, Ginger Pieces, Ginger Snaps, Lemonade Recipes, Lemons, Lime Juice, Saucepan, Sugar Water, Teaspoon, Turmeric, Vodka
Easy Big Easy Pickle
May 4, 2011 Uncategorized
My friends Kay and Lloyd are in New Orleans this week sashaying their way through the Big Easy in celebration of the New Orleans Jazz Fest.
Always on the lookout for new recipes, I asked if they had encountered any good vegetarian dishes while moving between venues.
Kay, who is not a vegetarian laughed.
“What I like the best so far,” she said, “are those crispy green beans in the Bloody Marys.”
I did a little research and it seems that a lot of places along that part of the Gulf Coast use pickled green beans, and sometimes picked okra as the swizzle sticks in their Bloody Marys. I figured I could give it a try. Even if I don’t use the beans to stir a drink, they might be good as salad crispies, sandwich crunchies or just as a crisp snack right out of the jar.
- I used the quick fridge method for this batch and they were amazingly good after only a couple of days in the brine, but I bet if I had let these babies cure for a couple of weeks they’d be to die for…there’s always another batch.
When they get back we’ll have to compare the homemade ones to the “real thing”.
Big Easy Pickled Green Beans
- 1/2 pound or so of fresh green beans (a little more or less depending how many it takes to fill your jar)
- 1/3 cup of distilled white vinegar
- 1/3 cup of water
- 2 teaspoons of coarse grain salt
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1/2 tablespoon of dried dill weed
- 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
In a large saucepan, stir together the vinegar, the water and the salt. Add the garlic and bring the whole lt to a rolling boil over high heat.
Put the dill and the pepper flakes at the bottom of the jar. Pack as many green beans as possible into the jar.
Pour the boiling brine into the jar, filling it to within 1/4 inch of the top.
Seal the jar and put it into the refrigerator for a few days before crunching into your treat.
Vegan.
Tags: Bloody Marys, Brine, Cloves Of Garlic, Coarse Grain, Crunchies, Dill Weed, Distilled White Vinegar, Gulf Coast, High Heat, New Orleans Jazz, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Pickle, Pickled Green Beans, Red Pepper Flakes, Rolling Boil, Salt 2, Saucepan, Swizzle Sticks, Teaspoons, Vegetarian Dishes
