Pepper Jelly

Pepper jelly is a jelly prepared from any variety of pepper fruit belonging to genus Capsium and family Solanaceae and thus, this jelly is available in different varieties of flavors and tastes. Pepper jelly can come in sweet, hot, salty, spicy and savory flavors or in a combination of these. Some common peppers used in the pepper jelly recipe are jalapenos, habaneros and red bell peppers. Sometimes, a single pepper jelly is made by combining different kinds of peppers. This pepper fruit preserve has uniform consistency and color, which is generally reddish or greenish, depending on the pepper, food color and/or fruits used.

 

History of Pepper Jelly Recipe

The first pepper jelly to have been made is believed to be the jalapeno pepper jelly which was created by a chef residing in Lake Jackson area and the jelly was first sold commercially in 1978.

 

Pepper Jelly Recipe: Ingredients Used and Popular Methods of Preparation

The main component used in any pepper jelly recipe is pectin and sugar, along with additional flavors of the pepper. Apart from these, wine, vinegar and liqueur are some ingredients which may or may not be present in pepper jelly. In a typical pepper jelly preparation, the pepper fruits are chopped and then, finely minced in a food processor. After that, the minced pepper is combined with vinegar and sugar and brought to boil in a saucepan. The mixture is removed from heat and mixed with food color and pectin and finally, poured and stored inside sealed sterilized jars.

 

Serving and Eating Pepper Jellies 

Since the flavor of pepper jelly is quite intense, it is eaten in very small amounts unlike regular fruit jellies. Pepper jellies are commonly served along with hors d'oeuvres, spread on crackers with brie or any other cream cheese. Often, pepper jelly is used as a sandwich spread and may sometimes be melted and used as a condiment in meat entrees like jambalaya. The melted form or the jellied version itself can also be used a tangy dressing to salads, hamburgers and salad subs. The jelly also comes useful in making cheese dips and cocktails like sangrias and margaritas. Some even prefer serving this jelly as a topping for ice creams. The jelly can also be cooked into a sauce and served over noodles and rice or as a glaze over fried meats like beef, chicken and pork and fishes like salmon. Pepper jelly toppings are sometimes used for serving pancakes and waffles.

 

Pepper Jelly Recipe: Popular Variations

Quite often pepper jelly recipe uses fruit extracts of fruits other than pepper and thus, there come several variations in the jelly like pineapple pepper jelly, strawberry pepper jelly, sweet pepper jelly and green pepper jelly. Fruits like peaches, cherries, plums, prunes, oranges and apples are also often used in making pepper jelly.

 

Pepper Jelly: Nutrition Facts

The traditional pepper jelly can yield somewhere around 40 calories per serving which is mostly contributed by about 350 grams sodium, 73 grams potassium, 11 grams carbohydrates, 41 grams vitamin A and 113 grams vitamin C.