Hot jamn!

Jalalujah! Jalapeno Jam WIP

1 large red bell pepper seeded and diced fine
12 large green jalapenos* tops removed and cut in half
1 small onion finely diced
2 large clove of garlic minced
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
3 cups of sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon butter
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons low sugar pectin

*You can either seed and demembrane all, some or none of the jalapenos. I advise taking a thin slice from the top of the pepper to get a rough idea of heat. Mine were pretty spicy so I deseeded half of them. You can also reserve the seeds and once everything is combined and cooked together for a bit if you feel it isn't as spicy as you want you can chop it fine and toss some in.

 Place 8 of the jalapenos and 1 cup of the vinegar in a blender or food processor and puree. Set aside for a minute or two. Do not open the top as the jalapeno pepper and vinegar fumes can really do a number on your eyes and lungs.

 Cut the remaining 4 jalapenos into fine dice.

 In a large shallow pot combine the red pepper, diced jalapeno. onion, garlic, salt, pepper and butter. Carefully pour the jalapeno pepper and vinegar mixture into the pan. Use the remaining half cup of vinegar to swish out any remaining jalapeno pulp from the blender and pour into the pan. Add three cups of sugar and stir to combine.

 Bring to a boil over high heat skimming off and discarding any foam that comes to the top. Once the mixture reaches the boil set a timer and boil (watching carefully) for 10 minutes. (This is the stage you could add more of the reserved jalapeno seeds if you felt it needed more heat.)

 In the meantime mix together the 2 tablespoons of sugar and the 3 tablespoon of low sugar pectin together in a small dish and set aside. It is important to use Low Sugar Pectin otherwise the jam will not fully set.)
Once the mixture has boiled for 10 minutes stir in the 1/4 cup of vinegar and the sugar/pectin mixture. Boil for 1-2 minutes more.

 At this point you can use your favorite canning method to preserve it. Or like me you can let it cool just slightly and divide it into small plastic containers. That way you can give it away and not feel wistful at the loss of of your semi expensive canning jars. As we all know almost no one ever returns those things no matter how much you promise to refill them with more home made jam.

 This will be better as the flavors meld so if you can wait a day or two good on you. If you can't, well I understand.