Red Pepper Jelly

Is there anything quite as fantastic as red pepper jelly? James and I found peppers in chinatown on sale for 79 cents a pound, so clearly...

Makes about nine 250mL jars

• 2 1/4 lbs red peppers
• 1.5 cups cider vinegar
• 0.5 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tsp butter
• one pack (57 gr) Benardin Pectin
• 7.5 cups sugar

Weigh out your peppers, and clean out the seeds and white membrane. Chop them finely, or do what I do and chuck them in the food processor. I don't puree them, just make sure they're chopped up really fine. I pulsed the food processor until it all looked good.

Put your red peppers, cider vinegar, lemon juice, chili flakes, butter and pectin into a large pot. At this point, I measured out the sugar. Bring your red pepper mix up to a boil over high heat, and add your sugar. Bring back to the boil, and stir continuously for 4 min. At that point, remove from heat and allow to stand for 5 min, stirring every now and then to redistribute the peppers.

Can using your preferred method. I'm a bit old school in this. I sterilize my jars in the oven at the lowest setting, then put the jelly in them and lid them while they're still hot. I don't bother with a hot water bath. I know many people advocate this, and by all means if you're happier with a hot water bath please do it. My family never has, and I'm just sticking with what I'm familiar with.

This recipe results in a jam that's a bit runny, which I prefer to pour over cream cheese. If you want it to be more firm, add more pectin or increase the boiling time.

(the butter just helps the jelly to not foam. If you leave out the butter, you'll have to skim the foam off the jelly before you bottle)