In article <[email hidden]>,
blake murphy said:Melba's Jammin said:In article <[email hidden]>,
blake murphy said:there are lots of recipes for tabasco jelly out there. apparently it
can be done without the boiling water bath and all that. it is
expensive in the stores. i have a recipe i made maybe 20 years ago.
your pal,
blake
Current recommendations are to process the jars, Blake. I use
conservative canning practices as presented by the folks at the National
Center for Home Food Preservation at the U of GA
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp and my own U of MN extension services.
i would keep the jelly refrigerated even when unopened.
here's the recipe, from hank burchard, who usually wrote about fishing
and hunting and other outdoors stuff at *the washington post*:
...it's simple to make and is splendid on toast; on a cracker, or
better yet a bagel, with cream cheese; with game or other meats
(especially in place of *ugh* mint jelly with lamb); and in many
sauces. it makes the white meat of a roast turkey edible, and has
disturbing implications for the PB&J sandwich.
because the essence of tabasco sauce lies not in its fire but in its
fruity flavors and aroma, this recipe will fall flat if other pepper
sauces are substituted.
4 cups apple cider (or juice)
1 cup cranberry cocktail (for color)
2 to 4 ounces lime juice (the bottled stuff works fine)
7 cups sugar
1 package powdered fruit pectin
1 to 2 oz. of tabasco sauce according to taste (1 oz. is pretty hot; 2
oz is awful hot); use two oz. lime juice for each oz. of tabasco
yield: about 9 cups, which would be a lifetime supply except that just
about everyone will beg a jar to take home.
*
use 1-cup mason-type jelly jars with vacuum-seal lids. set the lids
to simmering in a saucepan. wash and scald the jars (or leave them in
the dishwasher).
use an eight-quart or larger pot, because when jelly boils, it foams
up with a vengeance. bring the apple cider, cranberry, lime juice and
pectin to a hard boil (can't be stirred down) and add the sugar.
watch closely and stir often as it works to a second hard boil. add
the tabasco as the second boil comes on; boil for one minute and
remove from stove.
put the pot in the sink as you line up jars on the counter, then skim
off the solidified foam that will have formed. pour the jelly into a
quart pyrex measuring cup and then into the jars, because if you try
to ladle it, or pour it from the pot, you'll make a mess and probably
burn the hell out of yourself. fill the jars to just below the rim
and put the lids on with kitchen tongs. add the screw caps and set
aside to jell.
store in a dark place. sunlight bleaches the lovely color from
tabasco, although that doesn't affect the taste. speaking of which,
while this jelly is delightful from the moment it sets it improves in
flavor for at least a year.
*
so it sounds like he wants you to be pretty careful with keeping
things close to sterile when you jar the stuff. i'd be interested in
your comments, though, especially a pointer to instructions to set up
a one-time boiling water bath if one were decide to be virtuous.
Could be worse. :-) I like the part about letting it stand while you
line up your jars, then removing the foam (sometimes referred to as the
cook's treat). Pay attention to the size of your cooking pot -- that's
5 cups of juice plus sugar -- it needs room to boil hard. I like that
he's got you transferring stuff from pan to pitcher for pouring -- I do
that with my jams -- I can pour jelly nicely from my cooking pot (a
6-quart stainless steel pressure pan) with spilling (98% of the time);
jam's got stuff in it and it'll splash or plop into the jar -- a canning
funnel is a must for jam and most everything else, IMNSHO.
Boiling water bath: Large pot, deep enough to hold your jars + an inch
of water above the jar + an inch or two for boiling room. I've several
kettles that will do the job. The one I am mostly using is a Revere
Ware (I think -- might be Farber) pot that's maybe 15" high. I can put
7 regular-mouth jars in it on one level. If I have more than that, I
put a rack on top of the jars before putting more jars in. Stacking
doesn't give me as much bubbling room as it should but I do it anyway
(the truth is out).
IF YOU COOK YOUR EMPTY JARS FOR 10 minutes, you need only process the
filled and closed jars of *jelly* for 5 minutes . *If you just wash
them and keep them hot, process for 10 minutes.* Poke around the NCHFP
site: www.uga.edu/nchfp for more information than you need to know.
You do need the right jars and lids; you do NOT need a $20 canner.
Personally, I believe there are only two *must haves*: a jar lifter
(special tongs for putting the filled jars into the water and for taking
them out) and a canning funnel.
For jelly, fill the jars 1/4 - 1/8" from the top. Wipe the rim with a
damp towel and put the hot (because it's been sitting in the hot water
that you cooked your jars in after you removed the jars) lid on the jar
and screw the ring on only fingertip tight. Air Force rules for
tightening a screw do NOT apply here.
Confused yet? It really isn't rocket science, but if you're going to
make that lifetime supply, you might as well do it right.
Actually, dear heart, if you get a package of pectin and follow the
directions on the leaflet within, you'll be good. I don't know if the
leaflets still tell you you can just invert the jars for x minutes
instead of processing. Process.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007
