gardengrl,
I know it would change the recipe a little - think jam rather than jelly - but what would you think about adding some chopped cranberries to the cranberry jalapeno jelly. Cranberries are high in pectin. It might help the set and add a little extra zing. I added some to a cranberry jalapeno jelly that started with cranberry juice concentrate. I liked having them in there. And it needed some extra tartness.
Melly

Melly, about home many cranberries? I have a couple bags in the freezer and I'd be willing to give that a shot. Do they need to be chopped or could you use them whole since they cook down pretty quickly?

Certo says it is from lime peels. I don't know where the pectin is from in Ball.
Certo Pectin is sourced in Mexico where it is extracted from lime peels which are high in pectin.

Ball products :
Liquid Pectin (IN4500)Water, fruit pectin,lactic acid, citric acid, potassium citrate, polyglycerol ester and sodium benzoate. Contains soy.
Ingredients: Freezer Jam Pectin(IN5130)Dextrose,pectin,citric acid, sodium citrate, potassium sorbate.

Fruit Pectin (IN5101) Dextrose, pectin, citric acid.

No Sugar Pectin (IN5120) Dextrose, pectin, locust bean gum, xanthan gum.

MCP:
DESCRIPTION
Modified citrus pectin (MCP) is a form of pectin that has been altered so that it can be more easily absorbed by the digestive tract. Pectin is a carbohydrate found in most plants, and is particularly plentiful in fruits such as apples, grapefruits, and plums.

Sure Jell:
Ingredients: Dextrose, Fumaric Acid (assists gel), Fruit Pectin.

Pomona's:
Pomona's Universal Pectin is extracted from the peel and pulp of lemon, lime and grapefruit after the juice and oil have been pressed out.
The pectin is extracted using hot, acidified water and then precipitated out of solution with alcohol. Some amide groups are then introduced into the pectin molecule during the process of de-esterification (a process by which the pectin is changed from high-methoxyl to low-methoxyl). High-methoxyl pectin requires a sugar concentration above 55% to gel whereas low-methoxyl pectin gels in the presence of calcium ions.
This calcium sensitive, amidated, low-methoxyl pectin is packaged under the name Pomona's Universal Pectin. Each l oz. box includes thorough instructions and easy to follow recipes. Although low-methoxyl (LM) pectin has been known to the food industry for some time, Pomona's Universal Brand finally put it on the retail shelves.

Could these pectins be old or out of date? The reason for liquid pectin is that its predissolved and can easily be added to a boiling batch of jelly without concern for clumping. The powdered needs to be sprinkled in very slowly and mixed very well. Even for that, acid can affect the jell point and with citrus fruits, its about a month before the product starts to set up. A while back, I had bought several liquid and powdered products, mostly the Certo liquid, and Sure Jel powdered. Because that were nearly two years out of date, I added twice the recommended amounts and the products they were added to jelled very well. The Pomona pectin is nearly foolproof and will set up no matter what else happens with the jelly as to acid, sugar, liquid, and whatever can make a pectin fail. When I mix the Pomona I pour some warm liquid into a blender, add the Pomona and blend a minute. the result is similar looking to the Certo liquid pectin. I can easily pour this into the boiling liquid, and then add the final ingredient, the calcium water. Never had a failure yet with Pomona and I never follow any recipe or use as much sugar as most recipes suggest using. Needless to say, without a recipe, and just tossing in this and that, along with Splenda, added acid blend, and whatever I prefer to give it texture, like dried fruits, I still get a jelled product in the end.

Annie, I'm so glad you liked the "Maybe Orange Marmalade!" That was another Certo experiment...sigh...I'm beginning to have a nice collection of syrups, glazes, and sauces!

Melly, I do have a bag of frozen cranberries (somewhere in there)and I also felt the cran-raspberry jalapeno jelly needed "something." Maybe if I feel ambitious this weekend, I'll reprocess again. I've got 4 lbs of fresh cherries calling my name too. Annie, could you please post your Cherry Obsession recipe?

I'll have to check the Certo boxes I have in my pantry. I've been buying them from the grocery store, and not too many people home-preserve down here...so who knows how old they are. I can only find Certo and Sure-Jel liquid pectins; never heard of Pamona. What is calcium water? I've never heard of that for canning either. (???)

Gardengrl, I've only made one batch of true Cherry Obsession, that was a "recreation" of a jelly that Carol (dishesdone) on the Cooking Forum had gotten somewhere and couldn't get any more of. I made three different recipes before I got it right, the way she remembered it, but it was a delicious experiment. Here's the recipe I finally used.

Cherry Obsession

Makes 5 half pints

3 cups prepared juice (about 3-1/2 lb. fully ripe sour cherries and 1/2 cup water)

1/2 cup vinegar

1 box SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin

1/2 tsp. butter or margarine

4 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl

STEM and pit cherries. Finely chop or grind fruit. Place in saucepan; add water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 min., stirring occasionally. Place three layers of damp cheesecloth or jelly bag in large bowl. Pour prepared fruit into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed; hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. Press gently. Measure exactly 3 cups juice into 6- or 8-qt. saucepot along with vinegar. (If needed, add up to 1/2 cup water to juice for exact measure.) Cut jalapenos in half and remove seeds. Place into blender with a bit of the juice and blend until smooth, add to juice and vinegar mixture.

STIR in pectin. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

LADLE immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Waterbath 10 minutes.

Annie

Thanks Annie! Quick question...how many jalapenos do I use? (it's not in the ingredients).

Whoo-hoo! I've got enough cherries for both the Cherry Obsession and some Cherry Almond Jam.

I always buy fresh pectin each canning season, so that's not it. I have a feeling it's the liquid to pectin ratio. The times I made regular hot pepper jelly with just vinegar there was never a problem with setting. Only when I started using a recipe that called for additional amounts of liquid (fruit juice) did the problem surface. It's a shame too, because the fruit juice helps cut the vinegar taste.

Guess you haven't been reading the other pectin posts here. Pomona pectin doesn't need sugar to gel. Instead, the maker packs a small packet of calcium in the pectin box. This calcium powder is mixed with water and added as the final ingredient in jellies. It dosn't have any taste, but because the pectin is a no sugar type, it uses this calcium to gel instead. The following link is for the Pomona product, and its usually available from many organic food stores as well as many web sites.

Thats why I use I don't use something like vinegar in jellies, as its always noticable. I use an acid blend of malic, citric, and tarteric which are naturally occuring acids in may fruits.

Here is a link that might be useful: POMONA PECTIN WEB SITE

Ksrogers, I have been following the thread. If you read my other posts you'll notice that I visited the Pomona site and found a pepper jelly recipe that uses vinegar and less sugar. Ooh, the pucker potential.

I'd be happy to take a look at a recipe for hot pepper jelly that doesn't need vinegar. Care to share?

Sorry, Gardengrl, that should be 2-5 jalapenos, depending on how hot you want it. I used habaneros instead, because that's what I had. I used two and it was plenty hot enough, believe me!

In fact, Ashley read the label that said "cherry" and plopped a big ole' spoonful onto her peanut butter sandwich. I heard her in the kitchen holler "oh sh*t, oh sh*t" and then the refrigerator door opened. When I got there she was drinking milk straight from the jug. When I finished laughing, I lectured her for cursing. (grin)

Annie

Annie, that's hilarious!!! Yummmmm...peanut butter and jalapeno sandwiches! (LOL) Reminds me of a time in my twenties when I had a roomate. She was always snitching my food out of the refrigerator until one day when she took a big swig of something she thought was grapfruit juice. It wasn't grapefruit juice; it was my liquid bread starter. I laughed my butt off at that one!

I'm thinking of "doctoring" your recipe into a jam instead of a jelly. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I like the jalapeno jelly with peanut butter on a sandwich ! Mine is wimpy, though, not that hot.
You need the vinegar in a pepper jelly to preserve it. The peppers are low acid vegetables. That is why it is needed.
I agree, can't imagine less sugar with the vinegar.
The bottled juices don't contain as much natural pectin as fresh berries/fruit. It is more difficult to get a gel.
I boil mine 2 min. Seemed to help. I would be tempted to add a little more pectin or cut back slightly on the juice to see if that helps.
Since I am now diabetic, I won't be making those regular sugar jellies for myself. Just a few select kinds for my husband and maybe some for my grandbaby. Ok, you KNOW I will spoil my grandbaby !

This is the recipe that I doctored from the original. I chopped the jalapenos. Since I used pomona's, I didn't have any problem with it setting. I have also used a teaspoon of pomona's added to my grandmother's pear honey recipe because I don't like it quite so runny. Worked fine. I just mixed it with about a fourth of a cup of sugar and mixed it in at the end. If you don't want to alter the recipe you could try that.

Cranberry Jalapeno Jelly

1 cup water
1 12oz can cranberry juice concentrate
1 3/4 cups vinegar
5 cups sugar (I think you could use less)
1 C jalapeno peppers
1/2 C red bell pepper
1/4 C red onion
1 1/2 C chopped cranberries
5 teaspoons Pomona's pectin (I probably could have used 4 teaspoons each pectin and water)
5 teaspoons calcium water
1/2 teaspoon butter (for foaming)

Add calcium water to mixture. Bring to a boil. Add pectin to 1 cup sugar. Dissovle in mixture. Add additional sugar. Return to boil. Remove from heat. Skim foam. Put in jars and BWB for 10 minutes.

Natal,

Gardengirl asked what Pomona pectin was and the necessary calcium water. Because vinegar is an acid and does go well with peppers to bring out more flavor, thats the reason they use it in some pepper jellies. Usinga high acidic fruit juice like cranberry or added acid other than vinegar can also be used. Citrus juices like lime and lemon are also useful, as well as pomagranate juice. Just recently, I bought a quart of 100% cranberry juice unsweetened. Bottled by Knudson Farms. Took a swig and WOW, you talk about pucker power!! Needless to say, I could dilute it 10 times with water and sugar, and get a few gallons of a cranberry juice 'cocktail' out of that little bottle. Sorry, I don't have any pepper jelly recipes, but if you start out with all the basic ingredients from a recipe, and substitute other flavors or acids, you can come up with some really unusual taste combinations.

Ken,
That made me think, how about substituting pomegranate juice for the cranberry juice cocktail? I made jelly from POMwonderful juice. It had quite a nice flavor.

Here, Wylers brand has new diet drink mixes (similar to Crystal Light), and one is a combo pomagranate cranberry drink. Needless to say its not the real thing, but does have a nice tartness to it. A friend was asked to make a chocolate cake with an unusual filling between each layer. Because her baking instructor said that she could not use apricot preserves as a filling, she asked me what else would give a tart taste. I told her to try quince. The cake got her an award, and she never told anyone else what that 'secret' filling was, until now. When I make seedless red raspberry jelly, I also add another berry juice of some kind.

This year I took the route of using freezer jam pectin and making all fresh strawberry jam instead of canning it. My own personal feeling is that fresh strawberries in particular taste so much better than when they are cooked. I made different versions of strawberry, strawberry-peach, and strawberry-peach-mango. It's taking up considerable freezer space, but I'll love in in February when the taste will remind me of picking berries in June!

That said, I look forward to trying something with Pomona's too. Sounds very tempting!

With the Pomona, you will not have to freeze it, which can save quite a lot of freezer space.

You're right. I use ascorbic acid crystals, not powder or crushed tablets because I make a lot of preserves and one of my sources specifies the crystal form.

As for the strength, the label indicates 1/8 tsp. = 500 mg and then adds: "May be used to prevent discoloraiton of fruits and vegetables during canning."

Carol

Hello all,

I made two batches of plum jam yesterday. One was cooked and processed; the other was frozen. The recipe I followed called specifically for liquid Certo, which I have not tried before. Both batches have not properly set. Can I mix up some Pomona and add it in? How much should I add to one batch? (5 c. fruit, 7 c. sugar, 2 pkg. Certo, 2 T. lemon)

The pack of Pomona can be split between the two batches of jams. Add the calcium water last. Just puree the Pomona powder with some of the jam before pouring it into the mixture. Just bring to a boil and re-can. Avoild too much boiling as it can now scorch easily. To be sure, you may want to give that jam a few weeks, as it may take a bit longer to gel.

ksrogers' point is well-taken. A lot of jams won't set within 24 hours. Since the jars are already processed and sealed, there's no loss in waiting the recommended time before deciding to add additional pectin.

Carol

Gee: It is great to find others who jam and have the same problems as I,
I have been in Ireland now about Six months and when the fruit season started I planned and had a hard time getting pectin, no dry pectin here, So used the liquid, Not one batch set and many exploded::
I have been jamming now for some fourty years and this is the first time I have had a problem like this,
Been searching for pectin online and found Pomona, I am waiting for that delivery, And looking forward to getting the jam right once again.
So pleased to find many here use it and know how to fix a weepy jam, or( syrup)::

Any one willing to share some recipes I need new and exiciting idea's

However fruit or juice of the kind in U.S is not available to me here and I find I need new ways to cook any thing.

Great reading your posts, I belive it is about 6am your time, so I will miss any one online.
Thanks

Oh
For those having a hard time with liquid,In the past I have added my dry pectin to very warm water let it disolve not much water now, and it has worked very well for me,

Welcome to the Harvest Forum, gw:myst. I seldom have problems with dry pectin, but often run into trouble with the liquid stuff. I only use Pomona's in Dad's stuff, he's diabetic and I try to cut the sugar. I think it has an odd, chalky flavor but few other people seem to notice it.

I've swung the other way entirely, I tend to make jam and jelly with no pectin at all. Dad complains because he wants jelly the consistency of Jello, I like mine a little softer. I can cut the sugar down quite a bit if I make the longer cooked jams and preserves without pectin, so that's a plus too.

Annie

gw:myst-7
Do you get the silver spoon brand of sugar there? It's funny, I can't find liquid pectin here. Most of what I find is jam sugar, which is sugar and pectin combined. Although they do sell little packets of pectin also.

Here is a link that might be useful: Silver Spoon Jam Sugar

Well, I suppose it's time to add another voice to the mix. I, too, have been having trouble with liquid pectin, so much so that I am not going to use it any more. And, for the first time, I am having some trouble with lid failure. I can't believe that those of us who have been canning for many years have suddenly forgotten everything we know about canning and are forgetting to do do some of the essentials. Call me paranoid, but I am wondering if the products that are returned to the factory are sometimes just relabeled and sent out again. Happens with other products.
Never heard of Silver Spoon Jam Sugar or jam sugar at all. Sounds like a good idea, but we just have plain sugar and either liquid or dry pectin. This is not a big canning area, in fact, I wonder if I am about the only one buying canning items.

I hear so many people saying their liquid pectin will not gel. I use powdered pectin and shy away from the recipes using the liquid.
I ordered a half pound of Pomona's yesterday. I love the fresher, stronger fruit flavor with Pomona's. I used some plum juice, a cup of frozen apple juice concentrate, and some Splenda. I could eat it with a spoon it tastes so good to me. I think I am used to the fake sugar now.
I think in Canada they have that jam sugar, too, but maybe it was the gal from England that uses it. I have heard of it, but I don't know of any place in the US that has it.

Certo is the liquid pectin brand here. It used to be in little glass bottles years ago, but is now in foil pouches. When I used it, I removed all the pectin from the pouch and placed it in a bowl where it was easier to stir into a boiling jam. Now that I use Pomona, I also run that through my blender to liquify it prior to pouring into a boiling jam. It helps to reduce the problem of clumps setting up. I believe Silver Spoon is only at the other side of the Atlantic. Also, if you are able, give the 'cyclamates' a try as a sugar substitute. Here, they were banned, but have been in use in Europe and Canada for many years now, without any reactions or cancer scares.

Hello myst-7, welcome to the Forum.

Your jam exploded? Did it ferment?

If I were in the U.K. I think I'd look at recipes using their jam sugar or buy one of the traditional preserving books for jams, jellies and marmalades that don't require commercial pectin. The Europeans do make wonderful preserves.

I'm looking right now at Hilaire Walden's "Perfect Preserves" and thinking about her recipe for Honey-Spiced Apple Jelly. Another old one but with fine recipes is "Harrods Book of Jams, Jellies and Chutneys." I see that amazon.co.uk offers " Gourmet Preserves Chez Madelaine" by Madelaine Bullwinkel. She's American but many of her recipes don't require commercial pectin. I've made her raspberry preserves, her currant preserves and her spiced blueberry. They're all just wonderful.

Delia Smith's website has quite a number of chutneys, marmalades, etc. Also, in addition to the Silver Spoon site Melly mentioned, Whitworths has an archive with some recipes using their jam sugar.

Again, welcome. We hope you enjoy the Forum.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Whitworths Sugar Recipes

I can't believe Carol didn't mention it, but one of my favorite books is Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber. Carol has it also. Ms. Ferber is French but they have an English translation. I'm sure they have it on amazon.co.uk. She doesn't use pectin in most of her recipes and they have turned out nicely. The ones that use pectin use a green apple jelly that she makes. I would advise getting a candy thermometer and calibrating it. I have found checking the set much easier when I am looking at the temperature. I'm still dreaming of roadtripping to her store in Alsace, and buying the latest edition of the book in French...

Here are some recipes from the JamMarkt Neede in the Netherlands - in english of course. The market is on the 16th, another road trip!

Here is a link that might be useful: jammarkt Neede recipes

I thought of mentioning it, Melly. The only reason I didn't is last time I checked AmazonUK they had to ship the book (English translation, I mean) from the U.S. so the ordering time was, I think, 6 weeks. But I'm glad you mentioned it because you're right. It is a wonderful book. I'm really hoping the revised edition coming out has lots of new recipes. (Give me an excuse to buy it . . . any excuse!)

The Neede site is also lots of fun. Viewers shouldn't be discouraged by the occasional dead link.

Carol

I am really curious, too, about the exploding jam !!!
Jelly thermometers are worthwhile investments, I agree.
I use one when making my fruit syrup so they don't turn into jam.

Great advice, Linda Lou. I went 1 degree over with a batch of raspberry syrup this year and got jelly.

Carol

Hi
Thanks for all the great advice:Jam Suger yes, but has not been available, the pectin here is Certo from the UK.
yes my jam went hard, fermented, First time ever:::
I will look at the Sites you all gave thanks, I just did a batch, dry pectin arrived, it's fine, lovely flavor, Apricot:: Will do tomorrow Fig and apple. I was a bit jumpy doing this batch since I lost so much,But this is a good one, Sigh:: dry pectin.!!
I am looking forward to making pepper jelly,getting the peppers will be interesting.
I made a lumber jack marmalade it was great.
Thanks so much Ladies

Myst,that is why we stress that jams and jellies need to be processed in the boiling water bath canner. Otherwise they can mold or ferment.
Many people from other countries don't understand why we say that they need to be processed. Now with so many people making low sugar or no sugar jams it is really important, since they mold so quickly.

I agree, so thats why I add extra acid to my jams just to make them a bit more safe, or at least last longer in the fridge due to the added acid. Jams get a full length time in my canner. Here, sugar is mostly a no no, so I have to make use of other sweetening options which can cause things to spoil quicker.

That is why I used 4 ounce jars for my sugar free jelly. I can eat it up before it molds.
I want to make peach next using Pomona's and Splenda. Have to wait on the Pomona's to arrive.

myst,
In case you haven't seen it, here's the thread with the french apricot preserves recipe. I made it once as preserves and the second time as jam. It is a little more involved, but requires not pectin.

Here is a link that might be useful: apricot preserves thread

Quite a while since your message has been posted, but anyway =)

I found your article because I, too, was searching for the difference of liquid and powder and a way to convert them.

I found many instructions to make your own homemade pectin (interesting for me because I have never seen liquid pectin here in stores at all) but also a proposition for converting it: 2/3 cup homemade pectin is same as 3-ounces of powdered gelatin

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.thecookinginn.com/pectin.html

Just re-read your interesting posts - as I have several containers of home-made pectin in my freezer.

Thanks to Readinglady's help, I reached this stage by boiling the peelings from my Persian limes that were harvested the previous few months. By squeezing the juice and saving the zest that I added to it - then froze in ice cube trays, I have the juice for many uses this summer.

After boiling, the peelings were squeezed through a heavy flour sack towel - until as much pectin (gooey stuff) could be extracted. I then froze it.

The ratio of 2/3 home made pectin = 3 oz. of powdered pectin, however, leaves me with questions:

As my home-made pectin is liquid, how will this affect the water content in the forthcoming (I hope) recipes?

When I made the lime jelly (delicious, tangy tasting - but thin), I also added some Sure-Gel and then cooked to the 220 stage (wasn't taking any chances of no set at all - LOL).

So that is the "learning curve stage" that I now find myself in.

Help anyone?

Bejay

I made hot pepper jelly using liquid Certo. The jelly was extremely hot before it jelled. (Yes, it did in fact reach a soft jell.) However, once it became jelly, it was no longer hot.
Does anyone know how to keep the heat in the jelly? I used 18 hot peppers. I usually use 2 in a large pot of beans & that is normally quite hot for my family. Does the sugar or the pectin somehow reduce the heat from the peppers?

Pectin can 'consume' the natural heat oils, and sugar can also reduce the heat. Suggest that you use less sugar and either a low/no sugar pectin. There may also be some here that have more success with making hot pepper jelly, that remains hot. Sometimes its also the kind of hot peppers used that affect the resulting heat.

What kind of peppers did you use? If you can get Habaneros, use them. I use 6-8 Habaneros, Congo Trinidads or Chocolate Habaneros and some people can't eat the jam. Jalapenos, Cayennes and some of the other less hot peppers may tend to lose too much eat during the processing.

I sell baked goods and preserves at my local farmers' market, and my bestseller is my special onion-garlic-hot pepper jelly. I can sell up to a case a week, so as you can imagine, I make a LOT of it! And yesterday, I also made the most delicious apricot pepper jelly for the first time. Both recipes call for liquid pectin, and as many have expressed, it's not always easy to get a good set. Over the years, with trial and error, I have figured out the secret. Certo tells you to boil the fruit, add the pectin, then bring it back to the boil "for exactly one minute." But one minute is just not enough to reach a good jelling stage on pepper jelly. After adding the pectin, I boil mine for about FIVE minutes, or until the bubbles look very thick as they boil and I start to meet a slight bit of resistance as I stir the jelly. Another thing to look for, I find, is that the jelly should start setting up a bit even before you get all of the jars filled, wiped down, and the lids put on. If it's completely liquid even after it starts to cool down, you might be in trouble.

However, if the occasional batch of pepper jelly doesn't set up, there is a pretty simple fix. Just open the jars, dump the jelly back into the pot and boil it hard again for 3-5 minutes before jarring it back up. You'll lose a jar in the process (due to evaporation), but it's better than remaking the jelly with extra vinegar and sugar, which yields a product that is way too cloyingly sweet to me and wastes an additional packet of pectin to boot.

Trust me...I do this all the time, and it works like a charm! Happy high canning season, everyone!

--Gina (lindseysluscious.blogspot.com)

Here is a link that might be useful: Lindsey's Luscious

Joybugaloo, Suggest you give the Pomona pectin a try in a small batch. If its even made with no sugar added (use something like Splenda), you could see even more sales from diabetics.

I kind of disagree with you all not finding liquid pectin favorable. My recipe of jalape�o pepper calls for it and it set beautifully. So maybe it is the recipes that you are using. I just made a batch and no problem. If you want to try my recipe be my guest.
Jalapeno Jelly,

1-1/4 cup chopped fresh jalapenos with seeds
1 cup chopped yellow or red bell pepper
1-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
6 cups sugar
1 package liquid Certo (4oz
1/2 teaspoon butter
Green or red food coloring, optional

Put Jalapenos, bell pepper and vinegar in blender and blend like a puree- good and frothy. Pour mixture into heavy pan with , stirring continually. Cook over medium heat until boiling stage. Turn off heat, add butter. add Certo and 5 drops of food coloring if desired; stir in and remove any foam. Pour in sterilized pint jars. It will make four pint jars.

Enjoy!

I kind of disagree with you all not finding liquid pectin favorable. My recipe of jalape�o pepper calls for it and it set beautifully. So maybe it is the recipes that you are using. I just made a batch and no problem. If you want to try my recipe be my guest.
Jalapeno Jelly,

1-1/4 cup chopped fresh jalapenos with seeds
1 cup chopped yellow or red bell pepper
1-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
6 cups sugar
1 package liquid Certo (4oz
1/2 teaspoon butter
Green or red food coloring, optional

Put Jalapenos, bell pepper and vinegar in blender and blend like a puree- good and frothy. Pour mixture into heavy pan with , stirring continually. Cook over medium heat until boiling stage. Turn off heat, add butter. add Certo and 5 drops of food coloring if desired; stir in and remove any foam. Pour in sterilized pint jars. It will make four pint jars.

Enjoy!

I have also been canning many years and experiencing lid failures more often than I would like to.

I even contacted the jar companies, bc I feel it has to do with the way they are packaging jars with the lids