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prairie_love

Zesty Red Onion jelly - a keeper!

prairie_love
16 years ago

Today I made the Zesty Red Onion Jelly that Zabby posted on the carmelized onions thread (recipe below for reference). It was so delightful that I immediately made a second batch! This is really a keeper, I can imagine it on a bagel with cream cheese, mmmm. Mine did turn a light rose color - I suspect if I had used freshly harvested onions it would have been even prettier.

So, now I have two questions. The first is that it is obvious I am going to make this every year, and a single recipe is not enough (3 cups). I know that I can't just double everything, but I also know that Carol "worked out" a double recipe for Habanero Gold. So, how do I get going on doubling it?

Second, I put the first batch in one 8-oz jar and four 4-oz jars. The big one and two of the little ones are a beautiful clear translucent jel, while the other two are a cloudy, opaque jel. I tried to fiugre out why, and thought that maybe the cloudy are the ones I filled last and that it was starting to jel already. So with the second batch, I recruited DH to help me so that we could fill the jars (three 8-oz this time) very quickly before any jelling started. It seemed we were successful. However, after processing and cooling, all three of these second batch are the cloudy jel. So, what is the difference? How do I get the nice beautiful clear every time? (I hope you all understand what I mean, I could try taking a picture but am not so great with that either...)

The same was true with my Habanero Gold this year, most of the jel was cloudier than last year (although the batch of Carol's Confetti Jelly I made was nice and clear). It makes me very sad.

BTW, I am thinking that some lemon strips might be very nice in the HG, what do you all think?

Thanks,

Ann

ZESTY RED ONION JELLY

"A house specialty designed especially for an Ottawa newspaper. For jelly with a lovely pink hue, make the jelly in August when the red onions are fresh. Bob says that when he makes this jelly in January, it lacks the beautiful rose hue of the same recipe made with freshly picked produce."

1 cup diced red onion

2 tsp lemon zest

3/4 cup white vinegar

3 cups granulated sugar

1 pouch (85 ml [3 fl oz]) liquid pectin

Cut red onion into 1/8 inch slices; cut slices into 1/4 inch dice. Measure 1 cup into a large, deep stainless steel saucepan. With a sharp knife, cut a wide strip of paper-thin yellow peel from lemon; cut into thin strips and measure 2 tsp into saucepan. Stir in vinegar and sugar.

***Over high heat, bring mixture to a full, roiling boil. Stirring constantly, boil hard 1 minute. Remove from heat. Immediately stir in one pouch Liquid Pectin, mixing well.

Pour jelly into a hot jar, dividing solids equally among jars and filling each jar to within 1/4 inch of top rim (headspace). Wipe jar rims. Centre lids on jars & screw on bands. Process in BWB 10 minutes.

Cool for about 30 minutes, then, when lids are concave but jelly is still hot, carefully invert & twist jars to distribute solids throughout jelly. (**Do not let them remain upside down for long periods**) Repeat as needed during the cooling/setting time, until solids are nicely suspended.

Comments (5)

  • readinglady
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If the jelly sets very quickly, air bubbles can get trapped in the gel rather than rising to the surface, resulting in cloudiness.

    Other possibilities are filling jars too slowly and/or allowing the mixture to stand too long before being poured.

    You might try cooking the mixture for a briefer time after adding the liquid pectin because it sounds as if it's setting up very quickly. Also, as soon as the jelly is ready, put the edge of the pan as close as you can to the rim of the jar and pour in. If you hold the pan high and pour or lift a ladle in and out, that also increases the odds of adding air to the mixture.

    I don't see any reason why you can't use the method I described for this recipe, though I haven't made the red onion, so I'm speaking theoretically.

    The worst that might happen is it doesn't set, which is always possible with liquid pectin anyway. In which case you pour it over a block of cream cheese and let everyone think it's deliberate!

    As far as the lemon strips are concerned, you'd just have to try it. My guess is the lemon would compete with the other flavors, so maybe start with a limited amount and see how you like it?

    Let us know how it goes.

    Carol

  • zabby17
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ann, I'm glad you like it! We had some the other day on bagels and I decided it was a winner in our house, too. And it'll be a handy recipe for gifts, for folks (yes, there really are some) who just don't like (or can't handle) hot peppers. Very pretty.

    Surprisingly lemon-y, eh? I didn't really clue in (even as I was chopping lemon zest per the recipe) that "zesty" meant as in lemon zest. I think I labelled it "Lemony Red Onion Jelly" or "Red Onion Jelly with Lemon Zest" on the ones in my gift bags just so people would know what they were getting.

    Am afraid I don't know about the clouding. Mine all came out nice and clear (though some had better-distributed solids than others....), with just a hint of pink.

    Zabby

  • prairie_love
    Original Author
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Carol, I think you are right about the air bubbles! That's exactly what it looks like. OK, I usually use a ladle, so I will pour next time instead. This one actually doesn't get cooked after adding the pectin, just stir it in, then put in jars. Of course, the stirring introduces a lot of air. I'm thinking maybe I should add the pectin, stir, then place over very low heat for a few moments (not very long at all) to let the air rise, then pour. Regardless, the air is not something I've paid attention to and I'm certain you're right that is what I'm seeing.

    Too bad that I've now progressed to the point that simply making this stuff isn't good enough, now it has to be perfect, LOL!

    I don't see any reason why you can't use the method I described for this recipe

    In the thread I link below, you refer to another thread in which you describe developing the Big Batch HG, however that link is inactive :( Am I correct though that basically you doubled everything except the pectin? And use more apricots. So with this recipe I would also try doubling everything except the pectin and just see if it works. I bet it does. That may be an experiment this weekend.

    Zabby, even though you had warned us, I also was surprised at the lemonyness (?) but I really like it. You suggested that some people might want to cut back on the lemon, but I really like it the way it is. My solids actually got distributed quite well for a change - the only issue was when DH helped he wasn't experienced judging how much to put in each jar so the first one has lots more solids than the last one, lol. The pink color in mine is quite noticable. Maybe it's because they are home-grown onions so have not been sitting in storage somewhere for who knows how long. Next year I definitely want to try it with just-harvested onions. Maybe I will try putting a picture up this weekend. You can tell me if its similar to that in the book and maybe it will inspire others to try this recipe!

    Thanks!
    Ann

    Here is a link that might be useful: Big Batch thread

  • msafirstein
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Boy does this sound good!! I've been away from this forum far too long and missed too much!

    Michelle

  • zabby17
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ann, I like the lemoniness, too! And the nice thing is that even the jars with fewer solids in them have ALMOST as much flavour as those with more --- the flavour is well distributed into the jelly itself with the cooking. (I presume this is why the apricots soak for a while in the hab gold recipe.) So even in my jars that didn't distribute too well, when the solids are gone from the top the remaining jelly is still tasty.

    LOL about wanting it PERFECT! I know what you mean. ;-)

    Zabby

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