Pepper Jelly | Peach & Carolina Reaper
Roasted peach and cobbler spice up front. The reaper arrives a second later and stays.
01 The Firm Set
Roasted peaches and Carolina reaper, leaned hard toward peach cobbler with cinnamon and a heavy hand of vanilla bean paste. The fruit and the spice land first. The reaper shows up a couple of seconds later and does not leave.
The first batch set soft. I under-pectined it, the same three tablespoons I had used on the raspberry, but this had more than twice the fruit, so it lived as a spoonable sauce over ice cream, waffles, and yogurt, and as a glaze for pork and chicken. No complaints, but I wanted one that holds a slice.
The fruit and the spice land first. The reaper shows up a second later.
The firm-set version below bumps the pectin to six tablespoons. Pectin changes texture, not safety, so this is the same high-sugar, high-acid base with a confident gel.
02 The Build
roasted, blended skins and all
the set and the cobbler note
03 The Method
Roast the peaches. Heat the oven to 400°F. Arrange halved peaches cut-side up on parchment-lined sheet pans. Roast fifteen to twenty-five minutes, until softened and lightly browned at the edges with juices collecting on the pans. Cool slightly.
Blend the base. Transfer the roasted peaches, skins and all pan juices, to a blender with the minced reaper. Blend to a mostly smooth puree.
Build the jelly base. Pour the puree into a wide nonreactive pot. Add the apple cider vinegar, bottled lemon juice, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, and the cinnamon stick. Simmer eight to ten minutes, stirring often.
Add the pectin. Mix the six tablespoons of pectin with the half cup of reserved sugar, then whisk it into the hot peach base and bring back to a boil.
Add the sugars and set. Add the remaining white sugar and all the brown sugar. Stir until dissolved, then bring to a hard rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil hard one full minute, stirring constantly. Off the heat, skim the foam.
Finish with vanilla. Remove the cinnamon stick. Stir in the vanilla bean paste off the heat. Taste on a cooled spoon and adjust only if needed.
Jar and process. Ladle into hot jars at a quarter-inch headspace. De-bubble, wipe the rims, and apply lids and rings fingertip tight. Water-bath fifteen minutes, rest the jars in the canner five minutes, then remove. Cool undisturbed twelve to twenty-four hours and check the seals. Do not judge the set for a day or two, it firms as it rests.
Before shelf storage
High-sugar, high-acid jelly (fruit, apple cider vinegar, bottled lemon, pectin), water-bath processed. Expected within safe canning acidity at these ratios, but it was not pH-tested. Store sealed jars cool and dark, and refrigerate after opening.
Home guidelines, not a lab certification.