Another great product....Occasionally I find fruits / veggies at the supermarket that need to be used up right away, so they are really cheap. If I have the time to deal with them (sometimes if the price is right, I stay up at night making the time), I always take advantage of the deal. I happened across a bunch of cheap - read free - yellow and red Hungarian wax peppers (mild/ medium heat) at Harvey Floral (in-laws business). The colors were so bright I knew that these would make a beautiful jelly.
The recipe I followed came directly from the package instruction sheet that comes inside a box of Pomona's Pectin. I ordered this in a cost saving two pound bulk amount four years ago and it still works great, shelf life is indefinite. According to the instructions and recipe sheet this can also be used as a fat free homemade salad dressing thickener. I tried it once several years ago and it worked... I now use xanthan gum for this because I do gluten free baking sometimes and usually have it on hand, but now back on topic.
When I first ordered this pectin I made some fresh grape jelly that began to form crystals... yeah, real crystals. I called the Jam-line (this is listed on their web page) and talked to the owner of this small business. She helped me find out why this was so and problem solved with me. I even heard her stirring up a batch of jam in the background! With so much abundance of fresh fruit and veggies around us, it is so easy to make your own NATURAL (I use stevia) low sugar or all fruit jellies/ jams. Plus, each box of pectin comes with full directions on making a wide variety of jam flavors using a variety of methods. For 25 Cents more I sent in to get another recipe page (this may cost a bit more now since postage have increased).
I give this product several money saving finger licks and no I don't receive any financial benefit for saying this. In support of small businesses, I highly recommend you try your hand at making some jelly using this natural pectin. The really cool thing about doing this is that you can let your creative energy flow by making your jam to suit your taste and dietary needs.
USES: I like to serve this jam on cornbread (like a dessert) when I make chili. It is also good on top of whole grain crackers schmeared with some soy cream cheese. I noticed that Vicki at the vegetarian family blog made some with habenero peppers awhile ago (woooo-wee... pretty hot for me) and offers other serving ideas.
More about PEARS.
I just got three new cookbooks (thanks to my older but shorter sis for the birthday present gift certificate!). One is Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker By Robin Robertson. She has a recipe in there for crock pot GINGERED PEAR BUTTER. It's not to heavy on the sugar nor the ginger. This pear butter is delish on toast/ pancakes/ waffles in the morning and rice cream in the evening! I made this with the last of the pears that were given to me ... they ripened to fast for me to do much else with.
