Raspberry Jalapeno Jam

First I picked my jalapenos and raspberries from my garden. 

Of course, can buy them if you didn't grow them :-)

 

Then I rinsed them in cold water.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups raspberries
• 2 large jalapenos with seeds, chopped (less heat if no seeds)
• 6-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 packet Certo (liquid pectin)
• 7-8 1/2 pint Ball canning jars (sterilized)

Get out your big water canning pot. Fill with enough water that will cover the jars 1-2 inches. Start that boiling because that takes time.

Now on to the jam. I do things a little differently. I like to make my jam seedless. I put the chopped jalapenos with seeds and raspberries in a 6-quart pot on the stove and cook them down a bit, making them soft and extracting some juice as well. Cook for maybe 5-10 minutes on medium low heat. Pour the raspberry/jalapeno mixture into a blender. Blend it on high for a couple of minutes. You may need to do it in 2 batches. While blending, wash out the pot. When finished blending, place a fine mesh strainer (like the one above holding the washed raspberries) over a big bowl. Pour the juice blend into the strainer. Take a spoon and stir the juice. The juice goes through the strainer and the seeds stay. And I'll say, there is a big pile of seeds! Raspberries have a LOT of seeds. I throw the seeds away. You do what you want with them. Anyway, pour the juice from the bowl into a measuring cup. Actually, I'm lucky enough to have a BIG measuring cup so I use that as my bowl. You must have 4 cups of liquid. If you need to, add some water. You can get away with adding 1/2 cup of water. If that still falls short, you'll need some more fruit! Now pour that 4 cups of raspberry/jalapeno juice into your clean pot.

Pour 6-1/2 cups of sugar into the juice mixture. Stir until sugar dissolves. Cook on medium heat until there's a rolling boil (stirring all the time).

Have your Certo packet ready, open and standing in a cup because things can go fast! When the juice is at a rolling boil, pour the liquid Certo into the juice and stir for 1 minute. Then take it off the heat.

Time to ladle the jam into your jars. Fill to 1/4" from the top of the jar. Wipe the rims clean, and place the sterilized, heated lid on top. Take a ring and twist to finger tight on the jar.

Hopefully by now your water canner is doing a good boil itself. Using the jar lifter, carefully place your jars into the boiling water. Make sure the water is 1-2 inches over the top of the jars. If not, add water. If you do, make sure the water starts boiling again. Place the lid on the canner and heat in the boiling water for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, take out your jars carefully with the jar lifter. Don't shake or tilt. Let the jars sit for 24 hours. I love the sound of the "ping" when a jar seals. If a jar doesn't seal within an hour, refrigerate it. I know, a jar can sometimes take a couple of hours to seal, but since that doesn't usually happen to me, I would rather err on the side of caution and be safe with my canned food.

Enjoy!