Basil & Banana Pepper Jelly – Make this Recipe with Me

Banana Pepper & Basil Jelly is sweet and tangy. It tastes like spicy caramel with pieces of peppers, red onion, and a hint of basil. It’s perfect for a unique cheese and fruit tray for entertaining as a host gift or to eat with crackers at lunchtime. This jelly was the hit of the summer in my house. After three weeks, I had to recreate a second batch because we ate it all!

This is also a great way to preserve the fresh peppers and basil growing! 

The story about the recipe?

I love fall, gardening, cooking, and preserving herbs and food. I was looking for a recipe to use my hot peppers and my sweet banana peppers. Reading my Bernardin French preserving book published in 2006, I found the basil banana pepper jelly in a recipe card. The recipe was invented by a Canadian Chef named Bob Rouleau. 

You can choose almost any kind of pepper; try to do something with multiple colors. The original recipe uses a combination of hot and sweet peppers. You can also harvest the peppers in your garden or shop at your local market. Don’t be afraid to get strong-flavored peppers, like Hungarian, chili, or other peppers. We are aiming for lots of flavors. Sugar and vinegar will smooth everything.

Tell me what you think about it!

Once you make this easy jelly, you will want to reproduce it. It is so good with your charcuterie board or when it is heavenly paired with goat cheese on your cheese plate. You can also add it to sandwiches and grilled meat. It is so good! Bon appétit!

Autumn Recipes (from the Secrets of Happy & Me)

The best pumpkin spice latte

Ginger cookies for chilly days

Old-fashioned spiced apple cider recipe with maple syrup

Basil Banana Pepper Hot Jelly 

The recipe will make three mason jars of 250 ml or 8 oz jars.

1/2 of a cup thinly sliced and seeded sweet banana peppers (mild banana peppers or sweet bell peppers could work, too.)

1/4 of a cup seeded and thinly sliced hot peppers (preferably red peppers to make it pretty; you can also use hot banana peppers)

1/4 of a cup finely chopped red onion

Four large basil leaves cut into thin ribbons

1/4 of a teaspoon dried basil

3/4 of a cup of white vinegar 

3 cups granulated sugar

One pouch of liquid pectin 

Preparation

Wash three 8 oz jars and their lids in hot soapy water, dry them, and set aside.

Keep your canning lids at room temperature with the screw bands. 

Prepare the water bath canner, cover it, and bring water to a full rolling boil.

Add your three 8 oz jars to the boiling water canner until ready to use.

Instructions

In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine the hot and mild peppers, the red onion, and the fresh and dried basil. Stir in the white vinegar and the sugar. Over high heat, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. I leave it for 5 minutes and then take it off the heat. Add liquid pectin, squeezing all the contents from the pouch. Boil hard for 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and quickly skim off the foam, if necessary.

Then, quickly pour the jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims of each mason jar and seal them with a lid and ring.

Place the jars back into the water bath canner, making sure they are covered by at least an 1 inch of water. Place the lid on the water bath canner and bring the water up to a full rolling boil again. Process the jars for ten minutes. After ten minutes, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid. Let the water rest for about five minutes before removing the jars with a jar lifter. Place the jars on a doubled towel to rest for 24 hours.