I think y’all may have noticed on facebook and instagram (@prudentjaime) that I have become obsessed with jam and jelly making this summer. Do you know the diff between jam and jelly? Jelly is made with fruit juice, while jam is made with whole fruit. The more you know…
Today we are making Watermelon Jalapeño Jelly. I adore watermelon (who doesn’t?), and have had a great crop of jalapeños in my backyard farm this season. I thought, what if I put them together and made a jelly? I asked my friend Erin what she thought of this idea, and she wondered what one might eat watermelon jalapeño jelly with? I thought this was a decent question so I asked Jacinda. Her answer was “a spoon.” Ha.
So I went to Texas to visit her, my suitcase half filled with various jams and jellies, and we experimented. This turned out to be my very favorite of all the jams and jellies I made this year! With it’s fresh-summer-taste and spicy bite, it was perfect on meat! So make some watermelon jalapeño jelly and serve it with barbecued meats or on a sandwich. And of course you could always pour it over some cream cheese and eat with crackers. Or spoons.
I gave you the full play-by-play with step-by-step photography on my Blackberry Basil Jam recipe, so this time I’m going to share the Watermelon Jalapeno Jelly recipe after the jump…
Watermelon Jalapeño Jelly Ingredients
This recipe makes about 32-40 ounces of jelly, depending on the size of your watermelon.
1 medium seedless watermelon
3 jalapeños
5 tbls pectin (I used Ball Realfruit Classic Pectin)
1/4 tea butter
1/4 tea lemon juice
3.5 cups sugar
Watermelon Jalapeño Jelly Instructions
I used my Ball® FreshTECH Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker, which is awesome, but you can also use your stove.
First, cut your watermelon into chunks and blend in a blender. Run the blended watermelon over a strainer several times to remove any remaining seeds or big chunks, until you have a nice smooth juice.
Wearing gloves (always wear gloves when handling hot peppers, trust me and my eyeballs that I’ve rubbed and burned before), de-seed and mince your jalapeños.
Add the jalapeño bits to the watermelon juice.
Now start by sprinkling the pectin on the bottom of your jam and jelly maker (or follow the stove instructions on your particular brand of pectin).
Add the watermelon jalapeño mixture.
Add 1/4 teaspoon of butter (this helps to reduce foaming).
Add the 1/4 cup lemon juice.
If using the jam maker, turn it on and let it mix for four minutes until it beeps, then add the sugar. If not using the jam maker, follow the instructions on your pectin for when to add the sugar. This is usually right at the beginning.
Let the jam maker run (for 28 minutes) and it will do all your stirring for you. If you are using the stove you just have to stand and stir.
When your jelly is done, skim the foam off the top and preserve by either placing in the fridge, freezing, or canning. For instructions on how to can jam/jelly (it’s so easy) go to this post and follow the same steps (which are sterilize your jars and lids, pour jelly into jars, add lids and rings, then boil for ten minutes and let sit overnight).
Remember, the jelly won’t be “jelled” right off the stove/jam maker, it will need to set. Newbies to jam making sometimes get confused and think it will be perfectly done right off the stove, but it needs to cool first.
Enjoy!
