Will They or Won't They?

I love canning. Didn't particularly like it when I was growing up and could have helped my parents, but when a former co-worker started showing up with 5-gallon buckets of produce, I knew what to do!

I started naming whatever I was canning for whatever might be happening at the same time. Thus, my husband's favorite bread and butter pickles became "P.E. Pickles" because I was canning them on the day he got his letter informing his that he had passed his Professional Engineer's exam. I think I made "Prego Pickles", also, because I remember canning 48 pints of pickles in one day while pregnant with my son. Unfortunately, this charming habit means that I don't know what the original recipe was called and thus where to find it, so named canning accomplishments are rarely repeated.

Fruit is a favorite to can. Jams, jellies, and even fruit pie fillings are great to eat and to give to others. But my preserves attempts always have an undercurrent of tension running through the kitchen: "Will they or won't they set up?".

I think I've cleared the naming and setting obstacles with my Firecracker Jelly recipe. It was named for the 4th of July weekend when it was originally made and with a nod toward the heat is can generate. It seems to set up every time (yea for liquid Certo) and, even better, I know where the recipe is!

I fired up a batch last night. Here are the jalapenos giving their goodness for the cause:



After adding green peppers, vinegar, and sugar; they made a great, green, gloopy stew. I finished up with processing the batch and went straight to bed. So when I got up this morning with one question on my mind, I found my perfectly set up jellies waiting for me.



They did!