Hatch Chile Apricot Jelly

I've got that canning and preserving bug again. I will never understand what compels me to spend most of the day chopping and boiling fruits and veggies to get a couple jars of preserves. I think it is reading too much Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Or maybe it is the almost magic process that allows such perishable and seasonal goods such as fresh Hatch chiles to be shelf stable and able to be given away as gifts.

After all, I couldn't do just one Hatch chile recipe for the season!

I debated on how I wanted to preserve the chiles. I could pickle them, made a jelly with their juices, or make a simple jam with just the chiles. After some thought, I decided. My family and friends enjoyed the Habanero Gold preserves so much, I decided to make a Hatch Chile edition. This one will be milder without the habanero, but I made sure to get a couple hot Hatches to throw in the mix!

The very cute ball jar in the pictures are courtesy of an anonymous family member, who returned the baskets from my mother's day preserves at my mother's doorstep with a four pack of them.

Hatch Chile Apricot Jelly

1/3 cup dried apricots, sliced thin
3/4 cup white vinegar (5% acidity)
1/4 cup red onion, chopped finely
1/4 cup mild Hatch chiles, chopped finely
1/4 cup hot Hatch chiles, chopped finely
3 cups granulated sugar
1 3 ounce pouch of liquid pectin

In a non-reactive saucepan, soak the apricot slices in the vinegar overnight, or at least 4 hours. Add in the onion, peppers, and sugar to the saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Crank the heat up to high until the mixture reaches a full rolling boil that cannot be stirring down. Stir in pectin and continue to boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, skim foam, and pack into hot jars with 1/4" headspace. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Makes about 3 half pints.

To make it more colorful, you can always do 1/4 cup red or orange bell pepper (or even red jalapenos) instead of the mild Hatch chiles, but I snagged some random red Hatches that were in the grocery bin, so it added some color and allowed me to use just Hatch chiles.