Limoncello & Lemon Jelly

We began gardening with the intention to share what we grew. And we did until I couldn’t keep up with the physical demands. There were still a few things, like Peppers, that didn’t require a lot of attention or intervention. Giving stuff away intersected with Cranberry sauce that had become Cranberry Sauce with Attitude.

Don’t recall how Peppers were added to the Cranberry Sauce recipe of the SigO. We liked it and now it’s just one of a bunch of things to which we add Peppers. That’s why it was easy to use a fruit, Lemons, to make a Jelly and add slices of . . . tuh dah . . . Lemon Drop Peppers. Or . . . SigO is making Limoncello an’ that involves removing peel from Lemons and steeping the resulting mass of Zest in alcohol, usually Vodka or Grain.

OK, uh, but . . . what about all those denuded Lemons?

We’ve made several varieties of Jams so it seemed like why not Lemons?

The Lemons were Meyer, probably Improved Meyers. You can look it up (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyer_lemon). We found a suitable recipe for Lemon Jelly somewhere online and decided to begin using all that potential Lemon Juice.

Needed 2 Cups Juice and it required only 5 Lemons to make more than 2 Cupsful. Impressive. Included Pulp that could be easily cut off the well-squeezed Lemons.

Recipe suggested 4 Cups Sugar. We usually prefer Jellies and Jams to be more fruity than sweet, so it became 3 Cups which went well with the 3 sliced Lemon Drop Peppers that’d also been added to the recipe.

Pepper heat has become a common part of our diets. The Pepper Sensation has become desirable in Greens and Beans and Macaroni and Cheese and Pasta Sauces and Jellies and Jams. It’s been a years-long process.

Lemon Juice has very little natural Pectin while the Skin and Pith have it in abundance. That meant having to use a lot of Pectin and persistent stirring. Six Tablespoonsful worked well.

Four Cups in the skillet became 3 Cups in Jars. Lemony, Tart and Hot.