Can you make and sell pepper jelly?

Updated October 2026

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A tested recipe: UGA Golden Pepper Jelly Why peppers make it different from fruit jam Selling it from home: state rules When the jelly doesn't set Pickling peppers instead References

You can make pepper jelly safely at home from a tested recipe, such as the University of Georgia's Golden Pepper Jelly, which uses 5 percent vinegar, a fixed amount of sugar and liquid pectin, and a boiling-water process. Selling it is harder than selling fruit jam. Peppers are a low-acid vegetable, so several states that welcome home-made jam exclude pepper or vegetable jellies by name, and a licensed product is best treated as an acidified food, with a scheduled process, unless a process authority rules otherwise in writing. This page gives the tested recipe exactly, explains why peppers change its legal status, lists state rules, and covers set problems.

A tested recipe: UGA Golden Pepper Jelly

This recipe is from the University of Georgia Department of Foods and Nutrition, May 2018 [1]. It is reproduced here as published. Make it exactly; the safety and the set both depend on the proportions.

Ingredients

5 cups chopped yellow bell peppers (about 4 peppers as purchased)
½ cup chopped serrano chili peppers (about 5 peppers as purchased)
1½ cups white distilled vinegar (5% acidity)
5 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin

Wash and rinse half-pint canning jars, then sterilize them or keep them hot until ready to fill, depending on the process you choose below. Prepare lids and rings according to the manufacturer's directions [1].

Method

Wash the peppers under running water and dry them. Remove stems and seeds, but do not remove the membrane from the hot peppers, which carries much of the heat [1].
Purée the peppers in a blender or food processor with enough of the vinegar to blend, then combine with the rest of the vinegar in an 8 to 10 quart saucepan. Heat to boiling and boil 10 minutes to extract flavor and color [1].
Remove from the heat and strain through a jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth into a bowl [1].
Measure 2¼ cups of the strained juice into the saucepan. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Return to a full rolling boil, add the pectin and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and skim off foam quickly [1].
Fill hot jars immediately, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe rims with a dampened paper towel, adjust lids and process in a boiling water or steam canner as in the table below [1].
Let jars cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check for vacuum seals [1].

Processing time in a boiling-water canner (hot half-pints)

Elevation	Standard process (pre-sterilized jars)	Optional 10-minute process
0 to 1,000 ft	5 minutes	10 minutes
1,000 to 6,000 ft	10 minutes	15 minutes
Above 6,000 ft	15 minutes	20 minutes

Source: UGA [1]; both rows are hot pack, half-pints. The publication notes that jars must be sterilized if processed for less than 10 minutes, and that the optional 10-minute process can also be used and may give a stronger vacuum, with no need to pre-sterilize the jars [1]. Refrigerate any jelly that was not processed or did not seal; unsealed jars can also be reprocessed if you replace the lids and use the same table [1]. UGA expects a mildly firm set and recommends half-pint jars [1].

What you may change, and what you may not

You may swap the hot pepper. UGA says other hot peppers can be substituted for the serranos, and suggests starting mild [1]. Keep the same ½ cup.
You may change the sweet pepper color. UGA notes that other colors of sweet pepper change the jelly's color [1].
Do not reduce the vinegar or the sugar. UGA says both are needed for the gel with added pectin and for a safe, shelf-stable product [1].
Do not add more pepper, onion, garlic or other low-acid ingredients, and do not swap the liquid pectin for another type. Those changes take the recipe outside what was tested. If you want to experiment, label the result untested and keep it in the refrigerator.

Wear plastic or rubber gloves when handling the hot peppers and keep your hands away from your face [1]; see handling hot peppers without getting burned. The general canning steps (jars, lids, the canner, altitude) are covered on canning hot sauce at home.

Why peppers make it different from fruit jam

Most fruit is naturally acidic. Peppers are not; sweet and hot peppers are low-acid vegetables. A pepper jelly is safe on the shelf because the vinegar brings the whole jar into the acid range and the sugar ties up water. That is the same principle as a pickle or an acidified hot sauce, and it is why regulators look at pepper jelly differently from strawberry jam.

The federal acidified food rule names peppers among the low-acid foods that become acidified foods when acid is added, and then lists exclusions [2]. The current text of 21 CFR 114.3(b) lists "jams, jellies, preserves" among the excluded foods, with no reference to the jam standards in Part 150 [2]. The University of Georgia's acidified foods manual describes that exclusion more narrowly, as covering standardized jams, jellies and preserves under 21 CFR Part 150 [3], which are made from the fruits listed in that part. Read the first way, a pepper jelly might be excluded; read the second way, a jelly made by adding vinegar to low-acid peppers is an acidified food. For sale, plan on the stricter reading: treat pepper jelly as an acidified food that needs a scheduled process unless a process authority classifies your formula otherwise in writing. Finding one is covered on finding a process authority, and the acidified food definition is explained on what an acidified food is.

Selling it from home: state rules

Many states that allow home-made jam write their rules around fruit. As each state's agency or statute, cited below, described its rules when checked in October 2026:

State	Pepper jelly under the home route
Colorado	Jams and jellies eligible, but jams or pepper jelly made with fresh or homemade dehydrated peppers are not [4]
New Mexico	Standard high-sugar fruit jams and jellies only; vegetable jams such as hot pepper jelly not allowed [5]
New York	Fruit jams and jellies from high-acid fruits; pepper, wine, vegetable and flower jellies prohibited [6]
Florida	Jams, jellies and preserves allowed; vegetable jellies prohibited [7]
Michigan	Fruit jams and jellies only; no vegetable or non-fruit jams [8]
South Carolina	Jams and jellies from acidic fruit, sugar and pectin; no low-acid ingredients [9]
California, Utah, Washington	Jams and jellies limited to those meeting 21 CFR Part 150 [10][11][12]; ask whether a pepper jelly qualifies
Texas	Broad home food law; acidified and pickled foods need a recipe from a listed tested source or an approved determination [13]

Colorado's wording suggests a product made with commercially dried peppers may be treated differently from one made with fresh peppers [4]; confirm with the state before relying on it. Rules for every state, and the agency to ask, are on selling hot sauce in your state. Where a state does allow it, expect to use a tested recipe like the one above, and to label the jar with the state's home food statement.

When the jelly doesn't set

What you see	What it usually means	What to do
Runny, or runny every time	Juice, sugar, vinegar or the boil differed from the recipe	Measure exactly 2¼ cups of strained juice, use the full sugar and vinegar, and boil hard for the full minute after adding pectin [1]
Stiff or rubbery	More juice or more boiling than the recipe calls for	Check the juice measure and time the boils as written [1]
Cloudy, or pepper bits floating	Particles or foam left in the jelly	Strain through a jelly bag or cheesecloth and skim foam before filling, as the recipe says [1]
Lid didn't seal	Rim, lid or headspace problem	Refrigerate, or reprocess with a new lid using the recipe's times [1]

If a batch won't set, don't add extra acid, pepper or other ingredients to rescue it. Ask your extension office for a tested remaking method, or keep it in the refrigerator and use it as a glaze.

Pickling peppers instead

If you want peppers on the shelf without the sugar and set problems, pickled peppers are the other tested home route, with their own recipes and state rules. They are covered on pickled peppers.

References

University of Georgia, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Department of Foods and Nutrition, *Golden Pepper Jelly*, May 2018 (hosted by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources). https://ucanr.edu/sites/NSJMFP/files/403476.pdf
eCFR, 21 CFR Part 114, Acidified Foods, up to date as of October 20, 2026. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-114
University of Georgia Extension, Mohan, *Step-by-Step Guidelines for Processing, Manufacturing, and Regulatory Approval of Acidified Foods in Georgia* (B 1455), November 2015. https://secure.caes.uga.edu/extension/publications/files/pdf/B%201455_1.PDF
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, *Cottage Foods Act*, undated (viewed October 2026). https://cdphe.colorado.gov/cottage-foods-act
New Mexico Environment Department, *Homemade Food Act FAQ*, August 16, 2021. https://www.env.nm.gov/foodprogram/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/06/Homemade-Food-Act-FAQ.pdf
New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, *Home Processing*, undated. https://agriculture.ny.gov/food-safety/home-processing
UF/IFAS Extension, *Q and A: Understanding Florida's Cottage Food Law* (FS425), September 12, 2021, modified July 2, 2026. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FS425
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, *What Can I Make?* (cottage food), undated (viewed 2026). https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/what-can-i-make
South Carolina Department of Agriculture, *Home-based Food Production Law guidance 2025*, July 2025. https://agriculture.sc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SCHome-basedFoodProductionLawBook2025_digital.pdf
California Department of Public Health, *Cottage Food Operations*, undated. https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CEH/DFDCS/Pages/FDBPrograms/FoodSafetyProgram/CottageFoodOperations.aspx
Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, *List of Permitted Cottage Food Products*, undated. https://ag.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Permitted-Cottage-Food-Products.pdf
Washington State Register, *WSR 16-06-014* (amendments to WAC 16-149), 2016. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Law/WSR/2016/06/16-06-014.htm
Texas Department of State Health Services, *Texas Cottage Food Production*, undated (2025 rules). https://www.dshs.texas.gov/retail-food-establishments/permits-retail-food-establishments/texas-cottage-food-production