I've had a bountiful hot pepper harvest this year and am trying to find a variety of ways to preserve them. Much of my harvest has been lacto-fermented by puree'ing and brining the peppers with 2% by weight salt, and a little extra brine to be sure they're submerged. They're now effectively pickled, but a bit saltier and not quite as acidic as conventionally pickled veggies.
I've made several batches of hot pepper jelly from fresh peppers, but now am wondering if I could also use the fermented puree. So far I've been unable find a recipe, and am unsure if the salt would make them incompatible with the pectin or process. The intent would be to can and pasteurize the jelly for maximum shelf life.
Assuming the salt is ok (and ignoring the question of flavor), I assume I'd also need to use a lesser amount of puree than fresh peppers due to the density and lack of air. The recipe I use calls for 4 cups of finely diced peppers, would ~3 cups or a bit less be approximately correct?
And finally, the recipe I use for fresh peppers adds 2 cups of 5% vinegar. The puree is acidic from the lacto fermentation, and I'm not sure if I'd need to scale back the vinegar. My assumption is that too much acid is preferable to too little for the sake of preventing bacterial growth, but again am unsure if it might affect the pectin or other aspects.
So... Can brined peppers be used in a jelly recipe by substituting them for fresh peppers?
