[CH] Origins of pepper jelly
Jim Weller (Jim.Weller@salata.com)
06 May 00 07:01:40 -0800
This question was posed elsewhere. Does anyone here have any ideas on
the subject?
"I am a news reporter and food writer with The Register-Guard in
Eugene, Oregon. I've been searching the Web for information on the
origin of pepper jelly. Early on, one person I contacted said she had
seen pepper jelly recipes in Native American cookbooks and she wondered
if that could be the origin. Today, I got a note from Southern Living
magazine quoting John Egerton's "Southern Food" cookbook. It said,
"Slowly over the past three or four decades, pepper jelly has gained
wide popularity in the South and a certain mystique beyond the region.
It's a sweet-hot concoction, often used as a topping for cream cheese
on crackers. It seems to have originated after World War II; the
earliest recipe we could find is in 'Charleston Receipts,' published in
1950."
The Web browser picked up a pepper jelly recipe on your Native American
recipe site. Can you help shed any light on where pepper jelly
originated?"
I personally think that jelly wasn't a common item until sugar became
cheap (when African slaves were brought to the West Indies) and that its
origins are European, especially British. There is a long history of
herb infused jellies there eg. mint jelly. So it was just a matter of
time before someone European in America made a pepper jelly. I suspect
that it is southern in origin but not Native American. This is all
speculation though; I have nothing to substantiate this.
Jim in Yellowknife