Hot is good, but not to the point of not tasting the food. That's just my opinion, men on the other hand tend to go for the extreme, they want to out-do each other and see which one can stand the hottest of hot, grrrr!

I like the spicey hot, the taste of the food is there, and you get the heat of the pepper which makes my choice of pepper, the jalapeno.  I cook with them often, stuffing with cream cheese blended with chives and grated sharp cheddar then grilled, adding to chili,pickling, there is so much you can do with jalapeno's. My all time favorite is Jalapeno jelly, it can be served over a block of cream cheese and served with crackers, or served with fried fish or chicken. Please don't be afraid to try it, the combination of flavor is sweet, hot,and tangy and the jelly is easy to make and can, even for those of you with no canning experience. Jalapeno peppers are an excellent choice for this jelly because of their Scovill Heat unit rating which is 5,000 this is a low rating when compared to a cayenne which is rated 60,000, or better yet a Habanero with a rating of 325,000 to 570,000. If you are interested in learning more about peppers I have included several links that I found interesting.

This recipe will make 7 pint jelly jars of pepper jelly

8 ounces of chopped Jalapeno's (please wear plastic gloves while handling) chop fine

2 Green Bell Peppers chopped fine

they can be chopped in your food processor

1 1/2 Cups of distilled white vinegar

6 1/2 Cups of sugar

1 box of pectin prepared as directed on box or 1 bottle of liquid pectin

a few drops of red or green food coloring

First you will wash your jelly jars , lids and bands start a pot of water large enough to hold them, I use a large turkey roasting pan. After washing the jars I put them in the boiling water while I start the jelly. They must boil for 10 minutes.

Put all ingredients except the pectin and food coloring in a medium sized pot and begin cooking and stirring you will do this until all sugar has dissolved about 10 to 20 minutes, next add the pectin and cook another 5 minutes. If there is a foam on top, skim it off with a large spoon. Add drops of food coloring.

Take your bands, and jars out of the water with a pair of tongues setting them on a dish towel, using a ladle fill the jars up to 1/4 from top, after each jar is filled  run a butter knife down the inside of jar all the way around  wipe the rim of the jar with a clean damp cloth to remove any jelly,put the lid and band on and tighten.

When you have filled and tightened all jars, invert them for 5 minutes (turn upside down) after 5 minutes set them up-riight and you will begin hearing a ping sound which means the jars have sealed. If you do not hear that sound or after pressing on the center of the lid it gives,then that jar did not seal use it immediately, or soon.