Jezebel Sauce

Jezebel sauce is a spicy sauce (like Jezebel herself) that contains pineapple preserves, apple jelly, horseradish, and mustard. The Jezebel sauce (or glaze) is often served over ham. A Southern origin of this dish seems certain, with Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida all putting in claims.
 
 
Chef Rick’s Side Dishes
Jezebel Sauce
 
I get a lot of requests for the history of this sauce, and I’m sorry to say that after years of trying, I am no closer to figuring out where it came from.

You find it in cookbooks from Louisiana back to the 1950s at least, and it probably goes back farther than that.

Jezebel sauce can be served as a side to pork, beef, or chicken, or it can be poured over cream cheese and eaten like a dip with crackers.

1 (10 oz ) jar pineapple or apricot preserves
1 (10 oz ) jar apple jelly
1/3 cup prepared horseradish
1/4 cup dry mustard,
2 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
 
Place ingredients in food processor and pulse until smooth. Spoon into clean glass jars. Cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks.
 
26 October 1958, Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard, “‘Mrs. Kansas’ Is a Cooking Whiz: Treats from the Sunflower State,” This Week magazine, pg. 34:
Jezebel Sauce
1 cup apple jelly
1/2 cup pineapple preserves
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1 to 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Salt and freshly ground pepper
     
21 November 1967, Pontiac (IL) Daily Leader, pg. 19, col. 1:
Jezebel Sauce
1 jar pineapple preserves
1 jar apple jelly
1 jar Bahama or Coleman mustard
1 bottle fresh horseradish (or less to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix well in electric mixer.
Blend first 4 ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with baked ham or meat loaf. Yield: about 2 cups sauce.
 
8 March 1989, Elyria (OH) Chronicle-Telegram, pg. F2, cols. 4-5:
Jezebel Sauce is the wonderful name for an hors d’oeuvre recipe combining pineapple, horseradish and other ingredients served over cream cheese, requested by a Miami Beach reader. Quite a few readers wrote to praise the recipe—and while I was dubious about the combination of flavors, I have to agree that this is an addicting cracker spread.
 
“I first tried it many years ago,” wrote Joan Lang. “The recipe is from ‘Sunny Side Up,’ the excellent cookbook published by the Junior League of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The recipe is always a hit, and people wonder what’s in it. It’s so fast and easy and keep in the refrigerator for a long time. I like to keep some on hand to serve with ham.”
 
JEZEBEL SAUCE
1 10-ounce jar pineapple preserves
1 10-ounce jar apple jelly
1 1.12-ounce tin dry mustard
1 5-ounce jar horseradish, drained
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
Combine the preserves, jelly, mustard and horseradish, mixing thoroughly. Pour over the block of cream cheese and serve with crackers. Makes about 2 cups.
   
24 August 2005, Biloxi (MS) Sun Herald, “On the Trail of Jezebel Sauce” by Andrea Yeager, pg. C11:
Is Jezebel Sauce a Mississippi creation? Rodney Simmons of Bell Buckle Country Store in Tennessee wants to know. His company recently began producing Jezebel Sauce, and he would like to know the origin of the sauce. He has traced the recipe’s history to the Gulf Coast. “I thought it was Creole or Cajun, but after a recent conversation with Paul Prudhomme, we think that it originated on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, around Gulfport,” Simmons said.
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark JEZEBEL’S SAUCE
Goods and Services IC 030. US 046. G & S: SAUCES, EXCLUDING CRANBERRY SAUCE AND APPLESAUCE. FIRST USE: 19820706. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19820706
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 73542408
Filing Date June 11, 1985
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition November 5, 1985
Change In Registration CHANGE IN REGISTRATION HAS OCCURRED
Registration Number 1380667
Registration Date January 28, 1986
Owner (REGISTRANT) PEPPER PATCH, INC. CORPORATION TENNESSEE 1250 OLD HILLSBORO ROAD FRANKLIN TENNESSEE 37064
Attorney of Record JORDAN S. KELLER
Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE “SAUCE” APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20060609.
Renewal 1ST RENEWAL 20060609
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE