We make this chilli jam with our surplus chillies.
The jam has a sweetness with the heat of chilli. Since our chillies are home grown, the heat of the chilli Jam may vary from batch to batch. However, as you are making the recipe you can make adjustments.
A delightful addition to sandwiches, hot and cold meats (especially bacon!) cheeses and many other dishes.
Ingredients
- 750 grams of jam sugar
- 5 red peppers
- 20 red chillies (see note below)
- Half a bulb of garlic
- 250 mls of cider vinegar
- Thumb size piece of ginger
- 400g Tinned or peeled fresh tomatoes
- 1 tsp salt
Equipment
- Large pan or Preserving/ Jam pan
- Small plate
Preparation
- Place a couple of small plates in the fridge and give sufficient time to cool before starting the jam making
- Wash the jam jars in warm soapy water, rinse and along with the lids, place in a warm oven at about 80°C.
How to make Chilli Jam
- De-seed the peppers and remove the stalks. Remove the stalks from the chillies. Peel the garlic cloves and ginger;
- Finely chop all the vegetables (at this point only add half the chillies) or add to a liquidiser and blend until finely chopped but not a puree;
- At this point taste the chopped vegetables to see if the heat is to your liking. If you need it hotter, chop and add more chillies.
- Once sufficient chillies have been added, put all the ingredients into a large pan and mix well;
- Gently simmer until the contents looks thicker and begins to jellify on the back of a cold spoon.
- To test if the jam is set, put a tea spoon on the very cold plate and leave to cool for a minute. When cool enough push it with your finger. If the contents on the plate wrinkles, the jam is ready and will set. You should also be able to tip the plate and the contents not run off.
- If it stays, runny, boil the pan for a few more minutes and then repeat the test.
- Once it passes the test, leave the jam in the pan to cool for 10 minutes.
- Using a large spoon take off any scum on the surface.
- Once cooked, spoon into sterilised jars and seal while hot.
The jam will keep for a year. It is advisable to refrigerate once open.