Scotch Bonnet Chilli Jam

Chilli Jam

It is always fun for me to fuse 2 cultures together in food. Having lived in England for nearly 10 years I have grown to love a Ploughman’s lunch every now and again. I thought why not try a scotch bonnet chilli jam or jelly in place of the usual chutney?

I personally like the chilli jam in small doses, especially since I am most likely the only person in my family who will enjoy it thoroughly. In terms of how to use it? There are so many ways but my favourite serving suggestion is as a side to a cheese board or a traditional English ploughman’s board. When I feel like indulging, I enjoy putting lashings of it alongside a hot and spicy goat stew or substituting it with cranberry sauce and slathering it on my turkey slices. It is not your typical “bread and jam” spread, but to be honest, if it tickles your fancy, there really is no end to how many ways you can enjoy this jam.

It is not difficult to make. You just need to get your head around the techniques required for jam making. Some things to remember are the sugar needs to completely dissolve, without much stirring, the gentle heat is all that is required. This ensures hard crystals are not formed. In terms of setting the jam, it is essential that this recipe has enough pectin. There are 2 ways of getting this. You can buy it at the store in the form of jam sugar, which has the pectin incorporated into it, or ready-made pectin, which you can add to the sugar. For regions where these are not available, then natural sources such as tart cooking apples will do. Varieties such as Bramley or Granny Smith apples do just nicely. Simply pierce them in several places before adding them to the cooking jam mixture; and use 2 to 3 for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 sweet pointed peppers
• 6 red chilli peppers
• 3 scotch bonnet peppers
• 1 kilo of jam sugar
• 600mls Apple Cider Vinegar

Preparation

1. This recipe will yield 1.5 litres of jam, so gather enough jars to contain this amount. Place the jars into a large pot of water, turn up the heat and boil for 15 minutes. Leave the jars submerged in the boiling water until ready to use.
2. Now de-seed all the peppers. For the scotch bonnet and chilli peppers you may wish to use gloves. Once all the peppers are de-seeded, cut into large chunks and pulse in a food processor until finely chopped. Do not liquidise them.
3. It is now time to create a syrup with the sugar and vinegar. Remember that this process is simply to dissolve the sugar with the aid of low heat, stirring is not required. Note* If using the cooking apples, pierce them all over and add them right at the beginning of the jam making process.
4. Once all the sugar is dissolved, add the chopped peppers and bring the pot to the boil. Allow for about 10 minutes at a rolling boil then turn off. If you are using the cooking apples instead of jam sugar or pectin, then allow to boil for a further 5 to 10 minutes before turning off.
5. At this point, you may use the cold saucer test to assess whether the jam is ready to set. Once the jam shows signs of setting, it is ready to bottle.
6. Remove all the apples and broken pieces (if using). Carefully ladle the jam into the still hot sterilised jars and seal tightly.

Did you like this recipe? Follow me  @myburntorange on Instagram for my latest recipe inspirations.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 1.5 Litres