Chili Jam

Sweet, sticky and just a little spicy, this chili jam is the perfect balance of flavor. It's an easy way to use fresh peppers and add bold flavor to cheese boards, sandwiches and more.

Course Condiments

Cuisine Australian

Keyword Condiment

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 55

Total Time 1 5

Servings x 300ml Jars

Calories 26kcal

Author Kate Freebairn

Equipment

Heavy Based Pot
Stainless Steel Jar Funnel
Stainless Steel Ladle
2 Glass Jars (my jars are 300mls each)

Ingredients

750 g Red Bell Peppers (3 medium red peppers), seeds and core removed
100 g Fresno Chili Peppers (4 medium peppers)
1 Tomato (approx. 100g or 1 medium tomato)
2 cloves Garlic
12 g Salt
15 g Soy Sauce
200 g Granulated Sugar
15 g Red Wine Vinegar (or apple cider or white vinegar)

Instructions

Prepare The Vegetables

Cut the red bell peppers into large chunks, removing the seeds and core.
Slice the chili peppers in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds from half of the chilies, leaving the other half with seeds for heat. Roughly chop all of the chilies into chunks.
Cut the tomato into large pieces and discard the core.
Lightly crush the garlic cloves, remove the skins and cut them in half.
Add the bell peppers, chilies, tomato and garlic to a food processor and blend until the mixture is finely chopped and resembles a chunky salsa. You can blend longer if you prefer a smoother chili jam.

Cook The Jam

Transfer the blended mixture to a small, heavy based pot and place over medium-high heat. Add the salt, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar and stir well to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then allow it to cook on medium-high heat for around 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should become bubbly and start to reduce.
Lower the heat to medium and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture should reduce by about half and become thick and sticky.
Turn off the heat and allow the chili jam to sit in the pot for around 10 minutes. If you prefer a smoother consistency, carefully use an immersion blender at this stage. The jam will continue to thicken as it cools.
While the jam is simmering, fill 3 jars with boiling water. Leave them to sit for 5 minutes before emptying.
Use a stainless steel jar funnel and ladle to fill the jars with the chili jam. Screw the lids onto the jars immediately and leave the jam to cool on the counter.
Let the filled jars sit at room temp for another 5-10 min and then refrigerate.

Notes

If you have food safe gloves (or you can put your hand in a plastic bag) it helps keep the spice off your hands! If not, just be sure to wash your hands after this step and avoid touching your face and eyes for a few hours.
You can adjust the heat of the jam by keeping more or less chili seeds, or by adding dried chili flakes.

Nutrition