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Chilli Jam Recipe

So you have lots of peppers in your garden but don’t know what to do with them.  Make your own jam!

I often have friends asking what can I make with chilies from my garden, and making jam is my first choice.  It will keep a very long time on the shelf.  Only once opened do you have to refrigerate.  

Recipe for chilli jam

I found this delicious recipe online.  Annabel Langbein has long been one of my biggest inspirations both in the garden and in my kitchen.  I love using things from my garden and creating something for friends and family.  This chilli jam recipe is a winner and makes for a perfect gift for friends and family.  

Cooking Time:  20 min.

Difficulty:  Medium

Inspiration:  Annabel Langbein

Garden Chilli Jam

For everyone loving a hot chilli jam…

Ingredients:

  • 6 – 8 fresh red chillies (chopped)
  • 200 g fresh ginger (peeled and chopped)
  • 1 head of garlic cloves (peeled)
  • 625 g caster sugar
  • 125 ml water
  • zest of 4 limes
  • 125 ml rice vinegar
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp soy sauce

How to make the chilli jam:

Puree the garlic, chillies and ginger to a coarse paste.  Place in a saucepan with all the other ingredients and boil for 10 minutes.  (It should be reduced by about a third and it will bubble on top.)

Transfer the jam, while still hot, into a sterilized jam jar en seal.  This is enough to make one jam jar full.

In Annabel’s original recipe she also adds “2 double kaffir lime leaves deveined”, but as I didn’t have that at hand, I made it without.  It is really optional.  No biggy if you don’t have it.

Oh and I only used a “mild chilly”, but you can use the smaller hot chilies.  It is all up to you and your tastebuds.

Did you know:  “History. Pepper jelly’s history starts in Lake Jackson, Texas. The first dates for commercial sale start around the late 1970s. The original recipes for pepper jelly were likely to be with jalapeno peppers.” – Wikipedia

Recipes for chillies

Using chillies from your own garden is obviously the best, but you can get perfectly good chillies from your local store.  The fun is all in the making and sharing.  Enjoy!

Do you say Chilli or Chili or Chile?

In American English, “chili” is the most common spelling.  In British English, the preferred spelling is “chilli.” While Spanish-speaking countries and regions of the US, refer to it as “chile”.

So whether you spell it chilli, chili, or chile, it is still the same thing:  Those hot peppers that you add to stews or…make the perfect jam with.  🙂  Let us know on FB if you like the recipe and share a photo as well as from where you are in the world.  We’d love to hear from you.

Did you know...

“Despite the huge range of species, only five are domesticated: C. annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. frutescens, and C. pubescensCapsicum annuum is the most common of the group; it includes a plethora of cultivars both mild and hot, including bell peppers and jalapeños. The majority of peppers that you can think of all come from this one species.” – Mentalfloss

More inspiration

You might also be interested in our Peach Chutney recipe.