How to Make Awesome Sweet Chilli Jam (2024)

Introduction: How to Make Awesome Sweet Chilli Jam

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Step 1: The Chopping

Firstly you will need to prep your vegetables. De-seed and roughly chop the peppers, slice the green tops off the chillis, (leave the seeds in – it won’t be hot I promise!) slice the skin off the ginger and roughly chop. Lastly – peel the garlic cloves. No need to be neat as the food processor will do most of the work for you.

Once you have your veg ready, chuck it all into the food processor along with the tinned tomatoes.

Blitz until everything is chopped reasonably fine and pour into a wide heavy based saucepan/pot. The wider the pan the better, as it will reduce much quicker. The first time I ever made this, I made the mistake of using a small pan and I was cooking it for about 5 hours! Trust me, it’s not very fun that way haha!

Step 2: To the Boil

Add in the golden caster sugar & the red wine vinegar then give it a good stir. Turn the heat up quite high and bring to the boil.

Step 3: Skimming Scum

Once it starts to boil, you will notice an orange, frothy ‘scum’ floating to the top. You need to skim all this out. The easiest thing to do is to get a small bowl and a spoon and just scoop it out whenever it appears. This will only last for the first 5 minutes or so then no more should appear.

Step 4: Getting Thicker...

Now bring the temperature down to a simmer, allow to bubble away and reduce until it becomes thick & sticky and looks something like below. Make sure you stir it every now and again to keep it all mixed well. This could take about an hour or 2 but depends on the size of your pan and the heat you have it over.

Step 5: Nearly There...

At this stage, you need to keep a close eye on your Sweet Chilli Jam and stir more often so it doesn’t catch & burn on the bottom of the pan. You will probably want to turn the heat down a little too. When the jam has reduced to the point where, if you run a spoon through it, it leaves a trail – it’s ready to be poured (still hot) into a sterilised jar.

It is worth noting that the jam will pretty much stay the same consistency even when cooled (due to the lack of pectin in the ingredients) so if you would like it a little thicker, keep cooking until it reaches your desired texture.

Step 6: Sterilising Your Jar... and DONE!

This is a very simple process. If using a clip on jar like me, make sure you remove the rubber seals. I have forgotten this once and it melted everywhere & smelt revolting! Oops.

Lay the jar open, place on a baking tray and pop into a preheated 180°C oven for 20 minutes. Et vous voila! Sterilised jar. Then whilst they are still warm, place the seal back on, pour in your jam & seal. Be sure not to touch the inside of the jars though as this will contaminate them and you will have to start again.

And there you have it folks, my all time favourite preserve… Sweet Chilli Jam! Once you’ve opened it, store in the fridge. It should last for at least 6 months, not that it will last that long!

In my opinion, the best way to enjoy this sticky deliciousness is on some cheese on toast, or just with some cheese/cold meats and crackers. I refuse to have a cheese board without it! It would also make a wonderful Christmas gift.

For more awesome step by step recipes check out www.kitchenmason.com.

Grand Prize in the
Canning and Pickling Challenge 2017