My Husband picked up a copy Of Nigella new book 'Nigella's Christmas' for me just after it was published. It is a simply lovely book. As well as the recipes being of the usual Nigella standard the illustrations and ideas for Christmas decorations are wonderful. A beautiful book to simply sit down, read and enjoy. The recipe for Chilli Jam sang to me. It tastes every bit as good as it looks. Not too hot but tongue tinglingly tasty. Just lovely with savoury food. Excellent with cheese and cold meats. A real keeper of a recipe. Easy to make I would highly recommend it. You do need jam sugar/pectin added sugar to make this otherwise it won't set.
150gms/5oz long fresh red chillies de seeded and cut into four pieces each.
150gms/5oz sweet red peppers cored de seeded and cut into chunks
1kg/2.2lbs Jam sugar
600mls cider vinegar
6x250 ml/40z sterilized sealable jars with vinegar proof lids
Put the cut up chillies into the food processsor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the chunks of sweet pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over a low heat without stirring. (No I don't know why either)
Scrape the pepper mixture out of the bowl and add to the pan. Bring to the boil and leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes
Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly like as it cools.
After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less evenly distributed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the bits of chilli and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating in it), ladle it into your jars. If you want to stir it gently at this stage it will do no harm. Then seal tightly.
Make the jam up to one month before using or giving.
Store in a cool dark place for up to a year.
Once opened store in the fridge and use within a month
From Nigella Christmas-Nigella Lawson
My Tip :If you don't have vinegar proof lids line the lids with a wee circle of grease proof paper.
43 comments:
That chilli jam looks absolutely lovely Granny. It would make a lovely christmas gift. I love the colour, very festive.
Wow this jam look beautiful and delicious too, thanks for sharing the recipe, now I know what to do with my weekly chilli production, I only used them as ornaments...he he he :)
Gorgeous pic Brenda, I love the chilli jam too but I didn't have any jam sugar, so I added a couple of cooking apples to the mix and it set beautifully.
I have this book to but haven't made anything out of yet, this did strike me as lovely when I was flicking through it though. Would be a lovely homemade christmas present with some cheese and crackers and some nice red wine!!
I am definitely going to try making this. And look at that colour!
That chilli jam looks lovely Granny. Love the colour!!
Rosie x
Brenda my nephew was looking through this book and spotted the chilli jam, "chilli jam...you don't eat that on toast do you?!?!" he asked,lol.
This is on my list to do before Christmas, at some point. It looks and sounds great. I love the colour of it.
Such a beautiful Christmassy colour :) Lovely.
Amazing picture. Love that colour.
Love Sal.
Wow! What a great colour.
I have made some of this with Jam sugar (that has pectin in it) but it is more like a dipping sauce as opposed to jam! can anyone suggest anything?
Thank you all for your lovely comments. It really is lovely jam.
Bunny if it hasn't set I think the problem is you didn't boil it long enough. Did you test for a set by dropping a small amount on a cold plate? If it wrinkles after a few minutes it has reached a set if not boil again and repeat the process. Bung your unset jam back in the pot and boil again for a few minutes and then start testing. Nigella does not mention testing for a set in this but it's a good idea to do it with all jams. It will definitely set with the jam sugar.
x
jam looks fab and i want to try it - a simple questin about the jars. do they have to be the screw top ones or can you use the cliptop vacuum ones?
Hi rachib. Thanks for dropping in. Yes you can use the clip top vacuum jars. No probs :)
i really want to make and use this jam for christmas, but was wondering if it can be used before a month as christmas is only 8 days away, any answers please.
Hi Anonymous. I know it is recommended by Nigella to leave it. But it tastes just great freshly made. No worries there.
xxx
I am going to attempt to make the chilli jam today but have no jam jars? where could i buy soem empty ones from? any suggestions welcome?
Hi Anonymous, I don't know where you are but in the UK I bought small jars and lids from Lakeland. Thet sell 250ml and 500 ml jars by the dozen. I normally just recycle used ones but as these are for gifts I wanted them all the same.
How come your on past midnight answering questions? Infact why am I on past midnight asking questions?
Anonymous. I suppose you wouldn't give me a clue as to who you are? LOL
This recipe cooks itself, sooo easy and delish.
Thanks for the recipe
Marg
Hi Matg. I am glad it was a success. Thank you for coming back and letting me know x
Just case no one has mentioned it already the reason you don't stir it is that it will turn cloudy.
Your pictures are great. I made this at the weekend but despite boiling it for a good 25 minutes, it still is a softer set than I would have liked. Very tasty though! And my chilli/pepper flecks are all kind of stuck at the top of the jars!
I am cooking the jam right now... looks already very nice!
the jam recipe looks fantastic. would love to make it however, im in the US and I'm not sure what jam sugar is. and i dont know where to get the pretty vinegar proof jar lids.
Anonymous - re the jam sugar. If you can't get it use regular sugar but you need to add pectin. It is quite a soft set jam with it. It wouldn't set at all I don't think without it. If you can get pectin it will have instructions. Good luck
Hi, it tastes fantastic, looks great. however, mine is a very firm set. When i jarred it i turned my jars upside down (i usually do this when making preserves so that the pop in the lid is sucked down when you turn it back the right way up) However, because this is so firm it didnt fall back to the bottom of the jar and i have really weird looking gifts?!?! any advice granny??
the reason you don't stir the vinegar and sugar is so that the jelly stays lovely and clear :) Leah
Now that my chilli jam has been in the jars for over a month, I've opened one and it is a very soft set. Tastes lovely, but is more like a chilli sauce than jam. I wonder if this is because I made a double batch in one pan? Maybe I should have boiled it longer (although it did get about half an hour in total). Any ideas?
Jan - It is a soft set jam. You are right about it being more like chilli sauce. I'm glad it worked for you. x
Hi, can I ask how many jars this makes please? Also it says 5oz of chillies how many chillies is that appx?
Hi Sarah. It takes one large sweet red pepper and about 6-8 chillies. 6X4 oz (6X250ml) jars.
Hope that clarifies. It is quit a soft set jam. Good luck and enjoy.
Thanks - one more question, do you know what kind of shelf life this has. As with most chutneys and preserves I find they are better having matured. I had planned on making some this year for use next year, do you think it would go off or get better?!
Hi Sarah. Where as most chutneys and preserves are better for the keeping I think this is an exception. I wouldn't make it this far in advance. It actually doesn't need to mature. I think because if the chillies. It's lovely as soon as it is made. I found a jar in the back of the cupboard about a year after it was made and it had gone a bit sugary. It keeps well enough for a few months but I would make it nearer the time you want to use it. It won't last long. It is really lovely. Very moreish.
Hello Granny, I am hoping for some advice with this delicious recipe. I have made it a few times now but seem to have problems getting the sugar to dissolve without stirring & no one else seems to mention this. I have even tried heating up the vinegar but it still takes simply ages to dissolve & I end up stirring the pan. Could you suggest anything to speed up this step as I have found the rest of the recipe fun & very popular with friends and family ! Cheers, Lee G.
Hi Kevin . Thank you for dropping in. Listen I went through all that too. Just stir the stuff. It makes no difference at all I promise. I have made it many times now and still love it. X
Thanks so much for your advice Granny but doesn't it mean that the Jelly will be cloudier than if you don't stir ? I have been searching for advice on this & some other people mention that it will turn out cloudy but not stirring makes the process very lengthy. Thanks again for your help, as a 'first timer' it's very exciting to get some words of wisdom. Cheers, Lee
Hi Lee you are most welcome. You just need to stir it gently. No it doesn't go cloudy at least it hasn't with me.
Let me know how it goes. x
Thanks again for your advice. I just made a double batch with our home grown "Birds Eye" chillies, but I will try gently stirring next batch ! This batch is quite a bit hotter than the Nigella recipe after having to guess how many of these much hotter chillies to add. It might take us a while to get through the extra hot version : ) Lee
Hello!
Reading these posts has really helped me! I have just made this recipe for the first time - tripled the batch to make lots of jars as christmas pressies, trouble was it was not really setting. I boiled it up for another 5-10 mins and I'm hoping it should work now. I've bottled it whilst hot into hot sterilised jars like I would with normal fruit jam - do you think it will still work (it was setting when splodged on a cold plate)?? It's getting too late to wait any longer for the massive pan-full to cool!
Vessey the quantity may make a difference. When using the normal amount 10 mins gives a soft set and 15 minutes a firm one. It should be fine. The jam sugar will set anything. Let me know how it went. It's good information for others. Thank you :)
I have just made some this week. I am about to embark on yellow chilli jam just for fun
Well - it didn't set well at first - was more like chilli sauce. So I poured it back into a pan today and boiled again and now it's a much thicker consistency. I put a few scotch bonnets in as well which has perked it up a bit! I'm really pleased with it. Thanks for your help! I'd definately advise anyone who is making more than one batch to boil for mouch longer than the suggested ten minutes if you want a more jammy/chutney consistency. x
Post a Comment