The Best Homemade Sweet Chilli Jam

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(This post has been updated from the original September 2011 version to provide a better experience for you)

This flavour packed sweet chilli jam is the champion of ALL jams! It takes a regular old sandwich to the next level, and elevates your cheese board to excellence. Never made sweet chilli jam before? Don’t worry! This post is packed full of helpful tips, to ensure great results first time.

What is sweet chilli jam used for?

Want to make the most of this incredible savoury jam? Here’s how…

• Sweet chilli jam goes perfectly with cheese, so a cheese board is my obvious favourite!
• Spread a layer on a sandwich to take it to the next level.
• Bake it onto a savoury cookie, like these rosemary and thyme thumbprint cookies.
• They taste great on crackers!
• Water it down a little and use as a fantastic glaze for meats.
• Smear a little on the base of your next homemade pizza before topping with the usual ingredients.
• Enjoy with cheese on toast.
• Sweet chilli jam makes a lovely homemade gift!

What to put on a cheese board

Want to have the best cheese board in ALL the land? Besides this sensational sweet chilli jam, and your cheeses – you should consider adding a few of these beauties…

• Cheese biscuits
• Pickled onions
• Ham and cheese cracker snacks
• Spicy rosemary thins
• Beetroot chutney
• Pickled red onions

Try thinking outside the box a little. Even zingy delights like quick pickled carrots would be perfect on a cheese board!

Recipe tips and troubleshooting

Here are some tips you might find helpful when making sweet chilli jam.

• Use the widest pan you have. The larger the surface area, the faster it will reduce. If you use a tall, narrow pan, it will take much longer!
• Hand getting too hot when you skin the ‘scum’ off the top? Wear rubber gloves.
• Unsure if your sweet chilli jam is ready? Use the step by step picture recipe to see exactly what it should look like.
• Make sure that both the sweet chilli jam and your sterilised jars are hot when you bottle. This will ensure they seal properly.
• Jars didn’t seal? Make sure they’re at room temperature and reseal the lids tightly. Then stand them in a pot of cold water and slowly bring it to the boil (so the jam heats, as well as the jar). Once everything is hot, remove from the pan, dry off, and allow to cool. They should now seal properly.
• Don’t place your filled hot jam jars on a cold surface. Or the glass will likely crack/smash due to the change in temperature.

How to Make Sweet Chilli Jam – Step by Step Picture Recipe

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)

Ingredients and equipment

Here is what you will need to fill 1 x 500ml (2 Cups) jam jar.

Ingredients

• 4 Red Peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 5 Red Chillis, green tops sliced off *
• 5cm sized piece of Fresh Ginger, skin sliced off
• 4 Garlic Cloves, peeled
• 200g (7 oz) Tinned Tomatoes
• 375g (1 Cup + 7/8) Golden Caster Sugar
• 125ml (1/2 Cup) Red Wine Vinegar

*Leave the seeds in. You need the heat to combat the sweetness.

Essential equipment

• Food Processor
• 500ml (2 Cups) Jam Jar
• A Wide Saucepan/Pot
• Small Bowl
• Spoon

Instructions

First, add all the prepared vegetables into the food processor (4 x red peppers, 5 x red chillis, 5cm fresh ginger, 4 x garlic cloves), along with the tinned tomatoes (200g | 7 oz).

Blitz until everything is finely chopped. Then pour it all into a wide heavy based saucepan/pot, and add in the golden caster sugar (375g | 1 Cup + 7/8) and the red wine vinegar (125ml | 1/2 Cup).

Give everything a good stir, then turn the heat up to high, and bring to the boil.

Once boiling, you will notice an orange, frothy ‘scum’ floating to the top. You need to skim all this out.

Get a small bowl and a spoon, and simply scoop it out whenever it appears. This will only last for the first 5 minutes or so, then no more should appear.

Now bring the temperature down to a simmer, and allow to bubble away and reduce. You want it to become thick and sticky. It will look like the image below.

Make sure to stir it every now and then. It could take about45 minutes to an hour. But this depends on the size of your pan and the heat you have it over.

At this stage, It’s important to keep a close eye on your Sweet Chilli Jam. Stir more often, so it doesn’t catch and burn on the bottom of the pan. It’s a good idea 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.

Note that this jam will only thicken a little bit when cooled (due to the lack of pectin in the ingredients). So if you would like yours a little thicker, keep reducing until it reaches your desired texture.

How to Sterilise a Jam Jar

If you’re using a clip jar (like me), make sure you remove the rubber seals.

With the jar open, place it on a baking tray, and pop into a preheated oven at 190°C/Fan 180°C/374ºF for 20 minutes. You now have a sterilised jar.

However, make sure you don’t touch the insides. As this will contaminate it.

How to Preserve Sweet Chilli Jam

Place the rubber seal back on if required. Then, while the jam AND jar are still warm, spoon the jam into your hot jar and seal.

Allow to cool completely at room temperature. If you sealed them properly and used glass jars with metal lids, you will hear a pop when they’re cooling.

How to store sweet chilli jam

Sweet chilli jam will last up to 12 months if sealed properly, and stored in a cool dark place. Sometimes, even longer.

Once you’ve opened it, store in the fridge and consume within 3-4 months.

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The Best Sweet Chilli Jam - Printable Recipe

Yield: 500 ml

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

This flavour packed sweet chilli jam is the champion of ALL jams! Makes a lovely homemade gift, and pairs perfectly with cheese.

Print

Ingredients

• 4 Red Peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 5 Red Chillis, green tops sliced off *
• 5cm sized piece of Fresh Ginger, skin sliced off
• 4 Garlic Cloves, peeled
• 200g (7 oz) Tinned Tomatoes
• 375g (1 Cup + 7/8) Golden Caster Sugar
• 125ml (1/2 Cup) Red Wine Vinegar

Essential Equipment

• Food Processor
• 500ml (2 Cups) Jam Jar
• A Wide Saucepan/Pot
• Small Bowl
• Spoon

Instructions

1. Add the red pepper, chillis, ginger, garlic cloves and tinned tomatoes to a food processor. Blitz until finely chopped.
2. Tip the mixture into a very wide saucepan or pot, and add the caster sugar and red wine vinegar. Place over a high heat and bring to the boil.
3. When the orange scum floats to the top, skim it off into a bowl with a spoon. (This will subside the longer the jam cooks.) 
4. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and continue to cook until the jam has reduced, and is very thick. It will take around 45 mins to 1 hour, but could be longer. When you run a spoon through it, it should leave a trail. 
5. Pour the jam into a hot, sterilised jam jar. Seal and allow to cool completely at room temperature.

Notes

*Leave the seeds in. You need the heat to combat the sweetness.

Be sure to read the sections How to Sterilise a Jam Jar and Recipe Tips and Troubleshooting for lots of helpful information before you begin making this recipe. You can find them in the main body of this post.

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 213Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 345mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 6g

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Other savoury preserve recipes

• Pumkin and ginger jam
• Simple fig jam