How to Make 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 insanely delicious sweet chilli jam is the Daddy of ALL jams. This bad boy will take a regular old sandwich to the next level, elevate your cheese board to excellence and become your favourite jam of ALL TIME. That’s a fact! I promise you, your life is not complete unless you have a jar of this in your home. Pair it with these gorgeous cheese biscuits or ham and cheese cracker snacks for a truly epic party snack!

Before I disappeared to York for the weekend, I realised I had polished off the last of my sweet chilli jam. CRISIS! I cannot and will not have a fridge that does not bear this jam! It was the first jam I ever attempted & still, by far, my absolute all-time favourite. You NEED this in your life, trust me.

Whenever me and the Mr have a cheese board (particularly at Christmas) huge portions of sweet chilli jam will miraculously disappear. (Just like these epic pickled onions!) It’s just marvellous! If you’re really looking to impress with your cheese board though, you should absolutely break out some of these spicy rosemary thins too. You’ll have people begging you for more!

Popular uses for sweet chilli jam

I realise saying, “sweet chilli jam goes with pretty much EVERYTHING” isn’t really very helpful. With that in mind, here are a few hints on how you can make the most of this incredible savoury jam.

• 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.
• Dollop a spoonful onto a savoury cookie like these wonderful 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.

Can you think of any more ideas? I’d LOVE to hear them! Let me know in the comments section below.

Video tutorial

How to Make Homemade 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
• 5 Red Chillis
• 5cm sized piece of Fresh Ginger
• 4 Garlic Cloves
• 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 Very Wide Saucepan/Pot

Instructions

Firstly you will need to prep your vegetables. De-seed and roughly chop the peppers (x 4), slice the green tops off the chillis (x 5), leave the seeds in – it won’t be hot I promise! slice the skin off the ginger (5cm piece) and roughly chop. Lastly – peel the garlic cloves (x 4). 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 (200g | 7 oz).

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!

Add in the golden caster sugar (375g | 1 Cup + 7/8) & the red wine vinegar (125ml | 1/2 Cup) then give it a good stir. Turn the heat up quite high and bring to the boil.

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.

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.

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.

How to Sterilise a Jam Jar

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 190°C/Fan 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 hot 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.

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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

The perfect cheeseboard accompaniment - this sweet chilli jam will take ANY sandwich to the next level!

Print

Ingredients

• 4 Red Peppers
• 5 Red Chillis
• 5cm sized piece of Fresh Ginger
• 4 Garlic Cloves
• 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 Very Wide Saucepan/Pot

Instructions

1. Add the red pepper, chillis, ginger, garlic cloves and tinned tomatoes to a food processor. Blitz until finely chopped.

1. Tip mixture into a very wide saucepan or pot along with the caster sugar and red wine vinegar. Place over a high heat and bring to the boil.
2. Skim off the orange scum when it floats to the top. (This will subside the longer the jam cooks.) 
3. Then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook until the jam has reduced and is very thick. This should be within 1 hour. When you run a spoon through it, it should leave a trail. 
4. Pour the jam into a freshly sterilised jam jar, seal and allow to cool completely. Once opened, store in the fridge and use within 6 months.

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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