Last month we visited the Chilli Festival for the first time. It was quite a fun affair with rows of stalls selling chilli plants and chilli infused food like chilli sauces, chilli wine and chilli beer.

We bought some spicy condiments and a box of very fresh and hot mixed chillies. In the box were some Bhut Jolokias, Fatalii, Morugas and even the fiery Trinidad Scorpion!

I was really inspired after our day out to make my own chilli jam!

Chilli Jam Recipe (makes 1 jar)

1kg ripe tomatoes
250g caster sugar
6 hot chillies, sliced
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
3 tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cranberry sauce
2 tbs fish sauce

Firstly, peel the skins off the tomatoes and chop them up. Place the tomatoes and sugar in a saucepan, cover and leave at room temperature overnight.

Add the rest of the ingredients into the saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat and let it simmer for 1 or 2 hours until the jam thickens. Don’t worry if your jam seems watery in the beginning. As you cook it longer, it will gradually start to get thicker. Adjust the taste and chilli heat to your desire.

Let the jam sit in the saucepan, in a cool spot for 5 minutes before pouring it into a sterilised jar.

This sweet chilli jam makes a lovely spread on sandwiches and crackers, served with cold cuts. Enjoy!

This entry was posted on Friday, April 6th, 2012 at 11:21 pm and is filed under Everyday, In the kitchen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.