Lemon Drop Chilli Jam
Golden, tangy and gently hot, this Lemon Drop chilli jam uses ripe yellow ají limón chillies and yellow peppers. Serve it with cheese, halloumi or roasted vegetables.
This Lemon Drop chilli jam is sweet, sharp and softly set, with little pieces of yellow pepper throughout. It starts with home-grown Lemon Drop chillies, also called ají limón or Aji Lemon, and finishes a deeper amber-gold than the fresh yellow fruit. A little goes a long way with cheese, but the modest amount of chilli means you can still taste the peppers rather than just their heat.
We grow Lemon Drop chillies every year because we love their bright yellow colour and citrus-like flavour. They are fairly consistent in size and, to us, feel about as hot as bird’s eye chillies, so we know what to expect when we pick them: plenty of heat without an overwhelming surprise or a disappointing mild one. For this jam, I used 15 g of Lemon Drops alongside 345 g of yellow bell pepper to keep the finished heat gentle.
The mixture tasted great even before cooking, and the soft-set jam works especially well on a cracker with cheese or as a dipping sauce for mushroom fritters or lion’s mane crab cakes.
Lemon Drop Chilli Jam Ingredients
Lemon Drop chillies – Ripe yellow chillies give the jam its distinctive heat and citrus-like character. I used 15 g for a mild heat that even chilli-averse eaters can enjoy.
If you like more of a punch, try up to 30 g, reducing the yellow bell pepper by the same amount. Chilli heat varies between harvests, so taste the cooled jam before deciding which version suits you.
Yellow bell pepper – Gives the jam body and a bright colour without adding too more heat. Weigh it after removing the stalk and seeds.
1:1 preserving sugar – Contains added pectin to help the pepper mixture set. This recipe uses 300 g, slightly less than a strict 1:1 ratio with the peppers, for a softer result. Ordinary sugar will not produce the same set.
White wine vinegar – Balances the sugar and contributes to the sweet-sour flavour. Use vinegar labelled 5% acidity.
Lemon zest and salt – A little zest brings the citrus note forward; salt rounds out the sweetness.
How to Make Lemon Drop Chilli Jam
Prepare the peppers
Put a small plate in the freezer for testing the set. Wear gloves to remove the stalks and pale inner ribs from the Lemon Drop chillies. Remove the stalk and seeds from the bell pepper. Weigh 15 g prepared chillies and 345 g prepared bell pepper.
Pulse the peppers in a food processor until finely chopped, with small pieces still visible. Avoid blending them into a smooth purée.
Dissolve the sugar
Put the chopped peppers, preserving sugar, vinegar and salt in a wide, heavy-based saucepan. Warm gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely. Scrape around the base of the pan so no grains are left behind.
Boil and check the set
Bring the mixture to a full, steady boil and stir frequently, especially as it begins to thicken. Start with the full-boil time specified on your preserving-sugar packet. The added vinegar means the jam may need a little longer than the packet’s standard fruit-jam instructions.
Place ½ teaspoon of jam on the chilled plate and wait 1–2 minutes. Tilt it: the cooled jam should form a soft mound and move slowly. If it runs freely like syrup, boil for another 2–3 minutes and test again. Judge the cooled sample rather than the hot mixture, which will look looser in the pan.
Finish and jar
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the lemon zest. Let the bubbling subside, then spoon the jam into clean jars. Cool promptly, cover and refrigerate. The colour will be amber-gold rather than the vivid yellow of the fresh chillies.
What to Serve with Lemon Drop Chilli Jam
Spoon it over a cracker with a slice of firm cheese, add a little to a halloumi burger, or brush it onto roasted carrots or squash for the last few minutes of cooking. Its sweetness and acidity are especially useful alongside salty or rich foods.
For another way to use chillies with seasonal fruit, try my Cornelian cherry hot sauce. If you prefer a tart fruit preserve for a cheese board, there is also Cornelian cherry jelly.
Lemon Drop Chilli Jam
Ingredients
- 345 g yellow bell pepper weighed after removing stalk and seeds
- 15 g ripe Lemon Drop chillies weighed after removing stalks
- 300 g 1:1 preserving sugar with added pectin
- 150 ml white wine vinegar 5% acidity
- Finely grated zest of ½ unwaxed lemon
- ¼ tsp fine salt
Instructions
- Chill a small plate in the freezer. Wearing gloves, remove the chilli stalks and, for a gentler jam, the pale inner ribs. Remove the bell pepper stalk and seeds. Weigh the prepared peppers.
- Pulse both peppers in a food processor until finely chopped but still textured.
- Transfer to a wide, heavy-based saucepan with the preserving sugar, vinegar and salt. Heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Bring to a full boil, stirring frequently. Cook for the time stated on the preserving-sugar packet, then test ½ teaspoon on the cold plate after 1–2 minutes of cooling. It should hold a soft mound and move slowly when tilted. If it runs freely, boil for another 2–3 minutes and retest.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest. Let the bubbling subside, transfer to clean jars, cool promptly, cover and refrigerate.
Notes
Notes and Storage
- Lemon Drop chillies vary in heat. Taste the fully cooled jam before deciding whether to increase the chilli proportion in a future batch.
- Use the same total prepared pepper weight if changing the balance of chillies and bell pepper.
- This is a refrigerator jam. Keep covered in the fridge and use within three weeks. Discard the whole jar if mould or signs of fermentation develop. This pepper recipe has not been validated for room-temperature storage; a sealed lid does not make it shelf-stable.
- Preserving sugars vary by brand. Follow your packet for its initial full-boil time, then use the cooled plate test to judge this batch.
Lemon Drop Chilli Jam FAQs
This version uses 15 g Lemon Drop chillies with 345 g yellow bell pepper for a restrained starting point. Heat varies between harvests and depends on whether you remove the pale inner ribs. Taste the jam after it has fully cooled, ideally with the food you plan to serve it with.
Ordinary sugar can thicken the mixture as liquid evaporates, but it does not contain the added pectin in 1:1 preserving sugar. The result may be closer to a thick, chunky syrup than this softly set jam.
First let a small sample cool on a cold plate; hot jam always looks looser. If the cooled sample still runs quickly, return the pan to a boil for 2–3 minutes and test again. Give the filled jars time to cool completely before judging their final set.
No shelf-stable process has been established for this recipe. Peppers are low-acid ingredients, and the sugar, vinegar and a sealed lid do not by themselves verify a safe canning method. Refrigerate the jars and use within three weeks.
The fresh peppers are yellow, but cooking the sugar and peppers produces a deeper amber-gold jam. White sugar and pale vinegar keep it lighter than brown sugar or dark vinegar would.
