Lemon Drop Chilli Jam
Golden, soft-set chilli jam made with ripe Lemon Drop chillies, yellow bell pepper and white wine vinegar. Sweet, tangy and gently hot.
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.