I’ve been putting this off for far too long. After getting finally re-inspired by Chuk Hell’s successful attempt at pepper jam, I finally did it. I used Chuk’s recipe as a template and I went a pepper picking in the garden.

I wanted to go in a different direction with the taste. So, instead of using 25 de-seeded Habaneros, I used about 30 Serranos, 8 Jalapenos, 2 Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers, 6 Piquins, 6 Tepins, ,and 1 Purira for good measure. My intent was to have the smoky taste of the Serranos come through first and the combination of tastes from the other peppers to be in the background. So I washed those homegrown suckers off and threw em whole (because the seeds will add a nice extra kick of heat) into the blender.

I then added 3/4 a cup of vinegar and liquefied the whole shebang. The blood red concoction was just too beautiful, I couldn’t resist tasting it. It had a nice little kick of heat. Into the pan it went, to which I added 2 cups of sugar and stirred. Chuk’s recipe called for 3 1/2 cups of sugar, but I wanted my jam to be a little more peppery than sweet, so I cut down on the sugar. I let it boil for 20 minutes.

Then I added 3/4 a package of Pectin and boiled for another 2 minutes. By this time the vapors were making me tear up and I had a slight hard time breathing, but I was almost done. Into their little containers the jam did go, and I add the newly sterilized jar lids, clamping them down tight. I put them in the canning basket and dunked it in the boiling water for 15 minutes to have my “officially canned” jam.

Once cooled, I put the jars in the refrigerator and gave it a week to sit and think about how good its going to be. Having now tried it, I think I’ll use a little bit less vinegar or a little more peppers. The heat dissipated a bit because of the sugar but it’s still up to chili-head level. Joe and Linda and Chuk Hell will be receiving a batch (which will be sent out next weekend), so I am looking forward to see what other chili-heads think.

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