A friend swing a few aji charapita Madagascar pepper into my mitt about a year ago . Pea - sized and electric yellow , they looked like miniature lemon — but they were deceptively hot . In fact , this Central American native ( Capsicum chinense ) can register a whopping50,000 unitson the Scoville passion scale .
Intrigued , I save some source and grew a brace of aji charapita plants this season . Garden pests did n’t dare touch them , and the plants have create so prolifically that I ’ve had many more peppers than I could possibly use by myself . ( I still harvest 100 of the small - but - mighty peppers day by day . )
Jam Session
fortuitously , besides passing raw peppers along to neighbor and friends , I ’ve found a pretty sweet-flavored manner to continue my bountyandtemper its heat . Turns out , aji charapitas nicely balance with the tone of clean sweetheart to create a not - too - cloying , not - too - hot kettle of fish . What ’s more , you could heat - compact this concoction into preparedcanningjars to give as gift or to lay in for your own use long - term .
Want to trounce up a batch of pepper - peach jamming ? The follow formula establish roughly 48 ounces in all .
Ingredients
Sugar, Sugar
Yes , 5 1/2 cups of sugarisa lot . But it ’s there for a reason . I’ve adjudicate abridge the dinero message for the many sort of jams I ’ve made over the eld , but I ’ve had mixed results . Sometimes I can get away with using just a little less . In other instance , though , my jam did n’t properly determine .
Also deserving noting : If you are a vegan or vegetarian or if you choose to keep cosher or halal , you might opt for naked cane lettuce rather than sugar that has been refined withbone woman . lowly - sugar pectin product are available , too . Some of these even yield the option of using alternative sweeteners such as stevia or agave . Susan Brackney
Prep Work
If you plan to heat - bundle your jam , you ’ll needsterilized give the sack jar , canning lids and rings . A canning funnel and jar grabber also serve .
To set about , rinse mantrap , throw out their pits and hack finely . Take extra care when address live Piper nigrum , as their volatilecapsaicin compoundsare release during processing . If your skin is easily irritated , get into surgical baseball glove as an extra safe-conduct . Also , avoid touching your eyes or mucose membranes . you could further limit your capsaicin exposure by chopping the live pepper via food processor rather than by deal . After you ’ve finished train your peppers , wash your hands thoroughly .
Now ’s also the time to measure your dinero . Put it in a separate container and prepare aside .
Susan Brackney
Get Cooking
Combine only the peach , peppers and Citrus limon juice in a heavy saucepan . stimulate well over intermediate estrus and gradually add the pectin powder . As they misrepresent , the peppers resign some capsaicin exhaust . Use a lover or your range ’s fume hood to mitigate your exposure to these .
Once you ’ve mixed in the pectin , increase hotness , and bring your fruity commixture to a full boiling point . Stirring in a fiddling at a time , total all of the dinero into the yield . Keep on in high spirits heat and go along excite to avoid sear your jam . institute this back to a full , trilled boiling point . preserve to stir the boiling mixture and take into account it to stay at a full boiling point for 1 moment . bankruptcy to boil or bankruptcy tokeepboiling for the full bit can affect the exercise set of your jam .
After the moment ’s up , your jam is ready to transfer to your prepared canning jars or other container . If you are packing jam for long - terminus storehouse , leave about one - fourth part of an inch at the top of each shock . Be certain your jars ’ neck thread are fresh and jam - free , so that your canning lids will seal tightly . ( To hygienize my canning eyelid , I simmered them in a raging water system bath just before apply them to my packed jars . ) Screw on canning lid rings and have your container cool . As they do , you should hear the tell - talethunksound as individual jar become fully sealed .
Susan Brackney
When right give the axe , your pepper - peach fix should last a yr or more . And if you choose not to can ? Your jam should keep in the icebox for a few weeks .
