When life gives you a boatload of habanero peppers and strawberries, make some jam. Strawberry habanero jam to be exact – spicy and sweet!
When life gives you a boatload of habanero peppers, it’s kind of similar to when it gives a bunch of lemons. Since you can’t make habanero-ade, you might as well make some jam.
And since it’s also farmers market season and strawberries are available aplenty, strawberry habanero jam.
After I made tomato habanero relish the other day, I still had about 40 habanero peppers leftover. My good friend Kristina from Cucina Kristina offered to dehydrate the gang of peppers for me.
Once I brought them over to her house, however, we decided to also take advantage of all of her canning equipment. Neither one of us had ever made strawberry jam before, but we figured it couldn’t be that hard.
Strawberry Habanero Jam
And it wasn’t. The only hiccup we had was with the pectin. Did you know that there are different recipes for jam based on the type of pectin you have and that there are three different types of pectin? Yeah, me either.
I made the mistake of buying the instant pectin when what I needed was the liquid pectin. Thankfully I realized my mistake before we really got started so a quick run to the store remedied my error. Just so all you future jam makers know, your recipe may call for powdered (aka classic), liquid or instant pectin.
Make sure you have the right one for the recipe you are planning to use and you should be ready to go.
I will probably be sharing a bunch of instant pectin jam recipes with you in the future. 🙂
We started off with a strawberry jam recipe from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (affiliate link) book and added the habanero peppers. I am not going to go too crazy into the actual method of canning – it has been explained really well by others so I will just direct you to some sources for that (after the recipe).
Kristina and I both like spicy stuff so we left all of the habanero seeds in. If you want a jam that is more mild, remove all or some of the habanero’ seeds before mincing.
I decided to start the following morning off with a bang and put the strawberry habanero jam on a piece of 12-grain toast. Whew, the spice sneaks up on you but between the jam and my coffee, I am ready for this day.
We are also going to make some PB&J’s with it and I’m thinking about making some thumbprint cookies or kolazcky with it as well. The world is our spicy oyster.
I think everyone should go out to the nearest farmer’s market and buy a bunch of fresh fruits and vegetables to can. The canning bug has got me!!
Strawberry Habanero Jam
When life gives you a boatload of habanero peppers and strawberries, make some jam. Strawberry habanero jam to be exact – spicy and sweet!
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups crushed and hulled strawberries
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 7 cups granulated sugar
- 3 habanero peppers, minced
- 1 pouch of liquid pectin
- 8 (8 ounce) canning jars with lids and bands
Instructions
- Prepare a boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
- Combine strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and habanero peppers in a medium saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. When you cannot stir down the foam, gradually stir in the pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that can not be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly.
- Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam off the top.
- Ladle the hot jam into hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rim and center lid on jar. Apply band until it fits tight.
- Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 191Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 5mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 0gSugar: 47gProtein: 0g
Harriett
Wednesday 2nd of November 2022
I love this recipe except I add about a half tablespoon of red pepper flakes and I love this jam with cream cheese on a bagel or a cracker and I can it in 4 oz jars and put them in my Christmas baskets I give as gifts.
It is also good on french toast
Ken Ott
Thursday 12th of August 2021
I used this basic recipe but changed the fruit to raspberries and used 2 Carolina Reapers in place of habaneros. That turned out super. Will try with blackberries later. Thanks for the input.
Deborah T Christiansen
Wednesday 30th of May 2018
Do you happen to have a recipe that doesn't use pectin? I have used apples in the paste, as they have a lot of pectin in them. You include the core during cooking, then take it out later. Thanks.
Jenny
Wednesday 30th of May 2018
Hi Deborah! I don't have a recipe that doesn't use pectin but I will look into it and start testing one. I'll update my comment if I am able to successfully make one.
Hannah Pitts
Friday 26th of September 2014
Oh! This sounds amazing! Love your bright pictures! So pretty! We have pepper jelly, but I think this would be even better! Pinning to save and try sometime!
Jenny B
Friday 26th of September 2014
Thanks Hannah! Taking the pictures is half the fun for me :) The other half is eating the food afterwards.
Katie H
Sunday 27th of July 2014
OH yum! I think I would like this! :)
Jenny B
Sunday 27th of July 2014
Thanks Katie! It's very yummy!