This last weekend we decided to take down a dead tree branch that was hanging over where we park the truck. We did this in anticipation of the upcoming hurricane season and high wind potential. When the branch fell it unexpectedly hit one of our pepper plants and knocked some peppers off. These peppers were not fully ripened, but we didn't want to waste them. One of the things that excites me most about growing our own food is cooking. These peppers are hot, we are not entirely sure what kind of pepper they are, but I think they are some kind of scotch bonnet (a popular pepper here in the Caribbean). We find it is best to use no more than two in recipes. Rob and I both really like spicy food, but this seems to be our limit for this particular pepper.

Hot pepper from our garden

When the tree tree branch fell it knocked off almost twenty peppers. We didn't feel that we would be able to make enough spicy dishes to use all the peppers before they went bad, so in an effort to preserve them, we decided to make pepper jam. Pepper jam and peanut butter is a personal favorite of mine. Lately I have been eating a lot of Matouk's pepper jelly. This is a brand I highly recommend they are a Caribbean company out of Trinidad and Tobago; they make various sauces and condiments. In addition to making a favorite treat, this is also my first time canning. Canning is an important part of preserving food when starting a farm, and I'm looking forward to developing this skill.

Jam in the Making

I used a recipe I found online by Mike Hultquist. I am not someone who follows recipes exactly and tend to work with what I have. This recipe calls for four to five cups of hot peppers, I didn't measure but after cutting up all the peppers, and eye balling it I thought we were a little short, so I added in one bell pepper for good measure. Bell peppers are not spicy but given what we know about the peppers we are growing I wasn't worried about it diluting the heat or the flavor.

I made a mistake when cutting the peppers up and didn't wear gloves. My left hand was handling the peppers and I really regret not wearing something, my hand felt like it was on fire for almost an entire afternoon. I used an ice pack and various home remedies like soaking my hand in fifty fifty water and apple cider vinegar. Eventually the pain subsided, always wear gloves when cutting hot peppers. Maybe the worst part is that I didn't scrub the table where I was cutting the peppers well enough and Rob ended up getting some of the pepper oil on his forearm. He was in pain for a while and I felt terrible. I think this shows how hot these peppers are.

I ended up sanitizing three 16oz mason jars, and was able to fill 2 and three quarters of them. I put them in the refrigerator to let them set up and shook them a couple of times to try to get the peppers to distribute evenly. I think I should have shaken them a little more because it looks like the majority of the peppers are at the top of the jars.

Taste Test

The next day I tried the jam with my mid-morning snack. It is spicier than Matouk's pepper jelly, but I'm someone who likes spice so this doesn't bother me at all. The spice makes it seem a little less sweet than other jams I have had, but I think it balances out. I am excited to see what Rob thinks!