Chilli Jam With Frozen Chillies

Our answer

Nigella's Chilli Jam (from NIGELLA CHRISTMAS) is made with chopped fresh red chillies and sweet red (bell) peppers. Neither of these contain much pectin and so if the chillies are frozen and thawed it should not make a big difference to the jam itself. The chillies will be soft when defrosted but as they will be cooked this should not be particular problem. We note that you will leave the seeds in, but bear in mind that this will increase the heat of the jam significantly and also you will see the seeds in the jam so it may not look quite as vibrant. If possible we would prefer to remove the seeds and if the chillies have been frozen whole you should be able to split them open once they have defrosted and scrape out the seeds. The seeds and core of the red (bell) peppers must be removed as these can taste slightly bitter.

The jam sets thanks to the pectin in the jam sugar, so make sure that you use this specific type of sugar and not regular sugar or preserving sugar (neither of which includes pectin).