Pink Grapefruit Habanero jam is a unique hot pepper jam with an irresistible sweet hot flavor…pair it with some cream cheese and crackers for the best appetizer ever.

In my lifetime I’ve seen grapefruit go through a huge transformation. I remember it as an insanely sour pale yellow fruit that required hard labor with a miniature saw just to separate the tiny wedges of fruit from the tough membrane that surrounded it on all sides. And then you had to sprinkle boatloads of sugar on top before you even thought about eating it.
Thank goodness today’s rosy sweet grapefruits have come a long way. Grapefruit has the sweet and the tart flavor of other citrus, but it brings a slight pleasant bitterness to the party as well. I had so many choices of fun and exotic ways to use grapefruit that I made myself crazy, and didn’t decide till last night that I wanted to make this sweet/tart spicy jam. The runner up was a spiced rum cocktail with pink grapefruit juice and a peppercorn rimmed glass. I have to get to that one soon.
I adore hot pepper jams and jellies, but they sometimes disappoint me when they aren’t hot enough. They tend to be super sweet, and they need that fire to balance them, When they are made correctly, and paired with a creamy goat cheese on a crisp cracker, they can be seriously addicting. This one is the best I’ve made so far. The 2 habaneros take care of the heat, and the grapefruit adds some mystery to the flavor. There is sweet, tart, bitter and heat. Very nice.
This is an easy small batch jam, it doesn’t require special canning equipment, but, like most jams and jellies, it does require a small kitchen scale because you’ll need to weigh out equal amounts of sugar and fruit. You should have this essential and inexpensive tool in your kitchen anyway.
Serve with a creamy goat cheese and crackers. I highly recommend it.
Also try ~
Make this grapefruit habanero hot pepper jam your own ~
- The habanero pepper makes this jam hot, but not unbearably so. If you want less heat, use a red jalapeno instead.
- Try this with other citrus fruit like oranges or tangerines.
Pink Grapefruit Habanero Jam
Equipment
- 6 half pint mason jars
Ingredients
- 5-6 pink grapefruit
- 2 habanero peppers
- 1.5 lb sugar
- 2/3 cup cider vinegar
- 3 Tbsp pectin
Instructions
- With a sharp serrated knife, slice off the rind from the grapefruits and carefully remove the sections of fruit. Do this over a bowl to catch the juices. After you've removed the flesh, squeeze the pulp to get all of the juice. Discard any seeds. You should have about 1 quart of fruit and juice when you are done. Mine weighed just under 2 lbs.
- Weigh out an equal amount of sugar. I used slightly less than an exact equal amount of sugar: about 1 1/2 pounds.
- Finely mince the habanero peppers, seeds and all. I did this in my mini food processor. Make sure it's finely chopped, and then add it to the fruit. Be careful, the fumes will be strong, and if you handle any part of the cut pepper you need to wash your hands well.
- In a heavy bottomed non-reactive pot put the juice and fruit, peppers, sugar, vinegar and pectin. Stir to combine and heat to a boil over high heat.
- Continue boiling the jam, uncovered, for about an hour. You don’t have to slave over it, just give it a stir now and then, scraping down the sides of the pot. There is more liquid to this jam than in most fruit jams, so it will take proportionately longer to cook down.
- When the jam has reduced and thickened, the color will darken a bit and it will look translucent. If your jam has been boiling the whole time, it should be done in an hour. You can test it by spooning a small aount on a very cold plate. If the jam thickens and gels, it’s done.
- Ladle the hot jam into clean jars. Quickly put the tops on and turn the jars upside down. Let them cool this way. This is a small batch refrigerator jam, meaning you are going to store it in the fridge and eat it relatively soon, so it doesn’t require further processing.
- Refrigerate the cooled jam. The jam will thicken overnight. The unopened jam should keep for at least a couple of months in the refrigerator. Probably much longer.
Hi Sue,
Firstly, I absolutely love your blog — it’s one of the few where I actually want to make every single recipe (and the ones I’ve made so far have been amazing).
Regarding the Grapefruit-Habanero jam, is it possible to process it in a water bath canner to achieve stable shelf life? I assume that it is, but just wanted to check whether you’ve ever done so. I’d like to make some for Christmas presents but need to do so fairly far in advance (and I don’t want a million little jars in my fridge!).
Thanks in advance for your feedback,
GS
Hey Gina—thanks for the kind words. I haven’t done the traditional canning process with this, but I’m sure it would be fine. By the way, I make a lot of jams and chutneys, and my husband and I both feel that this is one of the best. It’s so unusual, and really works well with cheese. I think it would be a great holiday gift!
Hi Sue, I can/preserve jam all the time and yes this one like others can be processed in a water bath canner. You only need to be careful with the acidity levels, but you have that covered with the acidity of the grapefruit and the ACV. I would not be able to help you with the timing as I live in a high altitude and my processing time is longer than others. This jam sounds wonderful and I will be trying it this week. Will let you know how it turns out. I realize I am commenting on this post almost 5 years of you writing this, but I am looking for a recipe for a pepper jam and I am hoping you can help me. I am not sure of the name, but it has cranberries, oranges, cloves, sweet red bell pepper and Jalapeno peppers. Have you heard of this recipe, Can you help me? and do you think I would be able to make it using habanaro peppers instead to give it more of a zing?
Hi Suzy! Thanks for the additional info on canning this type of jam. And as for the other one you mention, it sounds so good, but I haven’t heard of it. It sounds like a holiday jam, and I’ll look it up and probably try to make it for the blog if I can find it. I think you could definitely sub in habanero for more heat.
yum, yum, yum. also, yum. jam in general might just be my favorite condiment in the world, and this batch sounds amazing!
Wow I love habaneros. This jam sounds delicious.
Sue,
Is this the same jam that goes with your little mini brie appetizers? This looks so good! Your photos are so pretty…the light coming through your jam jars. Gorgeous!
xo
annie
It’s the same sort of jam, Annie, but I think the one I used with the Brie was one of my chutneys. I’ve got about 4 or 5 hot pepper jams and chutneys on the blog, and we use them a lot, especially with cheese. You have a sharp eye!
ooooh so so yummy!
Oh MY!!! I’ve never seen anything like this, but I’m positively intrigued! I can only imagine how wonderful this jam is over that cheese… addicting!
It is truly addicting, Kim, I hope you try it. You haven’t lived till you’ve had hot pepper jam of some sort 🙂
Look at all those pretty jars! Any chance one is headed my direction????? I need to make this asap. It sounds fantastic, Sue.
Delicious! I’ve gone out and bought all kinds of citrus! LOL
oh I love this so good
Another terrific and beautiful post with a citrus star! I hadn’t thought about the transformation grapefruit has made – but you are so right! You make jam and jelly look so easy and serving with cream or goat cheese is perfect. Yum!