Habanero peach jam isn’t for your morning toast, it’s for the cocktail hour ~ with some fluffy cream cheese and a crisp cracker, it’s positively irresistible. (It’s a well documented phenomenon.)
habanero peach jam is a sweet hot sensation!
As far as I’m concerned, the world falls into two camps, those who love hot pepper jams and jellies, and those who are still living in the dark ages. If you’ve never had the pleasure then you’re in for an experience.
The beauty of these small batch recipes is that they encourage spontaneity. They are so quick and easy you can whip up a small batch any time you get the urge. I had a bag of about 8 peaches from the farmer’s market, and that yielded four 1/2 pint jars. I’m completely hooked.
habanero peach jam is perfect to make when you only have a few peaches
This small batch refrigerator jam is so powerfully flavored that a little goes a long way. One jar will transform a plate of cheese and crackers into a party. You will definitely make converts of any of your friends who haven’t tried it before. By the way, this jam makes a great host/hostess gift, too.
what you’ll need
- peaches
- habanero pepper
- sugar
- lemon
Peel your peaches and slice them up, you’ll need equal amounts of fruit and sugar for this recipe. The sweetness helps of offset the heat of the habaneros and makes for that crazy good sweet/hot phenomenon.
I must have grabbed two different varieties of peaches by mistake because when I peeled and sliced them they were different colors…pretty!
habanero tips and faqs
A habanero pepper is 100 times hotter than a jalapeño, but 10 times less hot than a ghost pepper. It’s a super hot pepper that’s not overpowering, in my opinion. Just use common sense and caution!
It’s a good idea, because the very spicy capsaican oils in the peppers can burn sensitive areas of your body like your eyes, nose, and under fingernails. Be sure to wash well after working with the peppers as well, and keep away from kids and pets.
It’s hot, I’m not gonna lie, but it’s not crazy hot. So don’t worry too much about the heat; once it’s cooked into the jam its bark is worse than its bite. I find that the sweetness counters the heat a bit.
cook’s notes habanero peach jam
- I considered adding a bit of cider vinegar to this batch, but didn’t. I would like to try that next time to see how it affects the flavor. This jam is perfectly sweet/hot, but I would like to try a touch of vinegar to give it a tangy edge as well. I would maybe start with just a few tablespoons, especially with such a small amount of peaches.
- If you’d like to make extra you can freeze the jam for up to 3 months, just be sure to leave some headspace at the top of your jars to allow for expansion as it freezes.
- Don’t run out of cream cheese or crackers or you’ll be sorry…
I will be making this again for my third time.. just has such wonderful flavor! We use the jam as a glaze for grilled salmon. Thin it down with balsamic vinegar and then glaze the fillet and broil. It’s really tasty! Will be making the nectarine habanero jam next 🙂 ~Jill
Habanero Peach Jam
Equipment
- 4 half pint jars
Ingredients
- 21 ounces peeled and pitted peaches, (2 pounds fresh peaches)
- 2 habanero peppers, seeds and all, finely minced
- 2 3/4 cups sugar
- juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Put your jars through the hot cycle of the dishwasher to clean. You can reuse the glass jars, but always purchase new lids for each new batch of jam. This is to ensure that they seal properly. (They sell extra lids right next to the jars in the grocery store.)
- Peel and slice your peaches over a bowl, to catch the juices.
- Weigh the peaches and then weigh out the same amount of sugar.
- Put the peaches, sugar, habanero peppers and lemon juice in a large heavy bottomed pot. Stir to combine everything and mash the peaches a bit with a large wooden spoon or potato masher.
- Let sit for an hour.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, and boil for approximately 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently. It will foam up for most of the time, and eventually, when the jam is nearly ready, the foam will die down.
- Check to see if the jam is ready by dropping a small amount on a very cold plate. When it is ready it will jel as it cools on the plate.
- When you are satisfied with the jelling, ladle the hot jam into clean jars, filling almost to the top. Put the lids on, but don’t screw them too tightly, and immediately set the jars upside down.
- Let the jars cool, and then turn them right side up and refrigerate.
Nutrition
I don’t have kitchen scale. How do I measure peaches and sugar correctly?
you can measure the ingredients using cups. 1 pound is equal to 2 cups your liquid measuring cups will have the metric system labeled for you just use that as your guide.
I will be making this again for my third time.. just has such wonderful flavor! We use the jam as a glaze for grilled salmon. Thin it down with balsamic vinegar and then glaze the fillet and broil. It’s really tasty! Will be making the nectarine habanaro jam next 🙂
I haven’t tried it as a glaze for salmon Jill, but the minute you mentioned it I got a craving to taste it…gotta get to that this week 🙂
Why turn jar upside down and also what is the shelf life after jam is made? One of your responses says this is a quick refrigerator jam, so if it is sealed and water bathed it does not keep it from spoiling?
Hi, a friend just gave me a bag of peaches and I thought I would make good use of them and the habaneros growing in my garden with your recipe. After looking at a number of other recipes, I was struck with the question, why doesn’t your recipe call for pectin? Thanks for posting your recipe, I can’t wait to give it a try.
A lot of my jam recipes are just cooked down until they’re thick, it does away with the pectin issue. Jam is really pretty straightforward when you do it this way, and remember that it will thicken even further while it chills.
Turn it up a notch–sprinkle liberally with toasted sesame seeds. I think you’ll love it. Alternatively, spread on a heavily seeded sesame cracker.
I never thought of that Anita, thanks!
I couldn’t get peaches. And I didn’t think of using canned ones. So I’m substituting peaches with mangos and cherries. I also added 1 more habenero. It’s steeping currently.
Interesting, let us know how it goes!
Used this recipe today. Turned out awesome!! Ended up using canned peaches in 100% juice because it’s not peaches season and there were none to be found. But I can’t say anything bad about it. Thank you for sharing it. I will be making it again.
I actually had no idea that canned peaches would work, thanks so much Deirdre. I guess frozen would work, too, and it’s a great solution for off season jamming 🙂
I love this jam! My question is how long does it keep and must it stay in the fridge?
This recipe is a quick refrigerator jam Stella, so it needs to be kept chilled, or you can freeze it for up to a year.
I don’t have a dish washer to hot wash the jars and lids, what else can I do?
You can sterilize them in boiling water, Larry.
Thank you, Sue. Much appreciated.
If you can get local fresh perfect nectarines, Habanero Nectarine Jam is exceptional too!
Oh my gosh yes!!! I think I prefer nectarines to peaches, actually, I think they have better flavor. I have a recipe for HABANERO NECTARINE JAM ~ https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/habanero-nectarine-jam/