Pranee’s Thai Lime-Green Chili Jam
Thai Lime-Green Chili Jam
I have three different kinds of chili jam in my kitchen cabinet: Plum-Ginger Thai Pepper Jelly, Mango Madness, and Sweet Pepper Jalapeño Jam. These were precious gifts from good friends and they inspired me to create my own jam recipes. When my friend Ron gave me a bag of fresh green Star Fire Chilies from his favorite farm, “Krueger Family Peppers and Produce, Inc.” in Wapato, Washington, a journey began.
I wanted to create a Thai Lime-Green Chili Jam with a fun flavor from Kaffir lime leaf. First I explored the jam-making process and daydreamed about the flavor combinations, then I got a hands-on lesson on canning from my friend Kaia. She recommended a few books, and I purchased one, the “Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.” A week later, I found the best price for canning jars, and in the past few weeks, I have created three combinations of chili jam. Honestly, I love all of them: Sweet Red, Lime-Green and Pineapple-Orange.
I have also learned my lessons on the do’s and don’ts of using powdered pectin. If the jam doesn’t set, follow the Sure-Jell instructions on how to remake the jam. After a few experiences, I became comfortable with the process. The most important part was that I had so much fun making close to one hundred jars of jam, and so did my friends. All I have to do now is to listen to their creative ways of using the chili jam.
I would like to share my Thai Lime-Green Chili Jam with you. It would be fun to serve side-by-side with cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. You can learn to use it creatively during the holidays, and it makes a great gift for families and friends.
Thai Lime-Green Chili Jam with Citrus Flavors
Like green curry paste, the green color in this jam comes from fresh Thai green chilies. I also use green-colored peppers, herbs, lime juice, and all the Thai herbs to give it a real Thai flavor.
Thai Lime-Green Chili Jam
Yam Prik Keow
Yield: 5 1/2 cups or 14 (4-ounce) jars or 6 (8-ounce) jars
4 green bell peppers, cored and diced 30-40 fresh Thai green chilies, stems removed (I used Star Fire chilies) 1/2 cup diced red onion, about 1/2 medium-size onion 1 package Sure-Jell fruit pectin 2 cups cane vinegar (a vinegar made from cane sugar, available in most Asian markets) 2 to 4 tablespoons lime juice 4 cups sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 10 Kaffir lime leaves 1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and smashed 1 tablespoon butter 1 drop green food coloring, optionalPlace bell pepper, fresh Thai green chilies, and onion in a food processor; pulse to make a fine chunk (about 3 cups). Combine the mixture with Sure-Jell, vinegar, lime juice and salt in a large, deep, stainless steel saucepan. Mix well until the pectin is dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in Kaffir lime, lemongrass and butter. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil; stir constantly for 4 minutes.
Remove from heat and ladle into jars filling to within 1/8 inch of the top. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover tightly and store in refrigerator.
Note: If you want a jam that can be stored (unopened) at room temperature, visit the Sure Jell website for instructions on how to process the jars.
© 2010 Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen I Love Thai cooking Pranee teaches Thai Cooking classes in the Seattle area. Her website is: I Love Thai cooking.com .
Pranee's Thai Kitchen 