Ghost Pepper Jelly – Bhut Jolokia Jelly

Ghost Pepper Jelly is made with Ghost Peppers, or Bhut Jolokia, one of the hottest peppers on the planet. Tame the heat of these firecrackers by making a delicious hot pepper jelly.

If you love hot and spicy foods this is a recipe for you. I get lots of hot peppers in our farm share, but I’ll often plant one bush of a super-hot peppers in our home garden just for fun. This year I planted a Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia) plant.

Just how hot is a Ghost Pepper?

Ghost Peppers were the hottest pepper in the world until being dethroned in 2011. The Carolina Reaper is the currently the hottest of the hot. I’ve never tasted a Carolina Reaper, and I’m not sure I ever want to.

A Ghost Pepper clocks in at about 1,000,000 Scoville heat units. Scoville is the scale for measuring the heat in a hot pepper. As a reference point, jalapenos usually rate about 1,000-20,000 Scoville units.

Hmmm, I’ve got loads of hot peppers, what should I do with them?

To tell the truth, I was a little afraid to make a curry with the peppers, and if I used one to make a curry (and I’d be afraid to use more than one) what would I do with the others? I like hot food, but not so hot that I can’t taste the food.

So I decided to make Hot Pepper Jelly with my little harvest. I love the sweet-hot combination, and jelly is a great way to preserve the peppers to enjoy later in the year. Check out my  Pickled Jalapeno Peppers  and DIY Chipotle Pepper recipes for more ways to preserve hot peppers.

Ghost peppers are pretty, but super hot.

When working with Ghost Peppers gloves are a must, and goggles are not a bad idea.

How to make Ghost Pepper Jelly!

• Ghost Peppers are really, really hot. I highly recommend wearing gloves, and I even wore goggles to avoid getting juice or steam in my eyes. Believe me, you don’t want to put your face over the boiling pot of jelly and breath it in, yikes!!
• I used a combination of ghost peppers and sweet bell peppers cause I’m too chicken to eat a jelly made from only ghost peppers. Use whichever ratio of sweet to hot peppers that you’re comfortable with.
• Make sure to follow the times listed in the recipe for cooking the jelly, especially once the pectin is added. If you don’t cook it right, the jelly might not set properly.
• Check out the Ball Canning website for detailed instructions on water bath canning.
• Got Habaneros but no Ghost Peppers? No problem, the type of hot pepper is interchangeable. Habanero Jelly would be just as delicious as Ghost Pepper Jelly.

Click through the step-by-step photos to see how to make and can Ghost Pepper Jelly:

Puree the peppers with some of the vinegar.

Pepper Puree

Be careful, the jelly can boil over very easily (mine did). Don’t breath in the steam, it burns.

A canning funnel makes getting the hot jelly into the jars much easier and neater.

Wipe the rim of each jar with a damp paper towel. Bits of pepper on the rim might prevent the lids from sealing properly.

Process the jars in a water bath for long-term preserving.

My Ghost Pepper Jelly has a nice flavor and a manageable heat level. I’ve tried the jelly on cheese and crackers, on a peanut butter sandwich and we even used it as a condiment for breaded pork chops.

I also put some Ghost Pepper jelly in my Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies and in Peanut Butter Mousse Pie. WOW, so good!!

I think Ghost Pepper Jelly in a pretty jar, wrapped with colorful ribbon, would make a lovely holiday or hostess gift.

If you love this recipe as much as I do, please consider giving it 5 stars.

Print Recipe

4.53 from 94 reviews

Ghost Pepper Jelly – Bhut jolokia Jelly

By: Eileen Gray

Ghost Peppers, or Bhut Jolokia, are one of the hottest peppers on the planet. Tame the heat of these firecrackers by making Ghost Pepper Jelly.

Prep Time20 mins

Bake Time10 mins

Processing Time10 mins

Total Time40 mins

8 cups

US CustomaryMetric

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 4 ghost peppers (or to taste)
• 12 oz red, orange or yellow bell peppers
• 16 oz cider vinegar (2 cups)
• 3 lbs granulated sugar (6 cups)
• 2 pouches liquid pectin

Instructions

• Sterilize 8 half pint or 4 pint jars and lids by boiling for 10 minutes or running through the "sterilize" setting on your dishwasher. Set warm sterilized jars on clean kitchen towel while preparing the jelly.
• Put on gloves! Ghost peppers are hot! Stem, seed and roughly chop all the peppers. In a food processor or blender, puree the peppers with 1 cup of the vinegar.
  4 ghost peppers, 12 oz red, orange or yellow bell peppers, 16 oz cider vinegar
• Combine the puree with remaining vinegar and the sugar in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil (be careful not to breath in the steam or get it in your eyes!!!). Boil for 10 minutes, careful it can boil over. Stir in the pectin, return to a boil and boil 1 minute, keep stirring.
  3 lbs granulated sugar, 2 pouches liquid pectin
• Ladle the jelly into the sterilized jars, leave 1/4" head space. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, moist paper towel. Place 2 piece lids on the jars (don't over tighten the screw top). Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Equipment

My Book

Food Processor

Ball Jars 8 oz, Set of 8

Canning Set

Guide To Preserving

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Notes

See the Ball Canning Website for detailed instructions on water bath canning, sterilizing jars and other important information.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoons | Calories: 72kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g

Have you tried this recipe?Mention @eileen.bakingsense or tag #bakingsense!

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