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.
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 pepper in our home garden just for fun. This year I planted a Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia) plant. It took most of the summer, but I finally got a handful of ripe peppers.
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, now that I’ve got ’em, what should I do with ’em?
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 Ghost 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 recipe for another way to preserve hot peppers.
When working with Ghost Peppers gloves are a must, and goggles are not a bad idea.
Proceed with Caution!
I know that sounds dramatic, but 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 based my Ghost Pepper Jelly recipe on a Jalapeno Jelly recipe I found in a Ball Canning recipe book. The original recipe used 12 ounces of Jalapeno peppers. I used a combination of ghost peppers and sweet bell peppers. There is no way I’m eating a jelly made from only ghost peppers. Use whichever ratio of sweet to hot peppers that you’re comfortable with.
Be careful, the jelly can boil over very easily (mine did).
Wipe the rim of each jar with a damp paper towel. Bits of pepper on the rim might prevent the lids from sealing properly.
Check out the Ball Canning website for detailed instructions on water bath canning.
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 on my Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies, WOW!!
I think Ghost Pepper Jelly in a pretty jar, wrapped with colorful ribbon, would make a lovely holiday or hostess gift.
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.
Special Equipment Used: Canning Jars, Canning Funnel, Jar Lifter, Water Bath Canner.
Ghost Pepper Jelly – Bhut jolokia Jelly
Ingredients
- 4 ghost peppers (or to taste)
- 12 oz red, orange or yellow bell peppers
- 2 cups (16 oz, 480ml) cider vinegar
- 6 cups (3 pounds, 1.36 kg) granulated sugar
- 2 pouches liquid pectin
Instructions
- Sterilize the jelly jars and lids by boiling for 10 minutes or running through the "sterilize" setting on your dishwasher. Set warm sterilized jars on kitchen towel while preparing the jelly.
- Put on gloves! Ghost peppers are hot! Stem, seed and roughly chop all the peppers. Puree the peppers with 1 cup of the 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.
- Ladle the jelly into the prepared 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.
Notes
See the Ball Canning Website for detailed instructions on water bath canning, sterilizing jars and other important information.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 64 Serving Size: 2 tablespoonsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 72 Carbohydrates: 16g
You might also like:
Pickled Jalapenos
DIY Chipotle Peppers
Chipotle in Adobo
Jalapeno Sourdough
Smoked Cornbread w/ Chipotle
PB&J Cookie with Hot Pepper Jelly
Heather
I don’t normally comment on recipes, but I just have to say that this is THE BEST pepper jelly! It’s spicy and flavorful. I get compliments every time I serve it!
Eileen Gray
Thanks, Heather!! I love it too. I’ve used it so many ways. On sandwiches, on pork chops and (my new favorite) in Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies. Thanks for visiting.
Rick
I was lucky enough to stumble over this recipe last fall as I was given a few ghost peppers and was looking for ways to use them. Awesome accolades were given from all who tried this, I spent the rest of the year fending off would be ghost pepper jelly thieves.. Although I did end up sharing many jars with friends and family, I’ve also passed this treasured recipe to many lovers of the heat.
This year I grew my own Ghost Peppers as well as some Carolina Reapers, and as I get ready to make a good sized batch this year to share and devour myself I just want to thank you for taking the time to post such a detailed recipe.
I’ve used it with rice, eggs, ribs, chicken wings, cheese and crackers, garlic bread, a dollop in soup…bottom line this Ghost Pepper Jelly goes with anything you can imagine where a nice sweet heat is needed.
Cheers Rick
Eileen Gray
Thanks Rick. Personally I’m a little afraid of the Carolina Reaper.Are they really that hot? By the way, I also like the Ghost Pepper Jelly on Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies. So good.
Brandy Robinson
II have made and eaten Carolina Reaper jelly using 5 and another time 12 peppers- the 5 pepper receipe is really good, the other is hot but tasty and serves well with cheeses and meats for those who enjoy a hot jelly. o used green bells for the 5 pepper and red bells for the 12 pepper one Makes great holiday gift.
Alan
My wife and I just made a batch of jelly using this recipe, we used datil peppers instead of ghost peppers. Super delicious!!
Eileen
Thanks! I just made a batch using Serrano peppers. I’ve never heard of datil peppers, have to look them up.
Debbie Maguire
Hi! I love this recipe and like others, have a hard time turning down those asking for a jar.
I was wondering if powdered pectin can be used and if so, what alterations need to be made.
Thanks!
Eileen
Hi Debbie. Yes, you can use powdered pectin. Replace the two pouches of liquid pectin with 1/4 cup of powdered pectin (that’s 2 tablespoons per pouch replacement). Add the powdered pectin with the pepper puree and the vinegar to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the sugar and bring the mixture back up to a full boil. Boil hard for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Heather
Hi! I’ve never made jam before and I followied the instructions perfectly when I made this recipe last night, but it seems to be very runny this morning like it didn’t set in the jars. Any advice? Thank you!
Eileen
Did you use powder or liquid pectin? If you don’t boil the mixture long enough with the pectin the jelly won’t set properly.
Heather
I used liquid. And I do not think I boiled hard enough. Definitely a first time error. Have you ever had this happen before? I’ve seen online that you can reopen the jars and add more pectin and reboil, but I’m afraid it will be overly sweet! Thanks for your advice!!
Eileen
Yes, once the pectin is in you need to bring it up to a full boil and let it go for a full minute. I haven’t tried to reboil the jam. If you have several jars I don’t think it would hurt to try doing 1. I wouldn’t add more pectin, I would just boil it a little longer and see what happens. Worst thing to happen would be that it wouldn’t set up. But you could still store it in the fridge and use it in marinades, salad dressing, etc. In fact, I’m using Ghost Pepper Jelly to make a glaze for salmon for dinner tonight. Good luck and let us know how it goes.