Easy Chilli And Basil Apple Jelly

Chilli and basil jelly is a super useful addition to your larder. You can use it as a glaze for roasting meats and chicken, add it to your cheeseboard and of course spread some on toast too.

Doesn’t this look gorgeous, just look at that clarity, that colour, those flecks of green basil and shards of red chilli. Oh yes, I can wax lyrical about my chilli and basil jelly you know, and boy this one is worth the words – it tastes GREAT!

This was a real ‘use up what’s around’ sort of jelly and I got 4 jars from what I had to work with.

Ingredients for basil and chilli jelly

Bramley cooking apples (these are the base of the jelly)

Red bell peppers

Basil, ginger and chilli

Juice and zest of a lemon

Sugar

How to make this jelly

Making jelly seems a little long-winded but really it is just a case of cooking those apples with your red peppers, chilli, ginger and lemon to a pulp and then letting them drip overnight to get all that lovely juice which will be the base of your finished jelly.

Then you measure out the juice and add the sugar and add the remaining chopped chilli and heat gently till the sugar has completely dissolved.

Now ramp up the heat to a rolling boil till it reaches that magical setting point of 105C.

Stir through the finely chopped basil and let the jelly sit for about 5 minutes then carefully ladle into sterilised jars. This is so that the basil will be suspended in the jelly along with those gorgeous little shards of chilli.

How long will this keep?

Your jelly will keep for up to a year in a cool dark place. Once opened store in the fridge and use within a month.

How to serve this basil and chilli jelly

You can use this as a glaze for roasting chicken or pork.

Add some to a stir fry or to gravy.

Use it with a cheeseboard.

Spread some on a toasted cheese sandwich or any other type of sandwich.

Looking for more super easy jelly recipes to try? Then check these out before you go;

Spiced crab apple jelly with Scotch whisky

Rowan and rosemary jelly

Bordeaux red wine jelly

Hedgerow jelly with whisky

Traditional Scottish rosehip jelly

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.

How To Make Chilli And Basil Jelly

Karon Grieve

This super versatile jelly is perfect as a glaze for roast chicken or pork, stirred into sauces or gravy, with a cheeseboard or in a toasted sandwich and more.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 35 mins

Total Time 45 mins

Course preserves

Cuisine British

Servings 70 servings

Calories 52 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

• ▢ 1 kg Bramley cooking apples
• ▢ 3 sweet red peppers
• ▢ 4 red chilli peppers
• ▢ 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
• ▢ 1/2 cup chopped basil leaves
• ▢ 1 lemon for juice and zest
• ▢ 750 g Sugar

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

 

• Quarter the apples, just leave on the skin and don’t even worry about the cores.
• Roughly chop the red peppers and 2 of the chilli peppers (remove the seeds if you don't want it too hot
• Peel and chop the ginger and add that to your pile of gorgeous goodness.
• Chuck everything into a large pan and squeeze in the lemon juice and add the zest and add enough water just to cover everything
• Bring to the boil and then lower the heat and let this stuff simmer for about 20 minutes till everything is tender
• Pour it into a suspended jelly bag to catch all the pieces but let the juice flow through.
• Leave this overnight to drain.
• In the morning decant the liquid into a measuring jug. DO NOT SQUEEZE THE JUICE BAG!
• For every 500ml of juice you want 450g sugar
• Pour your juice and the sugar back into the pan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar then raise heat to a rolling boil.
• Chop up those two remaining chillies into tiny pieces and add to the pan
• I found it took almost 15 minutes for this to reach the setting point.
• just before it is ready stir theough the finely chopped basil
• Have your saucer in the fridge or freezer cooling ready to test the jelly for set. You just put a spoonful on the chilled saucer and pop it back in fridge for 5 minutes. If it comes out slightly set and your finger leaves a bare space when you drag it through and causes the jelly to wrinkle, it’s ready to jar. If not continue boiling and test again.
• Let the jelly sit in the pan for a few minutes to settle so that the chilli and basil pieces don't just fall to the bottom of the jars but stay suspended in the jelly
• ladle your jelly into sterilised jars

Notes

Check out my articles on how to sterilise jars and how to make great jelly.

This jelly will keep for up to a year in a cool dark place, once opened store in the fridge and use within a month.

Once the juice has dripped through the jelly bag DO NOT squeeze it to get more juice. If you do this you will make your jelly cloudy and you want a crystal clear jelly.

I calculate the serving size as 1 tablespoon of jelly.

Nutrition

Calories: 52kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 37mgFiber: 1gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 201IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 2mgIron: 1mg

My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!

Keyword basil and chilli jelly, spiced jelly

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