Jalapeno in jams question? Last summer I made some jalapeno jelly, I think

B

barbara-in-va

Well-known member
from a recipe posted here. A couple of weeks ago I opened a jar to serve with some cheese and crackers on an appetizer platter. IT WAS HOT!!! It was not hot at all when I made it. Does this always happen with jalapenos in jellies?

The reason I ask is that I saw a recipe in Taste of Home Canning for raspberry-onion jalapeno chutney that I would like to make. It calls for 2 peppers, seeded, makes 7 half pints. Is this chutney going to eventually become really hot too??

Thanks for your thoughts!

 
Not sure about jam, but in general, the more you cook peppers the "hotter"

they get. High temperature causes them to release more capsicum. So maybe the processing made it spicier.

Also, jalapenos can vary quite a bit, and the seeds are spicier than the green part. Could it be you had a mild bite when you tasted it the first time and now the heat is more evenly distributed?

 
My experience with jalapeno chiles in particular: Ya can't trust them. . .

Once, I had read that Jalapenos were the only pepper that had heat that diminished when you cook them. I made a relish, half Jalapenos, half bell peppers and canned it up; hotter than heck. Made second batch of same relish, same proportions; hot at first and then the heat faded with age in the jar. Just made some more of the same relish, but my peppers and Jalapenos were water-stressed so I might be using some really hot relish soon. . .

If you want the flavor of jalapeno, but not so much heat:

Look for jalapenos that are really big, like as long as your middle finger, or as long as your palm is wide as the big ones tend to be much milder.

Put your gloves on and then cut the jalapenos open and cut out the white veins and seeds within as these will contain the most heat.

Chop them into very small, even pieces so that you don't bite into a big piece and get suprised.

Also, for less heat, avoid jalapenos with those little "stretch marks" on them, as these tend to be hotter as well.

As for chiles in general: the smaller the hotter.

Of course if you have no heat tolerance at all you will want to get VERY large jalapenos, with no stretch marks and then de-seed and de-vein them before use--but you still may find them too hot.

Jalapenos do have a distinct flavor that I love. I have had jalapeno strawberry jam that was just delicious, but had no heat (at least to me!).

Good luck!

 
Like mistral & Joe said, the key to controlling the heat is removing the seeds AND the veins. Of

course if you do that, you may struggle to get it hot enough. Personally, I like serranos better.

 
Wow, some great jalapeno info! Thanks all. I will look for the right jalapenos at the

farmers market tomorrow. Hopefully I will get to make the chutney this weekend.

PS If there is ever a storm or some sort of devestation, DH and I will be able to survive on the stash of TONS of jars of jam/chutneys/etc in the basement. I keep giving them away but make them faster than I can deplete the inventory! LOL!!! I just love making this stuff smileys/smile.gif

 
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