Award Winning Stokes: Chilli Jam

It seems kind of incongruous to call a preserve made with peppers and chillies a jam. But that’s what it is. Chilli Jam.

OK, so what is jam but fruit simmered with sugar to enrich and lift the flavours before setting.

Peppers and chillies are fruit, specially selected for quality and flavour.

As for the sugar element, Stokes use unrefined cane sugar, which is a typical artisan sugar. It is less processed and retains all or most of the cane molasses around the sugar crystals.

This natural sweetness and additional depth of flavour simmer gently with the ‘fruit’ to create this deeply flavoursome jam.

We use chilli in many of our ‘hotter products’ and recommend using products in many different ways – such as here, adding Chilli Jam to gravy for a little extra zing.

Another misnomer with the term Chilli Jam is the chilli element. Isn’t it going to be too hot?

Peppers and chillies, though from totally different geneses, have many similarities. Some ‘sweet’ peppers can be quite eye-wateringly hot. Whilst some chillies are sweet, delicious, and hardly even warming.

The trick, is to choose the right ones and combine them to create the sweet, juicy flavour-packed finish with just a gentle heat to extend the exquisite taste sensation.

The Great Taste Award judges agreed that this is:

‘Enticing bright red appearance with chunks of peppers visible. It is warming, has a real chilli flavour without being overpowering, with the taste of the peppers coming through. Pleasing contrast between the chilli and the sweetness of the peppers.’

You will find the recipe for these Bacon, Brie & Chilli Jam Pasties amongst other sensational recipes – HERE.

Chilli Jam, like many of our sauces, mayonnaise, chutneys, jams, preserves and condiments, can be used in so many ways.

You can find and enjoy 10 delicious ways to get the most from the flavours of our Chilli Jam in the recipe pages – HERE.

Some may surprise you, such as adding it to a chocolate cake mix. But chillies do work so very well with chocolate.

Try a teaspoon of Chilli Jam in a hot chocolate drink with a shot of Bailey’s – prepare to be amazed!

As amazed in fact, as you’ll be at the results of simple stirring a little into the gravy for the Sunday Roast.

Resident Chef, Andy, shares many recipes which include this little jar of taste bud joy, in the recipe pages – HERE.

Your soldiers will never taste the same again.

Try it, believe it, enjoy it.

You will find that chillies feature as an ingredient across a number of Stokes’ products.

As well as the obvious Chilli Ketchup – “a twist on the best – savour the rich tomato taste and then feel the heat of the spices kicking in. Spice up your shepherd’s pie, potato wedges, fish cakes…”

… and Chipotle Ketchup – “brimming full of sweet, juicy tomatoes with a smoky, spicy kick! Chipotle Chillies are Jalapenos left to ripen on the plant to a deep red, before being smoked, giving them their distinctive flavour. Perfect for BBQ’s and a great accompaniment to meat for lovers of spice.”

… we have introduced hot chillies to our new Habanero Chilli Mayonnaise – “creating a hot and spicy mayonnaise with fermented red habanero chilli and fragrant coriander for a real depth of flavour. All this wrapped in velvet-smooth mayonnaise.”

What it does to a BLT is little short of sensational.