Pineapple Habanero Jelly

The last time I was at the Farmer’s Market I was drawn towards these bright coloured peppers and for some reason bought a pack of them too. Like all other things which reach my pantry with no pre-determined use or destination, the habaneros snugly sat in my fridge. The week after I bought them we were at Le gourmet Chef, a store which meets culimary needs and I happened to taste a Pineapple Habanero Jelly, which was very tasty.

The sweet from the pineapples hit the palette first and then came the fiery hot from the habaneros. Cute and small they are, but don’t take these Habaneros for granted; there's more heat packed in there than you think! A little sure goes a long way.

The taste of this jelly lingered in my mind for a long time and the next time I saw the habaneors peeking at me from behind the gazillion other stuff in the fridge, I knew I had to make this jelly. I set about looking for a recipe online and came across this one.

I have never made Jams or Jellies at home before this so I had to rely on what I've seen to get the right consistency.

You will need:

15 habaneros, seeded and deveined (any colour, I used Orange)
1 orange bell pepper (or a bell pepper the same color as the habaneros)

4 cups cubed pineapple
1 cup Distilled Vinegar
5 cups sugar
3-4 tbsp Fruit Pectin
Pinch of salt

In a blender, chop up the habaneros, bell pepper, pineapple and vinegar. Bring to a boil on medium high heat in a non-stick pan. Add fruit pectin and stir. The mixture should thicken as you boil.

For the above mentioned quantity of fruit:sugar:habanero, the quantity of pectin used was sufficient. You can increase/decrease it depending on how well your mixture thickens as you bring to a boil.

Pectin is basically a gelling agent used in the preparation of jams and jellies. It is available in most grocery stores.


The Pineapple Habanero Jelly serves well as a dip for Torilla chips, salted Pretzels or anything else you can think of pairing this with.


Fire up your taste buds!! :D