Sauced: Jalapeño Jam

[ Photographs: Joshua Bousel ]

Jalapeño jam isn't a supermarket staple where I live in New York. So when a barbecue glaze I made recently called for it, it took a bit of searching to even find a jar. When I finally did, I was stuck paying over four times what I should have. The experience left me thinking that would be the one and only jar of jalapeño jam I would ever buy...until I tasted the sauce. It added the perfect texture, sweetness, and spiciness, and I suddenly felt I could not live without. Instead of shelling out more for another bottle, I took matters into my own hands and whipped up a batch at home.

The process is pretty quick and painless: chop jalapeños and green peppers in a food processor, simmer them in vinegar and sugar to fully flavor the liquid, bring to a rolling boil, and then stir in the pectin. The resulting jam can be sealed into jars for shelf storage or transferred into a container and stored in the fridge for more immediate use—either way, it may take up to a day for the jam to fully set.

The jam had everything I loved about the first bottle I bought—a sweet start that was interrupted by the fruity heat of the jalapeños and tempered by a vinegar tang. For less than what I paid for one small bottle, I'm now the proud owner of three 16 ounce jars of this stuff for all the sauces, crackers, biscuits, and burgers it's sure to adorn.

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