Special Sweet Chilli Sauce
This sauce will surprise you - the main ingredient is strawberries, not that you taste them as such in the final product. Great way to use up strawberries that are a bit too soft for eating.
The sauce has a similar consistency to a store-bought sweet chilli sauce, but with a good deal more kick; but of course, you can manage the heat depending on what chillis you choose to use. Jalapenos went into this, as I had a bag in the freezer from last year, and this year’s are about to go crazy. As it gets late in the season and the jalapenos start to slow down, I let the fruit ripen to red and then freeze - I end up with enough for “fresh” chillies across the year.
This recipe was inspired from multiple sources, including Sally Wise’s from her book “A Year in a Bottle” and the Permaculture Toowoomba website.
Ingredients
To make approximately 3 litres
850g strawberries, hulled and chopped
200g red jalapenos (or chilli of your choice), chopped. Your choice for seeds in or out!
4 1/2 cups white sugar
4 1/2 cups white wine vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)
3 tsp salt
2 tbs grated fresh ginger
8 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
Method
Place all ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil, stirring consistently until the sugar dissolves
Boil on medium for 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickens slightly
Optional: remove from heat and blend (see Notes)
Return to heat briefly to bring back up to temp
Decant into hot half-pint jars and process in water bath or steam canner for 10min (adjusting if required for altitude) (see Notes)
Can be stored for up to 2 years in cool, dark cupboard, but is really good straight away! (see Notes)
How to eat this
Drizzle over whipped cream cheese for a yummy dip to serve with veg sticks or chips
Add to your stir-fries for a sweet, spicy hit
With potato wedges and sour cream (classic!)
Recipe Notes
The above measurements are metric, but if you are in the US, don’t worry - just use the same with your cups & tablespoons. Unlike baking, a sauce like this is forgiving.
Vinegar: I like a mix of white wine vinegar and rice wine vinegar in this, but blend whatever vinegars you prefer.
Optional blending: if you are happy with having a few fruit chunks, leave it as is - the pieces will be soft. I blend so it is a smoother sauce and closer to a store-bought sweet chilli. The easiest way to blend this is with a stick mixer/immersion blender, but if needed, decant into a regular blender and blend in batches. Take care in both cases - you’re dealing with a very hot, sugary sauce.
Jars: I put mine into half pints as we are only a two-person household. You may wish to put into pints, but the processing time remains the same.
Water bathing: look at my post on Basic water bath or steam canning instructions. Some would opt not to process (water bath or steam can) this recipe at all, I choose to as I have a small household, so processing will give me a better guarantee of shelf stability, given it will take us some time to get through a batch. Click through for more info on water bathing.
Storage: store for up to two years in a cool, dark cupboard or cellar. Refrigerate after opening.
In terms of consistency, this is a reasonably runny sauce - don’t expect jam!
This is not a ‘tested’ recipe but aligns with proven canning principles. With this amount of vinegar, plus a short processing step, I’m confident in its shelf stability.