Strawberry and Chili (Ata-Rodo) jam

So not too long a go there was a craze going on with Ata-Rodo jam ie chili jam. A lot of people seemed to like it, but honestly I was not even bothered to check out the recipe because I just did not understand why anyone would want to eat Chili jam especially Ata -Rodo for that matter :)). “I would not even enjoy it.” I said to myself. Anyway, recently I was toasting some bread and I wanted something sweet so I reached into the refrigerator for some jam and it so happened that I was making some soup and  in a rush, I had just sliced some chili pepper, so with one lick of my finger I could taste the chili and the strawberry. At first the taste did not register, it was a few minutes later I asked myself “what was that?”  I had mistakenly licked the strawberry and chili pepper together…whoa whoa whoa a eureka moment… that moment I knew this would be it! for me. The sourness and sweetness of the strawberry combined with the hint of  heat from the spicy pepper was a win win and right there I decided to use the strawberries I had for my home made jam. I have to use one of my favorite words now

EUREKA! 🙂

Okay let us get to how I made my jam

 

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4.0 from 1 reviews
Strawberry and Chili (Ata-Rodo) jam
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Sweet
Cuisine: Nigerian Fusion
Ingredients
  • I pound of strawberries
  • 1small chili pepper(deseeded to reduce heat)
  • ¼ cup of sugar
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 lemon(lemon juice is okay if you do not have a lemon)
  • 1tbsp liquid pectin(optional)(the jam will set without the pectin, but it will be a little runny)
  • metal spoons
  • a jar to store
Instructions
  1. Put your metal spoons into a freezer.
  2. wash and slice your strawberries into a sauce pan, make sure you remove any bruised areas and the core of the fruit. Cut a small slice of your lemon, squeeze in the juice and drop the skin into the pot; then add your chili pepper
  3. add your sugar and a pinch of salt and start cooking on medium heat. Bring to a boil, making sure you stir constantly. When the mix softens, you may carefully use a wooden spoon or potato masher to slightly or smoothly mash it(making sure you do not mash the lemon along with the fruit and pepper). While it is boiling, you will see that the bubbles become a lot more thicker. At this point you may add your liquid pectin and stir for another 2 minutes(it is optional). To check if the jam is set, just put a few drops of the cooking jam onto the frozen spoon and run one of your fingers through it, it will leave a typical characteristic "jammy" trail. At this point, it is done. If not, continue cooking and stirring until the jam is set. You may add more sugar for more sweetness. Remove the lemon's skin and let the jam cool. You may store in the refrigerator for up to a month or you may freeze it

 

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