When deciding on favours for your guests, there are many culinary delights as delicious options! If you’re looking for something a little different, and your guests love a bit of heat, why not make your own sweet chilli sauce? There are many different recipes, but we’ve stuck with a simple process which you can tinker with.

Once you’ve cooked up a storm in the kitchen, decant into gorgeous jars or sauce pots and label with a sweet tag. Remember to let guests know how hot you’ve made the sauce, and be sure to keep a few extra jars for yourself. Delicious!

What You Will Need:

  • 500g chillies
  • 3 cups white vinegar
  • 3 cups castor sugar
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • Heavy based saucepan
  • Sterilised jars and wrapping decorations
  • Sharp knife
  • Mixing spoon – use a metal one to avoid passing chilli onto other dishes!
  • Disposable gloves – keep those hands away from the face!

What To Do:

Step One. Weigh and wash your chillies. You will need quite a large amount (unless bulking up the sauce with tomatoes or red peppers), so ask around to see if anyone you know has any growing in their garden. If you’re up for a bigger project, try growing them yourself – they are incredibly easy!

Chop half the chillies finely and place in a heavy-based saucepan. Deseed the other half before chopping them as finely as possible, and adding to the saucepan. Be very careful at this point to either wear gloves, or keep your hands away from your face. If you’re wanting a finer sauce, place half the chillies in a food processor before adding to the saucepan. And if you’re looking to make a hotter sauce, keep all the seeds in.

Step Two. Add the vinegar, sugar, and garlic cloves (minced) to the saucepan. Keep on a low heat until the sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil. Once the pan has reached boiling point, turn it back down and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes. Keep a close eye on the saucepan, as it can quickly turn to caramelised chillies because of the sugar content.

Step Three. Once the sauce has reached a pouring consistency, decant into your chosen jars and seal. Decorate and wrap the jars to match your theme, adding a tag to let guests know how spicy the sauce is!

Ms Zigzag says: You could have some fun with the quotes on the labels…For jars of jam, I’ve seen “Spread the Love.” What works for sweet chilli sauce? “Some like it hot” perhaps? 

About Ms Honeycomb  – Hi, I’m Nicola, the florist and crafter behind rubyandjoy. I’m a gardening, fabric-loving, mint tea-drinking, brownie-baking, book-obsessed maker! I love a good adventure having just moved back from five years in Scotland (with my lovely Scottish husband).