Jalapeno Hot Honey Recipe: Hot or Warm!
Honey has an unique taste. Yet each jar can contain a different nuance of flavor. This is because bees gather nectar from millions of flowers to produce it. Each type of nectar adds its own floral gifts to the end product. You can take this flavor experience one step further. Make your own Jalapeno hot honey by infusion with hot peppers.
How to Make Hot Honey
Infused honey is made by adding a hint of flavor from various herbs, fruits or flowers. Normally, the flavor is determined by the flowers that bees visit. Each nectar source has a unique color and flavor when made into honey.
However, we can add special flavors to this wonderful product made by bees. Additives such as vanilla beans or red pepper flakes impart added flavor but the process of infusion does as well.
Process of Infusion
Honey infusion is often done using herbs. First, fresh herbs are gathered and washed. After removing any dirt, old leaves etc, they are placed in a nylon bag that is put into a jar of honey.
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Now, the wait begins. The jar often sits in a sunny windowsill for quite a while. Over the next few weeks, the liquid takes on some of the herbal flavor.
Popular flavors are rosemary, mints, lavender and chamomile. But, you don’t have to stop there – you can make hot honey using jalapeno peppers.
Jalapeno Honey with Quick Infusion
Sometimes you need a special condiment in a hurry. No problem. You can make Jalapeno Honey as hot and spicy as you wish – in a short period of time.
Normally, I am not in favor of heating raw honey. Heat can destroy some of its natural nutrients and enzyme properties.
However, heat is necessary in order to speed up the infusion process. Warmth encourages the release of the jalapeno essence.
To protect the integrity of the product as much as possible, I warm it in a double boiler. Also, the honey never reaches an extremely high temperature.
Note: If do not wish to use heat, try the sunny windowsill method. The slow way infusion with peppers will work just fine too.
Instructions:
1. For the quick infusion way, wash, dry and cut up a jalapeno pepper. Toss the stem. Keep the seeds, peel and juices.
2. Warm honey in a pan on the stove (or microwave). Next, add the pepper (skin, seeds and all) to the pan and let steep for 10-15 minutes).
3. After the steeping time is finished, use a strainer (or similar) to remove the pepper parts. Discard these.
4. Store your homemade hot honey in a tightly sealed jar – the same way you normally store honey. If you choose to leave a few pieces of pepper in the jar, that is okay.
However, only do so if you plan to use it within a few days. The excess moisture may cause it to spoil.
FAQs and Expert Tips
You use other types of peppers to make hot honey. A few favorites include: habanero peppers, ghost peppers or even Carolina reapers.
Keep in mind that these hotter peppers will increase the heat of the final product. Be careful LOL. This also makes a nice addition to honey shrimp stir fry – if you can stand the heat.
Hot honey is made from regular bee honey that is infused with spicy ingredients such as hot peppers. The bees do not make it hot – we do.
Infused hot honey will last for months. The natural long shelf life of honey can be affected when other substances are added. Jar without pieces of peppers last longer.
Honey infused with peppers still has a sweet flavor but you notice a bit of heat at the end.
Hot honey may contain some of the compound capsaicin found in peppers. However, honey itself is a healthy on its own merit.
No, the pollen and nectar from pepper plants does not contain an capsaicin.
Enjoy Hot Honey in Your Favorite Dishes
Jalapeno honey is easy to make and adds some buzz to your sauces and marinades. It is the perfect condiment – a combination of heat and sweet. You can even use it when making homemade honey teriyaki sauce.
Drizzle on slices of cheese or hot biscuits or cornbread. Use some on this recipe for tender baked honey mustard pork chops. For those who love cooking outside – honey grilled pork chops are great.
Spicy honey is a good partner for fried chicken wings. You can even add a drizzle to your next pizza! It also makes a wonderful glaze for roasted chicken or baked pork tenderloins.
Don’t stop your experiments in infusion. There are many other flavors to try including other herbs and spices.
Or, maybe you would like to use your hot honey to make some honey glazed pineapple with a special twist. The same idea could be applied to this recipe for cinnamon dried apple rings.
Infused products are not only for recipes. Don’t forget to try Honey Lemon Ginger tea the next time you have a cold, allergies or sinuses.
It makes great gifts too! Choose a small pretty jar and label so the recipient will know what they are getting.
If it is someone you really like – throw in a package of honey glazed almonds or a small container of cinnamon honey butter.
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Hot Honey Recipe (with Jalapenos)
Equipment
- double boiler or equivalent
- containers
Ingredients
- 1 cup honey
- 1 raw jalapeno pepper (red or green)
Instructions
- Measure 1 cup of raw honey into a glass cup or other container. Place this in a double boiler set on low. We want to gently warm it but do not bring to a boil.
- Thinly slice one jalapeno pepper. Discard the end and the stem.
- Once the honey is warm, add the sliced jalapeno and stir well. Let this mixture steep for 10 minutes. Do not over heat.
- Remove pan from heat. Use a strainer to remove the pepper slices and seeds from the jar.
- Seal in a jar with a tight lid. **If you leave pepper slices in the jar – use within a couple of days or place in the refrigerator.The excess moisture from the pepper slices could cause the honey to ferment if left on the counter.