Delicious Discovery: Trotter's Hot Pepper Jelly

My husband likes things spicy. Really spicy. He'll eat scotch bonnet peppers raw. So when he came over here and realized there was a superabundance of pepper jellies that claimed to set your tongue a'tingling, he was excited. And then he tried them and was bitterly disappointed. See, manufacturers don't make jellies for people like my husband. They make them for people who like just a tiny bit of a kick. The ones who order their curries medium and feel really daring and have to drown the taste in naan and rice. We were about ready to throw in the towel and wait for our pepper plants to mature and make our own jelly, but then we discovered Trotter's.

Trotter's took a stall at the Stockbridge Market not long ago, and because we're rather hopeful people, we stopped to try their Hot Pepper Jelly, expecting the usual assault of sweet followed by a tiny hopeful flicker of heat at the end. We were so, so wrong. This jelly doesn't mess around. They make it with scotch bonnets from a recipe founder Byam Trotter's great aunt Dina developed. God bless great aunt Dina. This stuff is fantastic on just about anything--crackers, a bit of cheese, even on sweet items like pancakes and chocolate cake, for those who are more daring. I'm considering stirring a bit into my oatmeal one morning just to see what it'll be like.

For those who really can't handle much spice, it's not an all-out assault, just a shot across the bow, if you will. It's just hot enough to make things interesting, which is more than can be said for most commercially produced hot peppery jellies. The company also produces chutneys (I rather like their "Bloody Shame" Bloody Mary-inspired concoction) and some of the best mostarda I've had outside of Italy. Sensational on cold meats (and also in porridge, according to the man manning the booth at the market).

Trotter's products can be purchased online at foodisan.com (mainland UK only) and peppercornsdeli.co.uk (probably also UK only). You can also find them at several stores throughout Scotland and Northern England.