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Sauces · American

Hot Honey (Habanero)

Sweet first, then a slow habanero glow. Made the careful way, with a scale and a thermometer.

Hands-on
30 min
Hands-off
15 min
Total
45 min
Makes
1.5 cups (about 500 g)
Serves
24
  • medium
  • vegetarian
  • gluten-free
  • dairy-free
  • condiment
  • pizza-topping
  • gift-idea

Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means

Illustration of Hot Honey (Habanero)
Amount
Units

Ingredients

You need: kitchen scale · instant-read or candy thermometer · 2 small saucepans · disposable gloves · fine sieve or several layers of cheesecloth · clean glass jar with a tight lid · large pot for boiling the jar

Contains: none of the 9 major allergens in the listed ingredients

Method

  1. Get the jar ready

    Wash the jar and lid, then boil them in a pot of water for 10 minutes. Lift them out with tongs and let them air-dry.

    Ready when: Water at a full rolling boil for the whole 10 minutes.

  2. Glove up and slice

    Put on gloves and thinly slice 4 habaneros. Don't touch your face or eyes until the gloves are off and your hands are washed.

    Otto tried this firstOtto slices habaneros bare-handed, then rubs his eye. Gloves go on first, every time.

  3. Warm the vinegar

    Heat 60 ml (1/4 cup) cider vinegar in a small pan until it steams, but don't let it boil. Open a window or turn on the extractor fan: the fumes sting.

    Ready when: Wisps of steam rise from the surface, with no bubbles.

  4. Simmer the peppers

    Add the sliced habaneros to the hot vinegar and simmer for 2 minutes, then take it off the heat.

    Ready when: A gentle simmer, small bubbles, for the full 2 minutes.

  5. Weigh the honey and the pepper mix

    Weigh 454 g (1 lb) honey into the second pan. In a separate bowl, weigh out no more than 80 g (2.8 oz) of the pepper-and-vinegar mix, liquid and slices together. Leave the rest out.

    Otto tried this firstOtto tips in the whole pan of peppers and vinegar 'for extra heat'. The card is strict: 80 g maximum, weighed.

  6. Heat the honey

    Warm the honey over low heat, stirring, until the thermometer reads 82°C (180°F). Then stir in the weighed pepper mix.

    Ready when: Thermometer at 82°C (180°F). The honey is thin and runny but not bubbling.

  7. Infuse for 15 minutes

    Keep the honey hot for 15 minutes, stirring now and then. It must stay at 60°C (140°F) or higher the whole time, and it must not boil or it may scorch.

    Ready when: Thermometer stays between 60°C (140°F) and 82°C (180°F) for the full 15 minutes; no boiling.

  8. Strain and seal

    Pour the hot honey through a fine sieve or a few layers of cheesecloth into the clean jar, so that no pepper bits are left. Close the lid.

    Ready when: No seeds or pepper slices left in the jar.

  9. Cool and refrigerate

    Let the jar cool, then keep it in the fridge.

Make ahead, store & reheat

Storage
Sealed jar in the fridge. We follow the more cautious food-safety advice here. Make small batches and use them up. If it ever bubbles, foams or smells sour, it is spoiling: throw it out. Cold honey may crystallize; that's not spoilage.
Reheat
If it has crystallized, stand the closed jar in a pan with a few inches of warm water and heat gently until it is completely liquid again.

If something goes wrong

  • Honey turned grainy in the fridge Why: Normal crystallization in the cold
    Warm the jar in a water bath until fully liquid. Any crystals left behind make it re-crystallize fast.
  • Bubbles, foam or a sour smell Why: Fermentation/spoilage
    Throw it away. Don't taste it.

Good to know

  • Want it milder? Choose milder dried chiles instead (see safety notes). Don't just add more fresh peppers.
  • Taste only once it has cooled: hot honey burns far worse than it looks.

Safety

  • Never give honey, including hot honey, to babies under 1 year old. Honey can carry botulism spores that are harmless to older children and adults but can make infants seriously ill, and heating doesn't kill them.
  • Don't 'improve' the recipe by adding fresh garlic, fresh herbs or extra fresh peppers, or by leaving pieces in the jar. Moist, low-acid ingredients sitting in honey can let harmful bacteria grow. The weight cap, the heat and the straining are what make this safe.
  • Fully dried, brittle chile flakes are the low-risk way to flavor honey. They can be added in any amount, hot or cold.
  • Hot honey at 82°C (180°F) sticks to skin and burns badly. This is an adults-only job at the stove; kids can help with the weighing.
  • Wear gloves for habaneros and keep the room ventilated while the vinegar simmers.