Chamoy is a popular Mexican condiment equal parts hot sauce and candy made from chili peppers, citric acid, sugar, and salt. It's fantastic on fresh mango with a little pinch of Tajin seasoning, but you could also use it to make mangonada popsicles, smoothies, or snow cones.
Add the water to the blender. Wipe the chili peppers to remove any dust. Pull off the stem and shake out the seeds. Place the whole pepper in the blender along with the apricot jam, lime juice, sugar, and salt.
Blend on high speed until extremely smooth. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. Use chamoy with fresh mangos for a fun snack.
Video
Notes
Selecting the Best Ancho Chile (Chili) Peppers
You can identify the best ancho chiles by the color. Look for red tones in the dried peppers because that is a signal for a fresher, more flavorful ancho.
Selecting the Best Apricot Jam
Read the ingredients on the jar of apricot jam. I like Crofter's organic apricot jam (red label or blue are both 8 grams of sugar and work interchangeably) because the flavor of the apricot is pure and there's no artificial ingredients or preservatives. Plus, it comes in a 10 oz jar, so you can just use the whole jar in this recipe.
Possible Variations
I really like this recipe because it tastes authentic, but you may consider adding a bit of citric acid powder (start with 1/4 teaspoon). Another idea to get that extra tangy oomph would be to add extra lime juice or a teaspoon of tamarind paste (just concentrated tangy tamarind) or any brand tamarind candy (tamarind and chile with sugar added). Just start by adding a little bit at a time (a small pinch or teaspoon), then add more to get it just right.