Tomato Jam

This has been a banner year for tomatoes here in central Indiana.  I did not put up one tomato last summer, but am making up for it this year! After freezing over 20 quarts of fresh tomatoes to be used for chili, soups and sauces, I thought it was time to move on to something new and exciting. I found this great recipe from Eve Fox at The Garden of Eating, for Tomato Jam. I gave it a try, and it received rave revues from the whole family. As I write this, I have my sixth batch simmering on the stove! So if you have an abundance of tomatoes and would love to try something fun, here is the recipe:

You will need 5lbs. of fresh tomatoes, washed and cored.

Next, chop the tomatoes into little pieces, skins and all. After they are all chopped, I would recommend letting them drip out in a strainer in the sink for a bit to drip out the juice. This will cut your cooking time way down.

Place all of your chopped tomatoes into a large stainless steel pot. 

Add:  3 1/2 cups of sugar

          8 tablespoons of lime juice, lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar

           2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger

           1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

           1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

           1 tablespoon salt

           1 tablespoon chili flakes

 Stir it all together, and turn the heat on. I cooked my jam higher at first to cook off the liquid quicker. You will want to stir the mixture often at this point. As the jam thickens, reduce the heat to prevent scorching. Continue to stir more frequently as it thickens. If it does stick to the bottom, do NOT scrape the burnt stuff up when you stir it as you will have scorched chunks floating in your jam. You can pour it off into a different pot, or stir very carefully. Continue cooking until it is a nice thick chunky mixture. This will take several hours, so start early in the day! Ladle it into canning jars while it is hot. Process the jars in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. If you have never done this, you can find good directions online. I believe that the jam could also be frozen in freezer containers.

This jam makes a great dipping sauce for chicken, egg rolls, anything you would use a spicy dipping sauce for. We poured some over a block of cream cheese and spread it on crackers for an absolutely delicious treat! This will make 3-5 pints.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we have!

Diana