Tomato Jam!

Tim has been been talking about a Ball Jam and Jelly maker for awhile....so we got him one for Father's Day! I've been dying to put it to work and we got the opportunity to after Farmers Market left me with some leftover tomatoes.

Some of the leftover Cherry tomatoes from Farmers Market

I had approximately 8 lbs of an assortment of Cherry tomatoes as well as some peppers. I googled a tomato jam recipe, found about 3 that I liked and then modified the recipe to be what I wanted.

Remember when reading the ingredients that this is tomato jam not salsa or tomato paste. So it should have a balance between sugar and the acid to make it have a thick consistency like other jams.

I decided to pick out the paste tomatoes from the mix and use those for the jam. So I sorted out the San Marzanos and the Juliette's from the other varieties.

For ease in chopping tomatoes use a serrated knife to cut through the skin of the tomato

Sorted paste tomatoes

INGREDIENTS

3 lbs paste tomatoes

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 small onion chopped

1 med. pepper chopped

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon dry parsley

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

8 tablespoons pectin powder

PREPARATION

1. Chop tomatoes, onion and pepper

2. measure out all other ingredients and add to Ball Jam maker, if you don't have a jam maker all ingredients can be cooked on the stove top on medium heat until they boil for 15 min. The mixture will thicken and require constant stirring.

3. Once mixture is cooked and is the consistency of gooey jam you can ladle the hot mixture into prepared canning jars.

4. Place the lids on the jars and place into boiling hot water bath and boil for 15 minutes.

5. Remove the jars carefully and place on towel to cool. You will begin to hear the "pop" of the jars sealing.

6. Allow jars to cool overnight, then wipe clean label and store. If you have any jars that have not sealed(you will be able to push on the lid and it will give) those will need to be placed in the refrigerator and consumed with 2-4 weeks.

YIELD: 8 pint jars

Ingredients for Jam in the Ball Jam Maker pot

Tomato Jam cooling after the hot water bath

USES: Serve on omelets, avocado toast, Grilled cheese- Remember this is jam not salsa so it will be sweet and pairs best with savory food.

I made grilled cheese the very next day and spread the jam on the inside of the bread, it added a surprise kick to our lunch!

Happy Jammimg

Cheri