tomato jam
this was originally published September 6, 2019
oh hey there! just me again reminding you summer is still on🌞 but yes, we must prepare ourselves to continue summer vibes into the winter months. my favorite way of doing that is by making tomato jam!
first of all. tomatoes bought in the winter taste terrible. sorry, i didn't come up with this harsh truth.
second of all. buying tomatoes during the winter means they're probs coming from somewhere far away- so making tomato jam is a great way to impact your carbon footprint!
third. yes I wrote about a bunch of tomato recipes last september but i dont care. it's essential to make tomato jam in september for the winter
🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅
so wtf is tomato jam? well it's not sweet. and it's not a pasta sauce. it's a savory preserve! i really like this NYT recipe, but I cut the sugar by half cuz there's just no need when you're using super ripe tomatoes from the farmers market.
how tf to use tomato jam? literally anything. put it on a salad, pasta, toast, eggs, quinoa, i can keep going
ingredients:
1.5 lbs of heirloom tomatoes
1/2 cup sugar (i use brown sugar)
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 tsp ground cumin (this is essential!)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or cayenne or half a Thai chili (minced)
bring a pot of water to a boil to sterilize your jars and lids.
*recommendation: use a few smaller jars for this- once you open the jar in the winter you'll need to go through the contents quickly before any mold does. better to have multiple smaller jars so you can ration thru out the 8 months that make up winter*
combine all the ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan. bring to a boil a la medium heat. stir often. reduce the heat and bring to a simmer, stir occasionally for a long ass time. the recipe says 1 hr 15min, but its usually about 2hrs+ for me. taste and adjust the herbs n spices. pour mixture into your sterilized jars
HOT TOMATO SUMMER TIP
where to buy affordable heirloom tomatoes? locust grove fruit farm has a $1/1 lb super ripe heirloom tomato box. go early in the am cuz it goes quickly. they're at the union sq farmers market on wed & sat. thats where I got these beautiful heirlooms called Aunt Ruby!
