# Say it ain't so...Tomato Jam!!



## Guest (Aug 7, 2011)

Picked around 40 pounds of tomatoes this morning, was planning on chopping and freezing. I have a pantry and a spare room loaded up with canned stuff, BUT...I'm down to 3 half pint jars, 7 pints and 3 1.5 pints. I do have 21 quarts though. only 10 lids. I guess I've bought every box of flats in the county. I do have a hundred or so used plats, but only use them for partial jars, or anything that I'll keep stored in the refrigerator after it cools off. 
So, was chopping away, looking on the table at what hasn't been put in the pantry yet. Some peach salsa, some blackberry jam, some grape jam, then thought JAM!! Tomatoes!! It sounds good to me! I googled tomato jam and found quite a few recipes. I'm gonna make 3 halfpints and 4 pints of it!! If I don't like it, I'll relabel it strawberry jam and give it to my relatives on April 1. LOL. Anyway, has anybody ever made it? the recipes that look best didn't even mention pectin. Anybody know about tomato jam? Some folks use the word preserves instead of jam. Same meaning.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I've heard of it. How about Tomato Wine.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

I've heard of tomato preserves....I assume that would be the same thing.


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## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

That's a good idea, the April Fools trick. You might be surprised that someone likes it. It happens all the time to me, I make something and it doesn't appeal to me. Other family members just rave about it. <sigh>


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## whitewolf (Nov 9, 2003)

Made preserves before...didn't like them, but neighbor loved them. To each his own.


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## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

Yes! 
I've made it.
LOVE it!


To me it's "comfort food".
Reminds me of the sweetened chunky tomatoes, mashed up and juicy, that my Gramma use to serve.

Put me on your April's list!


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## rwur961615 (May 24, 2008)

My Mom made it when I was a kid all my siblings and I loved it!
Rick


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## Guest (Aug 8, 2011)

Ahhh!!! This is fantastic!!! Sweet yet tangy.


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## bigfoot2you (Oct 3, 2007)

Never made it but my mother did every year................GOOD!!!


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## bigfoot2you (Oct 3, 2007)

She also made green tomato mincemeat that was SUPER GOOD.............


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## Gladrags (Jul 13, 2010)

I love tomato jam, and love to experiment with different flavors. So far I've tried:

tomato basil jam
tomato clove jam
tomato lime jam (lime juice substituted for lemon juice)
tomato lemon jam
tomato peach jam (substitute one cup of chopped peaches for one cup of tomatoes)

All are yummy; the lime jam is my favorite.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I made it once with yellow pear tomatoes. The recipe called for lemons, don't remember if it needed pectin or not. Anyway, I made it because Grandpa said his grandmother made it and he was craving it. Grandma said she wouldn't know how his grandmother would have got lemons but I made it anyway (recipe was in a very old cookbook). 

I wasn't fond of it. Dh said it tasted like marmalade. Grandpa said it tasted just like his grandmothers. BIL loved it and ate a whole jelly jar of it with biscuits for breakfast in one morning.


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

7thSwan, how do you make tomato wine?


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## PixieLou (May 1, 2010)

Does anyone have a tried and true recipe? The recipe in the Ball Book calls for pickling spice - which does not excite me. The NCHFP recipe seems a bit better - calls for cinnamon, cloves and allspice. I was thinking along the lines of basil and chili peppers. In my mind I'm imagining this as a sweet ketchup type of thing.


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## Gladrags (Jul 13, 2010)

PixieLou said:


> In my mind I'm imagining this as a sweet ketchup type of thing.


Tomato jam really is not as tomato-y as ketchup. There's a tomato flavor, but the sugar makes it seem more fruity than anything else. Especially if you use spices like nutmeg, cloves etc.

The recipe I use is from a Better Homes and Gardens canning book, and uses low-sugar pectin. I'll post it when I get home tonight!


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## partndn (Jun 18, 2009)

PixieLou said:


> Does anyone have a tried and true recipe? The recipe in the Ball Book calls for pickling spice - which does not excite me. The NCHFP recipe seems a bit better - calls for cinnamon, cloves and allspice. I was thinking along the lines of basil and chili peppers. In my mind I'm imagining this as a sweet ketchup type of thing.


I'm at work and can't quote the recipe I use. I am also not a fan of too many spices, especially cinnamon. I suggest one like your NCHFP recipe, but I would back the cinnamon off a tad.

I'm a huge fan of it. I love dried beans, and it goes so good with beans as a counter to a spoonful of hot chow chow! MMMMMMMMMM


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## Gladrags (Jul 13, 2010)

Tomato-Basil Jam
(from the Better Homes and Gardens America's All-Time Favorite Canning and Preserving Recipes)

2 1/2 pounds (8 large) fully ripe tomatoes
1/4 C lemon juice
3 T snipped fresh basil
3/4 C sugar
1 package low-sugar pectin
2 3/4 C sugar

Wash, peel, core and seed tomatoes, and finely chop. Measure 3 1/2 cups. Place the tomatoes in an 8-quart pot. Heat to boiling, and reduce heat. cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add lemon juice and basil, Combine the 1/4 C sugar with the pectin, and stir into the tomato mixture. Heat to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the remaining sugar, and return to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute stirring constantly. Skim off foam.

Ladle into half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust lids. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. 

Makes 5 half-pints.

I mess with the recipe, substituting lime juice for lemon juice, leaving out the basil and adding cloves, nutmeg, etc., adding oregano or rosemary instead of the basil, etc. 

You can go wild!! LOL


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## PixieLou (May 1, 2010)

Made up my own recipe today. Mainly I worked with the spice profile for a spicy ketchup. It just came out of the canner, but the pot scrapings are divine. I think I'll add a bit more cayenne next batch. Then I'm going to try a 3rd batch with gladrags recipe - except sub balsamic vinegar for the lemon juice.

3 c. tomatoes
1-1/2 tsp lemon dust
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash cayenne
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1 pkg dry pectin
3 c. sugar


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

I made up a batch of yellow tomato marmalade preserves several years ago. I can't find the recipe right now... grrrrrr... but I do remember that it had cloves, cinnamon with a touch of nutmeg along with some orange peel. It was maaaavalous...especially when used as a glaze on a baked ham....


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## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

Here are two recipes that I plan on trying this year:
Tomato Jam - Food in Jars | Food in Jars
Yellow Tomato and Basil Jam - Food in Jars | Food in Jars

It's from the Food In Jars blog. Some interesting recipes, but it's not strictly canning recipes. She also has recipes for things like flavored salts and sugars, granola, or other things that can be stored in jars. Most of the recipes are geared for small batches.


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