Chronicles from My Kitchen - Chez Rebecca Anne - 08/05/20
Tomato jam. Naturally sweet and juicy when made with fresh cherry tomatoes. My preferred cherry-style tomato is the sungold variety. They are small - diameter between a dime and a nickel - and brightly orange/yellow like the golden hour sun. This year my small kitchen garden has sungold and also blueberry tomato. The latter was a variety I had never heard of - but that jumped out at me at @thefarmersdaughterri when we were shopping in late spring. The taste is a different kind of sweet, but not like a blueberry. The name is from the deep purple blush the tops of the tomatoes have with a more traditional red undertone. Bottom line - they are delicious.
So with about a 1 ½ cup of mixed cherry tomatoes (or up to a pint from the farmer’s market perhaps?) - I set about making my first batch of tomato jam.
Other ingredients
2 - 4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced:
I like garlic. I like roasted garlic even more, so determine how much to mince based on your preferences. I lean towards more is better in this instance.
Good olive oil
I would recommend against any kind of flavored olive oil. I am partial to Spanish olive oil, but really any quality oil will work.
Salt
I use kosher salt in this type of recipe.
Pepper
I choose a coarse grind.
Instructions
Heat oven to 225 degrees F
I actually use my toaster oven for making this jam since I do it in small batches as the tomatoes ripen on the vine. However, you could certainly use a traditional oven too.
Cut the tomatoes in halves.
Toss the minced garlic and the tomato halves in olive oil.
True confessions: I have never measured how much I have used and I have been making versions of this recipe for many years. My estimates: At least 2 healthy glugs out of the bottle - and definitely enough to have the tomatoes and garlic well (leaning to over) oiled. The oil and the tomato juices will help to make the jamminess.
Season with salt and pepper - and it is okay to be a bit liberal here.
Slow roast the tomato garlic mixture for 1 hour. Toss the mixture - and if a bit dry, mix in a tbsp more of olive oil.
Continue roasting for 1 more hour. The consistency of this jam is chunky. I cook the mixture up to about 2 ½ hours. I consider it done when the tomatoes have started to heavily shrivel (aka concentrate in their flavor) and the garlic is roasted / toasted and NOT burnt.
That is it. You can store the jam (with all the juices/oil and the garlic) in a covered container in the fridge for about 2 weeks (if it lasts that lo
ng). I serve it as a spread on sandwiches or with runny eggs. OR MY BEST IDEA yet on using this jam is on a ABLT (avacado, thick cut bacon, lettuce and tomato) sandwich with just a light touch of mayo on good sourdough (toasted) bread. It is rather unbelievably good.
How will you choose to use your homemade tomato jam? Leave me a note in the comments to share ideas that I likely haven’t thought about yet. :)
Buen provecho.
