My past few weeks have been absolutely crazy. So crazy I barely noticed how quick time was passing by. I realised that the heat of summer was no longer around. And I found myself taking out cardigans, jackets and scarves…. Where has my summer gone? And autumn, too? The maple leaves on my neighbour´s yard has not even turned red yet. Winter seems to be in a hurry this year.
Last weekend we made an effort to clear out a few tomato bushes. We have been so blessed with heavy crops of juicy tomatoes. We ate them mainly in salad and sandwich. Pleasure, it was so simple. This was our first ever gardening efforts, and it seemed everyone in the house enjoyed it immensely.
Naturally enough, we had more tomatoes than we needed (I didn´t buy tomatoes for nearly 3 months!). So, time to preserve summer produces. Tomato jam was the perfect choice, since I did not have quite enough tomatoes to make large batches of passata.
This jam (or chutney?) has a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. The spices and warmness of ginger, cinnamon and cloves are wonderful. It pairs well with most meats and cold cuts. I personally love this tomato jam with pan-fried haloumi cheese, some fresh tomatoes and fresh baguette.
Tomato Jam
Adapted minimally from here.
makes approximately 1 liter of jam
Ingredients:
1600g heirloom tomatoes (with skins and seeds), finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
300g raw sugar
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 red chili pepper, finely chopped
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp ground cumin
pinch of ground cloves
Juice of 2 lemons
1.5 tbsp. salt
4 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Directions:
Combine all ingredients, except balsamic vinegar , in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring regularly, until the juices have evaporated and tomatoes have reduced to a thick and sticky jam. This will take approximately 1 to 1,5 hours, depending on the amount of heat.
In the end of cooking time add balsamic vinegar. Adjust the flavors if necessary and remove from heat.
Ladle the hot jam into sterilized jars and twist on the lids.Cool and store in the fridge for about 3-4 months.
Envious of your abundant tomato crop! The jam looks beautiful.
A lovely jam! The flavors are wonderful.
What a wonderful way to end the summer Anh!Now in the dead of winter you can enjoy a little bit of summer
What a lovely recipe. I just loved the first photograph. It's so stunning
It's Spring here!
Sorry, don't mean to rub it in, it's just that I'm so happy that winter is behind us here in the Northern hemisphere.
Our summer is in a hurry here!
Well, let it come to us for a while..
Wonderful summer in a jar
Anh, just wanted to let you know how stunning this post and recipe are. Doubly meaningful is the fact that the tomaroes are homegrown the fruits of your own labor!
Love how vibrant it looks. This would taste fab with haloumi as you said
argh so jealous of your tomato growing prowess!
send me a jar of these Anh! its so lovely and the flavors are right up my alley!
That first picture screams summer! Tomato jam sounds so good.
That first picture screams summer! Love the yellow in the photo. Jam sounds lovely.
With summer coming soon to the Southwest U.S., I will be looking forward to making this jam very soon! Thanks, Anh – I can also see this being served with goat cheese on wheat crackers! ~ David
What a great idea to make it into jam!
Anh, I'm so jealous of your tomato bounty – we have to wait 6 more months for good tomatoes here in California! I keep regretting that I didn't preserve more at the end of last summer. This year, I will have to try your jam:)
Oooh, it's like kasundi! I've always loved kasundi on a slab of sourdough with cheese, so I think I'd love this
What a wonderful way to hold onto summer Anh, which this beautiful tomato jam. I love your suggestion of serving it with haloumi, that sounds amazing.
Oh I remember that feeling that summer has gone… it was several months ago, and now FINALLY spring is around the corner! We're totally in opposite season it's kind of strange, but great things is that we can look forward to recipes you shared. =) Tomato jam? First time I heard of it but I love it. Looks so delicious and your tomatoes are beautiful! As always your photography is
Thanks for all the yummy food
yum… this would go good on my sandwiches!
winter has already set in? cant tell u how jealous i am of where u live i would happily trade places… where i stay it is terribly, unbearably hot & winter is still far far away 😀 i love spicy-tangy-sweet tomato chutney/jam's, such a burst of flavour they have
I am going to make this when summer arrives 😉 Love some for my bread now.
I'm sorry your tomato season is ending and I am looking forward to ours coming up. I hope I have such a wonderful crop as you!
I had to read that twice. Then I thought to myself "I thought only fruits went into jam". Then I remembered tomato is a fruit. I am intrigued. I have to try this out sometime!
This is perfect on the other side of the world as we just head into spring
It sounds delicious!!!
I sure do eat a lot of tomato chutney but jam is something i never tried. I hope you get some breathing time in between your busy schedule!
The cold weather seemed to come quickly this year – though this weekend has been lovely – love your jam – just the sort of thing I love with some bread and cheese
Lovely tomato jam!! Home grown ones, I bet they are super yummy!
Yum! looks and sounds so good! I will save this for a few months down the road when we are finishing up our summer, thanks!
I love this combination of sweet and spicy jam,beautiful pictures too.
Heading into summer this part of the world too! Looking forward to making some of this jam.
Look at all those gorgeous tomatoes! Makes me want summer to get here over on my side of the world.
Now this recipe excites me a lot! I'm gonna have to make it this coming weekend for sure.
you have such a gorgeous blog, anh! thank you for leaving a comment on my blog so i could find yours! xo
Love all of these photos! and the food looks so good! Thanks
Love all of these photos! and the food looks so good! Thanks
How I wish to have tomato shrubs too, lit would be so romantic, alas the concrete jungle! Your jam is so worth a market trip to buy tomatoes so I can have a jar of it at home !
Thank you Anh for sharing this lovely recipe, I would love to make it at the end of my summer…
I've always wanted to try tomato jam. Lucky for me my summer is just about to begin – your title confused me for a second before I realized you're on the other side of the plant.
Tomato jam is a fvorite of mine…ANd I love making it. I will have to try your recipe!
I have a recipe for chilli tomato jam as well which I have been dying to try out. I must say yours look so delicious and even better as it is home grown harvest.
YUUM! This recipe is amazing. I love it even more after hearing your suggestions to have it with haloumi nomzzz. And safe to keep for at least 3 months? Done! So making this soon. Thanks Anh. Hope you're doing well over there =]
We just now moving into warmer weather and I am SO looking forward to good fresh tomatoes! This jam looks perfect and something I truly love. Thanks for sharing!
Tomato jam was there in my mind…but never tried attempting it…love this lush jam….looks delectable…
Sounds lovely! I would love this with some cheese I think :)
It's interesting that you are bidding goodbye to summer, whereas we are saying Hello here from the US :)
I'm jealous of the lovely heirloom tomatoes that you've got! Would love to have some jam right now with cheese!
Beautiful vivid color photos! I definitely put this on my to do list.
this is a fantastic jam . tomatoes are so photogenic…lovely shots anh
this recipe sounds amazing!! i like savoury jam more than sweet. The last time i tasted tomato jam was from a one-time market stall–now there is the recipe to make my own anytime i want!!