It's the best season (in Maine) for food preservation: when summer meets fall. Late September has the best crossover between our favorite late summer foods and those early fall stars. With this extended warm streak we've been having in Maine, it's still not too late to preserve some summer foods (namely tomatoes), and this tomato jam is a really easy, quick project to throw together.
For experienced tomato preservers, I'll say one thing to convince you to make this recipe: it doesn't involve peeling tomatoes. Those of you who know what a b*tch that step is will be sold.
My mom sent me this recipe via her cousin, and I had to check it against a reliable canning source to make sure it was properly acidified and heat processed before I said I'd can some for her. I found the recipe nearly verbatim on Food in Jars (tomato jam), where it's apparently one of Marisa's most popular recipes.
The jam is much sweeter than ketchup and can be used on turkey burgers, sandwiches, meatloaf, cheese boards, with roasted vegetables like sweet potatoes or served with black eyed or crowder peas (that recommendation comes from the cousin in Georgia).
Tomato Jam
Adapted from Food in Jars
5 lbs. tomatoes, finely chopped (do not peel)
3-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup bottled lime juice
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon red chili flakes
Combine all ingredients in a large, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce temperature to a simmer. Stirring regularly, simmer the jam until it reduces to a sticky, jammy mess. This will take between 1 and 1-1/2 hours, depending on how high you keep your heat.
When jam has thickened, remove from heat and ladle hot jam into hot 4-ounce jars, leaving 1/4-inch of headspace. Wipe rims with a clean, damp paper towel. Apply two-piece canning lids and adjust screw bands until fingertip tight. Process in boiling water canner for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
Remove from water bath and allow to cool. Check for seals, and then store jars in cool, dark place for up to one year.
Yield: 12-16 4 oz. jars
The second seasonal recipe I recently made is a roasted pear and garlic preserve. Sounds strange, is absolutely delicious. The garlic is sweetened by roasting and its savoriness offset by the roasted pears and sugar.
Of course, the primary way to eat it is alongside some sharp cheddar cheese or soft goat cheese, but it's also good on toast, according to my mother-in-law.
Roasted Pear and Garlic Preserves
Adapted from the The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving1 garlic bulb
4 pounds ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
1-1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cider vinegar (5% acidity)
4 tablespoons Ball Classic Pectin
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400*F. Cut off pointy end of garlic cloves, and wrap garlic in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking oil and surround with pear pieces. Bake for 25 minutes.
Turn pear wedges over and sprinkle with 1/4-cup of sugar. Bake for 15 more minutes (or until soft) and remove from oven. Place garlic back in oven, directly on rack, and bake for 15 more minutes.
Meanwhile, place pear pieces in a large non-reactive pot and add water. When garlic is done, remove cloves from peel and add to pear-water mixture. Mash with a potato masher until coarsely chopped. Stir in vinegar, pectin, thyme, salt and pepper, and remaining 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring often.
Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims with a clean, damp paper towel. Apply two-piece canning lids and adjust screw bands until fingertip tight. Place in a boiling water bath canner and boil for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
Remove from water bath and allow to cool. Check for seals and then store jars in cool, dark place for up to one year.
Yield: 4 8-ounce jars
Please see USDA and National Center for Home Food Preservation for more resources on proper canning procedures.
