A Simple Recipe for Tomato Jam - California Grown (2024)

FAQs

What is tomato jam made of? ›

Combine tomatoes, sugar, lemon juice, ginger, red pepper flakes, salt, cinnamon, and cumin in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture reaches a thick, jam-like consistency, about 2 1/2 hours.

You need sugar for the kind of gooey, sticky quality we associate with jam; otherwise, all you're producing is a tomato sauce, no matter how different the flavor is from the classic. Once you add that sugar, however, you need acid, because even though tomatoes are plenty acidic, they can't counter all that sugar.

To make homemade jam, first sterilize your canning jars by boiling them for 10 minutes. Rinse whatever fruit you want to use, then chop it up and crush it with a spoon. Mix it with lemon juice and butter in a saucepan, then bring it to a boil. Add sugar and let the mixture simmer for 5-20 minutes, until it's syrupy.

The Magic of Macerating

One of my favorite tricks for jam-making is macerating the fruit first. Macerating is the process of coating the fruit in sugar and letting it rest for a few hours or overnight, which pulls some of the juice out of the fruit and creates a syrup with the sugar.

If you simply take fruit and cook it with some sugar to sweeten it a little, it will get thick enough to turn into jam by the naturally occurring pectin in the fruit and the process of reduction. Reduction occurs when we simmer the fruit, and the liquid turns to steam and evaporates, which thickens the jam.

Here are a few ideas to get you started: Grilled meats and fish: Use Tomato Jam as a glaze for grilled meats or fish. Its tangy sweetness beautifully offsets smoky, grilled flavors. Pizza: Drizzle Tomato Jam on pizza for a delicious twist- especially any pizza with Italian sausage!

According to the USDA, an unopened jar of jam or jelly can be stored in the pantry for up to 12 months. This long shelf-life is due to the sugar content in the product, which acts like a preservative, says Lee.

Lemon is crucial to balancing those sweet flavors, but it also helps the pectin to firm up the jam. It can be added at the start of the cooking process or towards the end, but what must be taken into account is that adding liquids to the jam mixture will inevitably require the jam to cook for longer.

Adding acid in the form of fresh lemon or lime juice is important for two reasons: First, it makes for a more well-balanced jam, returning some of the acidity lost with the addition of sugar. Second, pectin needs acid to properly activate, or firm up.

How long do you boil jam? ›

Cook the fruit and sugar.

Bring the mixture up to a boil, stirring frequently. Continue to boil while keeping an eye on it, still stirring frequently, until the fruit is jammy and thick, about 20 minutes.

Tomato jam (or tomato jelly, jamato) is a type of fruit preserve prepared with tomatoes and sugar. Tomato jam. Melba toast topped with goat cheese and tomato jam. Alternative names. Tomato jelly.

Ketchup and tomato jam largely contain the same basic ingredients. Tomato jam, for example, is made with tomatoes, onions, green pepper, garlic, sugar, and vinegar, much like ketchup. However, tomato jam can have a sharper flavor that's sweeter and sourer than typical ketchup (via Men's Journal).

Pasta Sauce/Spaghetti Sauce

If you have some pasta sauce or canned spaghetti sauce in your cupboard, then you're in luck! By and large, these flavorful sauces are made from fresh tomatoes and tomato paste, making them great swap-ins for tomato sauce.

According to market and consumer data, the profit margin of jams is between 10% and 50%. Naturally, these numbers can vary depending on a number of factors. If you're doing your research on how to start a jam business, keep in mind that you can expect a profit margin of around 10%-20%.

Put the jam into containers and freeze: Pour the jam into clean freezer containers or canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. (Plastic freezer containers with tight-fitting lids work well for storing freezer jams and jellies.) Cover the containers and let stand for 24 hours, or until the jam has set and become firm.

Pectin, naturally found in fruit is vital to make your jam set. With low-pectin fruits like strawberries, help them along by either mixing with pectin-rich fruit like gooseberries or by using jam sugar (with added pectin and citric acid). Setting point is 104.5°C.

Making jam and conserves at home is a surprisingly simple process that requires very few ingredients, but it's easy to get it wrong, too. To avoid runny, lumpy, cloudy or crystallised jam, follow our six steps to success.