The next time you are seduced into buying several pounds of local tomatoes at the height of the season, consider making this spicy tomato jam. A jar goes a very long way and, if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself spooning it on poached eggs, spreading it on sandwiches, topping burgers with it, slathering it on meatloaf, and eating it on crackers with your favorite stinky cheese. Give a jar to a friend, and I guarantee they will ask you for the recipe.
My inspiration came from Darina Allen, who runs the world-renowned cookery school at Ballymaloe in County Cork, Ireland. In her wonderful book, Forgotten Skills of Cooking, I spotted a tomato and chile jam. A simple, humble recipe: tomatoes, red chiles, garlic, ginger, sugar, vinegar, and something totally unexpected—fish sauce. I had to try it. And now, so should you.
Step #1 CHOP IT
Step #2 ▼
For a small batch (enough to make about 2¼ cups), start with 2 pounds of plum tomatoes. Simply core the tomatoes, halve them, and then chop them. Although you could use any tomatoes, plum tomatoes are meatier; plus, you can get away with not peeling them, which makes this jam super easy. Even in the dead of winter, you can usually get your hands on decent plum tomatoes, putting this jam within reach year-round.
Step #2 PROCESS IT
Step #3 ▼
For the jam’s spicy base, puree the following in your food processor: one large jalapeno pepper (trimmed, seeded, and minced), 6 minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, and ¼ cup fish sauce. I know this sounds like a lot of fish sauce, but trust me—your jam will not taste fishy. Rather, as the jam cooks down into a dark and jammy mixture, it will take on a mysteriously deep, earthy, and spicy flavor.
Step #3 COMBINE IT
Step #4 ▼
Scrape this mixture out of the food processor and add it to a large nonstick skillet with the tomatoes, 1¼ cups sugar, ¾ cup red wine vinegar, and 2 star anise pods (these are optional, but I think they add some depth of flavor to the mix).
Step #4 COOK IT
Step #5 ▼
Bring this mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. It will look loose, but don’t worry; it will cook down and become jammy within an hour. (My batches were always done after about 45 minutes.) Once this mixture reaches a boil, lower the heat just a little and keep it simmering until it starts to thicken, turns a dark red color, and begins to look very, very dark and jammy. When the jam is done, you’ll see a trail when you run your spatula or wooden spoon down the middle of the skillet.
Step #5 MASH IT
Step #6 ▼
At this point, remove the star anise pods if you’ve added them, get out your potato masher, and mash around in the skillet to give the jam a smoother, silkier consistency.
Step #6 JAR IT
Transfer the jam to a large glass measuring cup and pour into sterilized jars. Let cool, and cover and refrigerate. This jam will keep for several months.
About the Author: Elizabeth Carduff
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Hi Elizabeth – and thanks for this recipe. Excited to try it, and perfect timing with the abundance of tomatoes in my garden. Question: could I make a larger batch and then process with a water bath to preserve? Might make a nice, unexpected Christmas gift for some friends.
i love my dad’s tomato jam on grilled cheese sandwiches more than anything! unfortunately, his recipe is left up to a bit of interpretation, as you can see at the end of my post:
http://wildfreshntasty.com/2011/07/11/meatless-monday-grilled-cheese-with-dannys-hot-tomato-jam/
this recipe looks similar enough, that perhaps i can combine two and make more once the jar and a half i have left of his runs out. thank you!
This recipe looks amazing, Elizabeth. The tomatoes are gorgeous right now so this will be a perfect way to celebrate the height of the season. A perfect “hostess” gift for dinner parties….
Thanks so much for your culinary inspiration!
This looks great, I can’t wait to try it. I like wildfreshntasty’s idea to put it on grilled cheese sandwiches.
This looks delicious, Elizabeth! Can’t wait to try it out!
thanks justincancook! if you are a ketchup on your grilled cheese type of person, this takes it a few steps further. i am biased though, cuz i love my dad’s tomato jam.
I made this, and it was delicious! I put it on tacos, breakfast tacos, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Could you make this with canned tomatoes?
Hi Justin, I’m glad to hear you liked the jam. Using it on tacos is a great idea. I have never made this jam with canned tomatoes though I have seen recipes for tomato jam that use canned diced tomatoes so with a little experimenting, I’m sure you could make it work.
Elizabeth
Wow, this is really REALLY good. All the above serving suggestions that I’ve tried work great, but so does “eating it straight from the jar with a spoon,” because it’s THAT good. I describe it to people and show it to them, and they’re dubious – they taste it, and they want the recipe.
I went from having too many CSA tomatoes to having zero tomatoes, learning some simple canning in the process, and now I have enough of this amazing stuff to last me the winter, if I stop eating it straight from the jar with a spoon.
A couple of lessons I learned: if you triple this recipe because you have a LOT of tomatoes to use up, it will take a REALLY long time to reduce down to perfect jamminess; and a non-stick cooking vessel is really the way to go, because (obviously, it’s JAM) this stuff gets sticky when it’s almost done.
Thank you for this recipe, and my new favorite condiment.
bobg
Thank you Elizabeth, you always inspire me with your enthusiasm. I’ve pinned this recipe and I will get to it soon, not sure when…but it’s on my to do list.