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tomatoe jam

15 years ago

When we were young'growing up in the 30's my mother made tomatoe jam from the tomatoes that did not get ripe and the red ones too.does anyone have any idea how she did this?I used to go to the "dutch country" and buy it but for some reason they don't make it anymore.Hope someone can remember that far back and tell me how.

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Comments (8)

FlamingO in AR
15 years ago
You can google tomato jam recipes. Most of them are just tomatoes, lemon juice and sugar and a little bit of spice, I think.

I love tomato jam and can find it at the local Amish jam and jelly gift shops. The stores used to carry it, but not anymore.
mamatoad
15 years ago
Like Flamey said, just google tomato jam recipes and you will find a bunch. I haven't made tomato jam in over twenty years, but as I recall, it was very simple to make. If you can't find a suitable recipe, let me know and I will post one for you.
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Safe for BWB? Savory Tomato Jam
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Comments (5)
While it is probably safe given the acidity, since there are several tested and approved recipes for Tomato Jam why not just used one of them rather than one from an unvalidated site? That way you have no safety concerns. She has great cooking credentials but no canning or food science credentials listed and there is no indication as to whether her recipes have ever been tested for safe shelf storage. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Spiced Tomato Jam
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Tomato jam question
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Comments (10)
The one you posted is for the fridge. It only uses frsh lime juice, which is not as acidic as bottled juice. It only makes a pint, so that is a cooking recipe. These came from an extension site, so they are fine. You can see one uses Tabasco sauce, so perhaps that is another option for you. You could always use the first recipe and add some dried chiles or use the Tabasco. You can add any of the dried spices and herbs to one of these, too. This way I know you will have the right acidity. TOMATO MARMALADE - Makes 6 half-pints 1 medium orange, peeled and quartered 2 lbs. tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped (4 1/2 C.) 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 3 inches stick cinnamon, broken 2 tsp. whole cloves 5 C. sugar Seed and quarter orange. Slice orange quarters crosswise very thinly over bowl to catch juice. In 5 qt. pan, combine orange slices, juice, tomatoes and lemon juice. Tie cinnamon and cloves in cloth bag and add to tomato mixture. Bring to boil, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in sugar. Bring to full boil, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches gel stage (see SIA 9.303 Making Jellies at Home), about 7 minutes or longer. Remove from heat. Remove spice bag. Skim if necessary. Pour into sterile jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe jar rims, adjust lids and rings. Water bath 10 minutes. TOMATO JELLY - Yields 6 medium glasses 1 3/4 C. canned tomato juice 1/2 C. strained fresh lemon juice 2 tsp. Tabasco sauce 4 C. sugar 1 pouch (3 oz.) liquid fruit pectin Combine all ingredients except pectin. Stir over high heat until mixture reaches a full boil. Stir in pectin and bring again to a full boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir and skim for about 3 minutes. Pour into sterile jars, leaving 1/8" headspace. Wipe jar rims, adjust lids and rings. Water bath 5 minutes. This "lively" flavored jelly is equally good served with meats or spread on hot bread. Here is a link that might be useful: Unusal Jam recipes
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Tomato jam question!!
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Comments (10)
I agree that the 1/2 cup of lime juice is sufficient, especially when compared with the Ball recipe. The NCHFP is a wonderful reliable resource but it's not the only game in town. However, even with a "reliable" blogger, I always double-check recipes and recommendations against other sources. Even if the recipe is safe, it's so easy to mis-type ingredient amounts or times and throw a recipe off. The Ball Blue Book has occasionally had errors; how much easier for someone who doesn't have a staff of editors. In preserves I don't generally use the bottled citrus juice and, in fact, in a reliable recipe from the NCHFP, the BBB, etc. if bottled isn't specified, I don't use it. I know in salsas, tomato products, pickles, bottled is always specified for good reason. But if it's peach jam, I don't worry about it. While it's always the safest, most conservative option, with sweet preserves I use fresh. However, if I were making banana jam or some similarly low-acid concoction, I would go with the bottled. I confess for me the issue doesn't arise in most cases. I tried tomato jam once. Never again. It just isn't a favorite with me. Carol
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Savory Tomato Jam
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Comments (23)
Kathy - I think most people would use such a jam on cream cheese (or cheddar cheese) and crackers like you would a pepper jelly. I was trying to come up with something more to use as a sandwich spread during the off season (since I only have ripe tomatoes for a month or 2 each year - at least that's longer than strawberry season LOL!). I looked at the tomatoes that absolutely HAD to be used today, peeled and chopped got 4C, I put that in Dutch oven and simmered for 10 min as per NCHFP recipe but didn't measure again - added 4 Tbsp lemon juice, 1T lime juice (for taste), 1 tsp salt and that's it for flavor since I usually don't even put salt on my sandwiches (cheese or meat has enough salt). Added an old package (1.75oz) of Ball Low/no Sugar pectin and 1/2C of sugar, boiled hard boil 1 minute. Gelled using the plate test but since all tomatoes except 1 were beefsteaks, it still had a lot of liquid and the stuff I dripped on the plate looked like jelly. We'll see how the jars set - looks like sauce in the jars. BTW, the couple CP I had were probably a bad idea but they were wrinkled, I had to use them in somthing and the other beefsteaks were hybrids so I wanted the flavor. Some dark streaks/chunks in the jars though. Might have been good to take seeds out too, I left them in b/c I don't deseed my sandwich slices, but they don't look nice in the jars either. NCHFP said 5 half pints from 3C of cooked tomatoes, I was 8 oz short, so had probably reduced that 4C by half in the 10 min simmer (uncovered - my bad). Didn't have any left over to refrigerate, but what was on the plate and scraped out of the pot tasted like tomato paste - still a bit sweet for me. I'll let you know how it sets up, and when I run out of fresh tomatoes later this year I'll open a jar and let you know how it tastes.
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jel48
15 years ago
I've never had tomato jam. Is it sweet, like a fruit jam? Do you eat it on toast or crackers, or is it more like a relish that you'd eat with meat, etc?
goldy
Original Author
15 years ago
tomatoe jam is sweet and thankyou I will google it.Never thought about that.
FlamingO in AR
15 years ago
I liken it to strawberry jam (which I don't really care for) but it doesn't have that berry taste. It doesn't really taste like tomatoes, either, but it is very pleasant.
marry
15 years ago
This is the recipe that I use. It's really good and it
is sweet and savory at the same time. It's really good on
burgers and wonderful with a good grilled cheese sandwich!

Bacon and Tomato Jam

1/2 pound smoked bacon
2 pounds very ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 C. sugar
2 1/2 T. cider vinegar
1 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain excess far. blotting it dry with additional towels as needed.
In large saucepan, combine the tomatoes, onion, sugar, cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring often, then reduce heat to medium.
Crumble the bacon into the tomato mixture.
Simmer until very thick, about 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
Let the jam cool, then ladle into jars. Can be refrigerated for 3 to 4 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.
(start to finish: 2 hours(15 minutes active) makes 1 pint.

It does sound like alot of work for such a small amount, but it's very easy to increase the amounts for more!
deamn
15 years ago
I made tomato jam a few years ago, only mine was made with raspberry jello. It was also freez-able which was nice. However, after a few days of being unthawed and in the fridge, it would get moldy.
kathleenca
15 years ago
My mother made tomato jam/preserves years ago, & put cinnamon in it. It wasn't really sweet like a berry jam, yet not quite savory. Wonderful on toasted English muffins.

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