Oh August, I have a love/hate relationship with you. You still throw out incredibly hot temperatures causing me to do outdoor projects only in the early morning and late afternoon. Yet on the other hand, you provide something that causes me to do my happy dance. Why am I happy? The simple answer is, the heirloom tomatoes are ready for harvesting!
So this month, my kitchen never really cools down. It seems that there is always a preserving pan on the stove and another one full of boiling water ready to sterilize my canning equipment. Though this year, there is a little more free room on the stove as I have moved onto an electric water bath canner.
With my ample supply of tomatoes, I usually start making marinara sauce. Then there is salsa and pretty containers of sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil. Those are my tried and true jarred tomato favorites.
But this year, I was in the mood to try something different. They say variety is the spice of life, so what better way to express that than to attempt a new recipe? So with a little uncertainty, I tried my hand at Tomato Basil Jam!
Now you can make this recipe with any sort of fresh tomatoes, but I admit that I am partial to heirlooms. I tend to use a variety to provide a more complex flavor and the batch included: Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Amish Paste, and Arkansas Traveler.
I adapted a recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
Tomato Basil Jam
- 3 pounds of tomatoes
- 1/3 C. fresh lemon juice
- 3 C. sugar
- 3 Tbl. Ball® Real Fruit Pectin, powder
- 3 Tbl. fresh basil, chiffonade
- 1/2 C. water
Wash and core tomatoes. Place into boiling water for approximately 5 minutes. Remove from water and plunge them into ice water. The skin should now peel easily. I also remove the gel and seeds as those can have a bitter taste. The cored, skinned, and seeded tomatoes will be approximately 3 1/2 cups.
Place tomatoes in a heavy-bottomed preserving pan over medium heat. Allow tomatoes to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in lemon juice and basil.
Mix pectin with 1/2 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Add this mixture to the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to incorporate. Tomato mixture will now thicken quickly. Add water and remaining sugar. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly so the mixture will not burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Allow to boil for 2 minutes and then remove from heat. Skim off any foam that formed on top of the jam. (The foam will be a light pink color.)
Spoon into 1/2 pint jars, leaving approximately 1/4″ headspace. Place lid and rim on each jar and process the jam in a water bath.
NOTE: sterilize jars, rims, lids, and any other tools such as funnel and spoon.
The processing time will vary based on your elevation. Sea level to 1,000′ is 5 minutes. 1,001 – 6,000′ is 10 minutes and elevations over 6,000′, processing time is 15 minutes.
Carefully remove jars from water bath canner at the appointed time and place the hot jars on a towel. As the jars cool, the lids will seal. This act of sealing creates a ‘popping’ noise. (I typically count the number of ‘pops’ which lets me know how many jars sealed.)
The resulting jam is beautiful. It is a luscious red punctuated with fleck of green, the colors reminiscent of a summer garden. Imagine serving this on a good crusty bread, or spread it across a slice of fresh mozzarella? What a great way to liven up a winter meal.
This will be processing in my kitchen tomorrow! I have tons of basil and lots of tomatoes and some fresh mozzarella that is calling. This looks so yummy. Thanks for sharing this.
This pairs well with bread, cheese, crackers. I have just begun to experiment with other pairings, but this will definitely be something that I will make year after year. Enjoy!
I made this a few weeks ago, only I used the a slightly different recipe. I put mine on a hamburger instead of ketchup. I imagine it would be really tasty on a grilled chicken sandwich as well! You can see photos of it on my facebook page, Barefootingly Simple.
Oh… I haven’t thought about burgers, but yes. It would be a great condiment. I will check out your page. Thanks for stopping by.
Sounds delicious; I’m hoping to try some at a gathering some time (nudge, nudge!) 😉
I’ll make sure of it!
I have never heard of tomato jam. Looks delicious!
Thanks for sharing with the HomeAcre Hop!!
Sandra
https://urbanoveralls.net//www.mittenstatesheepandwool.com
If you like tomatoes this is another way to preserve them. We have been enjoying it on toast with a little cream cheese.
Love the squat little jar! Thanks for the tour and chat yesterday!
I really enjoy finding fun-shaped jars for our jams and jellies. To me, it makes them feel a little more special. and yes, I had a great time. Thank you for coming and the chat. We will have to do that more often.
Yes!
Love the sound of this – you couldn’t ship a jar over to England, could you?!
You just got featured at the Creative Home and Garden hop. Thanks for sharing this great idea from your urban homestead. Please come and grab your “I was featured” button at https://urbanoveralls.net//mumtopia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/the-creative-home-and-garden-hop-10.html#.Uj84MSNwZVc
Oh… thank you. I am honored to be featured on the Creative Home and Garden hop. The tomato basil jam is quite tasty. We really enjoy it on toast for breakfast and even serving it alongside crackers and cheese. Looking at the pantry, I think I need to make another batch to tide us through the winter.
This looks wonderful! I will have to try this as soon as we start getting tomatoes 🙂
We really like this. To make it extra special serve with some some fresh mozzarella on a crusty bread. I hope you like it.
I have never made a tomato jam…I bet it has a great flavor and will be saving it to try next year!
We like it on toast or served on crackers with cheese. I hope you enjoy.
This is indeed a fun recipe and a great way to use tomatoes.