We’ve been exceedingly blessed with weather in the Bay Area
this year. A mild winter transitioned gracefully into an early spring with
sunny days arriving mid-April with seemingly no end in sight. We can’t help but
relish these sun-drenched days by spending the entire afternoon outside,
soaking up the Vitamin D, sipping on cold white wine and doing very little
else. I chalk it up to our Southern California roots but when the sun is out,
so are we. As a result of this wonderful stroke of good weather, we’ve managed
to get little else done lately…one of those ‘good problems’ to be sure.
That said though, I quietly delighted waking up to a drizzly
overcast Sunday yesterday. DH was away for the weekend so I cycled down to the
DMV Farmer’s Market, spent a ridiculous sum on waaaaay too much produce and
spent the entire day cooking in the kitchen.
On the day’s agenda:
-fresh whipped butter with chopped radish
and last but certainly not least…
-early summer tomato jam
The original intent for the tomato jam was to enter it in
Pizzaiolo’s Jam/Pie Contest for this Sunday’s fundraiser but it’s come to my
attention that the fundraiser was cancelled due to lack of ticket sales.
Bummer.
This was my first attempt at tomato jam. I wanted to make a
more savory jam, ideally with less sugar. Full disclosure, I’ve been attempting
to avoid all refined sugar as of late. But sure enough, tomato jam
calls for a good amount of sugar to bring the fruit together, arguably more
than other summer fruits with higher natural sugar content such as berries or
stone fruit. C’est la vie. On with the recipe…
Chop tomatoes and a white onion. Add sugar (some recipes
call for as much as a 1lb::1cup ratio but I lessened the sugar ratio to
5lb::3cups). Add spices (cumin, coriander, caraway & cayenne were my
choice). Add lemon juice or vinegar. I chose sherry vinegar but balsamic might
have been nice with more Mediterranean spices.
Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy bottomed pot and
bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Keep mixture at a boil for a
minute or so, then reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally.
Cooking time from this point on will depend entirely on the juiciness of
the tomatoes. Mine were rather juicy so the cooking time was close to 4 hours.
Once the mixture reached jam-like consistency, remove from heat and let cool
slightly. Then transfer mixture into canning jars and turn upside down to cool.
For long-term storage, stabilize cans in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.
Maybe its from not eating sugar for a full week or maybe
it’s just that I expected it to be more savory but the jam tasted too sweet for
my taste. DH loved it, especially on toasts with the fresh ricotta. Paired with
a Bloomsdale spinach salad with fresh onions, pickled radish, pecans &
gremolata, the tomato jam made a nice addition to an easy dinner.
