Tomato jam, so good it glistens |
I wanted a sweet spicy tomato jam. So I used brown sugar to sweeten, lemon peppers for spicy, and smoked paprika for well, smokey. I think ancho or chipotle peppers would be splendid in this jam; I used lemon peppers because I have about a hundred of them ripening on two pepper plants.
The next question was whether or not to can it. To water bath can the pH must below 4.6. Tomatoes fall close to the low acid level and to process tomatoes citric acid or lemon or lime juice needs to be added (about a tablespoon of lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid per pint). Of course, I could always use a pressure cooker to can the tomato jam. I decided to just keep the tomato jam in the refrigerator. It will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.
The final decision, to skin or not to skin. I decided to skin the tomatoes. I usually don't take the skins off; I think they add flavor to a dish. It is easy to skin a tomato: just cut a "X" onto the bottom of the tomato and drop into boiling water. Boil the tomato for two to three minutes and the skins should come right off.
Tomato Jam
3 Lbs (1.36 kg) of Tomatoes, Skins Removed, Cored, and Diced
1-2 Spicy Peppers, Small Diced
5 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1 Cup (218 g) of Brown Sugar, Packed
1 Tsp of Smoked Paprika
3 Tbsp of Lime Juice
1 Tsp of Salt
Dump all of the ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Everything dumped in the saucepan |
Ready to be eaten |
A jar of tomato jam |
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