Roasted Tomato Jam

Also, I used dried guajillo chiles

Ahh -- love hearing this! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for reporting back on your experience! 9 pounds! Hope you're enjoying the batch.

Curious if you put these in the processor and what the result was. I have a batch in the oven now and am wondering about the skins.

Hi Mariam, I think honey, maple syrup, or molasses might be too strong in flavor. You might want to try agave. Not sure how this will affect the texture, but it's worth trying. Instead of fennel seeds, you could use aniseed. Or just leave it out. Hope this is helpful!

Thanks a million. I'll give it a try.

Thanks for the catch -- added it to step 1!

Hi Mallory, if you can get good tomatoes, absolutely.

In the fridge, I'd say 10-14 days. I haven't frozen it but I don't see why not.

It'll have a higher ratio of skin to pulp but I think it should work. Let me know how it goes.

Hi Molli, I wish I had an answer for you -- I'm not sure this recipe is safe for canning so I don't want to recommend that you do so. If anyone on this thread is an expert at preserving, please weigh in!

I think this recipe is fine for waterbath canning because the sugar two tomato ratio is so high.

Hi bmgid: When I do this, I don't include sugar (it doesn't really seem to need it in my mind) and I add dried boletes (porcini mushrooms) to mine.. It easily lasted in my fridge (which is cooler than many) for at least a week (it got eaten fast). I also put some in freezer bags and froze as is and it still tasted great. I haven't tried the ones that I canned so I don't know how that affects the taste.

Thanks, Kelsey!

By "prune" do you mean a prune plum or the dried fruit? If it's the former, yes, I think it would work well. If it's the latter, I'd be concerned about having enough moisture when cooking it. You could add water, certainly (I might add some wine or brandy :) ). Definitely worth a try.

Having grown up in prune country, I'm used to calling them prunes even when they're still on the tree. So, yes, the prune plum. I have an ancient tree (roughly 100 years old) that's gnarly and almost lying on the ground, but every year it produces the most wonderful prunes. I've been making things like prune and chili chutney with them but doing it on the stove, and me being easily distracted, I've ruined more batches than I care to admit. So, thank you Amanda, I will give this a try, but next year -- mine are already all gone this year.

If you try it next year, please let me know how it goes -- I'm curious!

Sad, sad tale...I'm out in the country, and there has never been a fence between my and my neighbor's places. Their place was sold last year, and the new owner "miscaculated" the property lines and had that "ugly old tree" bulldozed! No more plums. He also had the fieldstone BBQ my grandfather built about 80 years ago bull dozed. First he said the guy doing the work must not have see it. How do you miss something seven feet tall, 5 feet wide and six feet deep made out of fieldstone and concrete? It must have taken more than one run to knock that down. Sigh. He's a lovely person, but he really should not be allowed to employ men with earth moving equipment. Sorry for the rant.

Truly sad -- so sorry to hear this.

Thanks and so glad it turned out this time!

Sure -- why not!

I used yellow boys and it's a really beautiful amber color and delicious!

So glad it worked out!

Joseph, thanks so much for pointing this out -- yes, you do want to keep roasting it for another hour (though it could gel sooner). I've just adjusted the recipe -- see step 3. Thanks again!

I don't know the answer but hopefully someone will weigh in!

Why don't opt for Stevia? Look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia

Thank you!

Jeff, thanks so much for your thoughts -- I love hearing about improvements and variations on recipes. And thanks for making your first comment!

Two for one! :)

Hi Terry, if you scroll down to the very end of the comments, there's a good discussion about this -- and how to do it properly so it will keep for gift giving.

What a nice neighbor you are!

Thanks for making my day!

The tomato slices and skins should have stayed mostly intact, so it sounds like yours turned out right. If you don't like the tomato skins, you can either peel the tomatoes before cooking or simply cut the tomatoes into chunks so the skins are minimized.

Thank you!

Yes -- you might need to make minor timing/sugar adjustments but it should work.

Tried it with the peaches! I should have held back on the sugar a bit, and next time I'll slice the peaches very thinly, or perhaps dice them. But, still, fantastic technique! Trying the tomato version tomorrow!

Thanks for the feedback!

Hi! I'm going to use my batch in a more savory way than I would a traditional fruit jam: perhaps spread atop goat cheese and grilled bread, on a grilled cheese, etc...I used an enameled cast iron pan and didn't have the burned sugar problem (and it was easy to clean), so perhaps next time you could try a different pan? I'm sorry about yours! I might lessen the sugar by about 1/3 of a cup next time...

I made peach chutney from 'Food in Jars' and ate with goat cheese and baguette. It is a similar sweet/savory combination. I guess I love fresh tomatoes so much that the extra sugar isn't needed. I will try less sugar next time, and probably use only the pulp. It does seem like a great way to use the garden's bounty. Thanks.

Can't wait to try it on biscuits, maybe with a little ham or cheese, or a cheesy biscuit.

What em-i-lis and AAFoodie said!

Thanks -- and hope you like it!

I might use chili flakes next time, as well. How much did you use?

About 2 teaspoons, brought the perfect little kick of heat and warmth at the end.

Thank you!

Thanks!

It's 30% less sugar than classic jam recipes, so it's not super sweet, but you can definitely try making it with less sugar.

I made it today with 1 1/3 c sugar, and it still set up nicely and tastes sweet to me. I wonder if it won't keep as long, though. The color is extraordinary!

It got lost in the fridge -- 1 year later, and the color is perfect as well as the keeping quality!

Great question -- just keep cooking it until it sets. Mine took about 2 hours but it's a good idea to check on it after an hour.

Thank you! Trying it tomorrow.

Strawberry and fennel sounds wonderful.

I like savory tomato jam as well -- perhaps you'll share your recipe? :)

Thanks, Kukla!

Thanks drbabs!

Yes, I believe so because it's fully cooked.

I don't think you even have to waterbath it. I'd can this like any other jam: clean jars filled with boiling water to keep sterile, lids kept sterile in a pan of simmering water. Make your jam, while it's still piping hot, put it in the jars one at a time - dump out the hot water, add the hot jam, wipe off the rim if necessary, using tongs place the canning lid on top, add the ring, tighten and turn the jar upside down on a kitchen towel. Fill the next jar, etc. Once all jars are fully cooled, turn them right side up and tap the lids. You will be able to tell if they are sealed by the sound. I rarely have one that doesn't seal and I have canned jam this way for over two decades. Amanda, I've made apple butter in a Dutch oven this way and LOVE the idea of roasted tomato jam.

Ohh, want the apple butter recipe...

Canning this particular recipe is kind of a tricky thing. Here's the deal -- fruit jams can be safely water bath canned because they are high acid. That's also why pickles can be water bath canned -- the item being pickled may not be high acid, but a tested recipe will have enough vinegar that you've reached/exceeded your high acid safety level of 4.6 or less (yes, less -- it is the pH scale, and higher acid has a lower number). Tomatoes are funny as historically they have been lower than 4.6, but not by much. And, the newer breeds are bred to be sweeter and less acid - great for fresh uses but a bit challenging for canning. These days, most reputable sources are recommending adding a bit of acid (like vinegar) when canning tomatoes "just in case". So, with a tomato jam like this (where there is no vinegar and you don't know the pH of your tomatoes) you may actually want to do pressure canning. Rhonda35, you may be interested to know that the "upside down sealing method" is STRONG discouraged (in my Master Food Preserver course it wasn't discouraged, it was forbidden -- as was wax tops. FWIW: I had happily and successfully used both methods for years before getting certified; now I don't).

Canning and food preservation is fun and easy, but the high acid rule is one that shouldn't be disregarded.

Thanks for this SeaJambon!

these are excellent points, seajambon. and i'm glad you bring up the wax top issue because yes, it is definitely considered unsafe these days!
i ended up coming down on the "it's safe" side re: waterbath canning amanda's jam, and here's why: eugenia bone (author of: well-preserved) adds only 6 tsp salt and 1.5 tsp fruit fresh (citric acid) to 7 pounds of tomatoes that she has you stew for 5 mins, and then waterbath process for 40.
since amanda's cooks so long, has a good amount of sugar, AND the juice of an entire lemon + the zest, i think the acid level is safe being that i believe it's comparable to bone's. i put amanda's in half-pint jars and processed for 12 minutes after removing the jam from the oven and bringing it to a boil on the stovetop.
what do you think?

oh, and bone cans her tomatoes in pint jars, somewhat hence the longer processing time. and versus her 7 pounds, Amanda uses just 3.

So funny - I was looking for vinegar for the acid and read right past the "juice of one lemon" (! don't sign me up for a proofreading job!). Emily, I agree that with that much lemon juice (basically, one T or more per lb of tomatoes) you should be safe with a standard 10 minute water bath (12 is even better!). I just found among my tested recipes (Univ of Georgia - So Easy to Preserve) one for "Spiced Tomato Jam" that has 1/4 c lemon for 3 cups (2.25 lbs) tomatoes that has 10 minutes in a water bath. Since "juice of one lemon" is usually pretty close to 1/4 c, just a touch more lemon would make the ratio the same and make me even more comfortable!

i now feel even better about the jam sitting in my pantry! thanks SJ! :)

Thanks for the input on canning for storage. I have a bumper crop of yellow boys this year and I think this jam fits the bill for making sure I use them.