A Simple Recipe for Tomato Jam - California Grown (2024)

FAQs

What is tomato jam made of? ›

Combine tomatoes, sugar, lemon juice, ginger, red pepper flakes, salt, cinnamon, and cumin in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture reaches a thick, jam-like consistency, about 2 1/2 hours.

On the other hand, tomato jam is rich in magnesium and potassium, as well as vitamins B, C and A, which is why it helps protect the immune system, as well as being a great ally in skin and eye care.

Pectin, naturally found in fruit is vital to make your jam set. With low-pectin fruits like strawberries, help them along by either mixing with pectin-rich fruit like gooseberries or by using jam sugar (with added pectin and citric acid).

If, after waiting, you find the jam is still too loose for your liking, empty the jars back into a wide pot and cook again. Wash and sterilize the jars and try again. While you can simply reduce the jam to your liking, you can also add commercial pectin or chia seeds to the reducing jam to guarantee thickening.

Lemon is crucial to balancing those sweet flavors, but it also helps the pectin to firm up the jam. It can be added at the start of the cooking process or towards the end, but what must be taken into account is that adding liquids to the jam mixture will inevitably require the jam to cook for longer.

Pectin Substitute

Cornstarch - Another plant-based thickening agent, cornstarch is a great substitute for pectin. Gelatin - For non-vegan menu items, you can substitute gelatin for pectin, but it will yield a different consistency.

The jam must then be cooked over high heat in order to evaporate the water as quickly as possible and harness the power of the natural pectin. (Cooking time can vary, depending on a fruit's water content, but once it's at a rolling boil, expect to cook it for at least 40 to 50 minutes.

Does tomato have pectin? ›

Additionally, despite being in most plants, it only makes up a small part of these foods. Apples and citrus fruits — such as peaches, oranges, grapefruits, apricots, and lemons — contain the highest amount of pectin among fruits. And among vegetables, carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes are those with the most pectin.

Tomato jam, also called Marmellata di Pomodoro, tomato marmalade or tomato preserves, is a sweet and savory condiment made from tomatoes and sugar, and typically will have some spices as well. The texture is thick and spreadable with a consistency similar to your classic fruit jams.

You can also enjoy it as a sandwich spread, toast topping, or even stirred into pasta salad. Need a quick vinaigrette? Blend it with equal parts olive oil and vinegar! And of course, if you want to recreate the Nordstrom café jam jar, serve the tomato jam with creamy ricotta and earthy pesto.

Tomato jam might sound strange to you- but we promise it's delicious. It's been described as “a cross between marmalade and ketchup,” but we think the result is a lot more complex and refined than either!

You need sugar for the kind of gooey, sticky quality we associate with jam; otherwise, all you're producing is a tomato sauce, no matter how different the flavor is from the classic. Once you add that sugar, however, you need acid, because even though tomatoes are plenty acidic, they can't counter all that sugar.

Tomato jam might sound strange to you- but we promise it's delicious. It's been described as “a cross between marmalade and ketchup,” but we think the result is a lot more complex and refined than either!

Locules - Chambers within the tomato's fruit that hold the seeds within a jelly-like substance. Most fruits have 2 or more chambers and large fruited varieties have as many as 10. Lycopersicon esculentum - The genus and species name for Tomato.

The main difference between chutneys and jam is that jam is sweet while chutney is savory. Chutneys can be made with sweet ingredients like fruits, but the fresh or dried spices and vinegar turn the condiment into something zingy and fragrant.