When you get tons of tomatoes every day, I had to do something with them besides sauce. There is a limited amount of sauce I can use year-round. So, I tried 2 recipes, one for heirloom, mostly red tomatoes, and the other for yellow grape tomatoes that had a banner year in my garden.
Yes, yes, I know tomatoes and jam are an oxymoron, but when I discovered a tomato jam recipe that included chocolate, I was hooked. After all, I had tried and enjoyed tomato sorbet, which is another sweet treat for my favorite garden edible, so I was willing to try the jam. To close the matter, the recipe called for 5 pounds of tomatoes, which would put a dent in my stash accumulated on my kitchen counter.
The recipe I found called for Black Brandywine tomatoes. I didn’t grow that variety this year, so I just used the different varieties I had on hand.
An immersion blender is the easiest and quickest way to create a smooth consistency before you start cooking them in a pot on the stove. And save considerably on cleaning. If you don’t have one, you can easily use a blender or food processor, but put an immersion blender on your Christmas list as it will make your cooking life easier. soooo much easier.
I used my jam on freshly fried corn fritters and it was delicious! I want to try a large portion of brie cheese for the best appetizer.
I also had a bumper crop of Blue BumbleBee tomatoes this year. Here is the description from Baker Creek Seeds: “Superior breeding efforts have resulted in one of the most delicious, color-saturated tomatoes we have ever seen! The plants produce clusters of 2-inch, round, bright blue globes that mature to golden yellow with blue shoulders. This new variety was introduced by J and L Gardens and is a cross between the famously sugary Amy’s Sugar Gem and the antioxidant-rich OSU Blue tomato. It’s perfect for snacks or salads and should be a centerpiece on market displays!
A centerpiece indeed! This one was quite beautiful and I could see you placing a plate of them freshly picked as a decoration for your table.
I literally collected baskets of blue bumblebees every few days. They are delicious raw in salads and other dishes, but I ate too many. So, I found this jam recipe and made 3 batches to last me all winter. They are incredibly easy to pick as a whole bunch of tomatoes would ripen at once and I simply cut the entire bunch off.
Tomato jam can be used in all types of recipes. My favorite is as a seasoning for fish like baked salmon or tilapia.
