Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Tomato and Hot Pepper Jam

     We are currently experiencing a glut of tomatoes. That's fine, because it's one of our favorite things to can. In the past we've canned sauce, chili tomatoes, chutney and preserves from tomatoes. This time we decided to try our hand at jam! We pulled this recipe from Preserve It! The jam came out a touch savory; the heat from the cayenne and the Italian herbs gave it a nice flavor. You could certainly omit the peppers (if you're ok with being lame) and mess around with the herb choice and come up with a flavor that suits you. As always, notes and changes are in blue.
Tomato and Hot Pepper Jam
via Preserve It!
Ingredients

  • 1-1/8 lb tomatoes, plunged into boiling water for 1 minute and then peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red chile pepper (we took 4 fresh cayenne peppers and pasted them in the food processor)
  • 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs (we went with an Italian seasoning blend)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1-1/4 cup granulated sugar
Directions
  1. Add all the ingredients except the sugar to a preserving pan or a large heavy bottomed sauce pan (I just used a stainless steel pot). Bring to a boil and simmer gently for about 8 minutes or until the tomatoes break down and soften (it almost sounds like an interrogation)
  2. Add all the sugar and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. When jam reaches a rolling boil, cook for 10-15 minutes or until it starts to thicken and become glossy and reaches the setting point. Stir occasionally to keep the jam from sticking or burning (if you haven't done this before, leaving this on the boil for this long will give you an anxiety attack. Just stir it regularly, it won't boil over). Remove the pan from the heat while you test for a set
  3. Ladle the jam into warm sterilized mason jars, leaving 1/4" headspace (this recipe yielded a bit over a half pint. Too much for a half pint jar, not enough for a full pint. We canned a half pint and put the rest in a container in the fridge for immediate use). If you are canning for long term storage, seal the canning jar and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes (again, if you're unfamiliar with this process, check with the National Center for Home Food Preservation for more information)
Good times!


4 comments:

  1. I love your small batch recipes. They are perfect for people with smaller gardens. Thanks for linking up to the Get Inspired Blog Hop, Frank :)

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    1. I'm glad you enjoy the recipes! For me, the whole point of my garden is getting to can the extras!

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  2. Thanks for the recipe. I've been looking for a recipe for hot pepper jam.... YUMMY. Thanks so much. Pinning. I'd love to have you share this at my party also. Following on Facebook and Pinterest.

    http://www.craftsalamode.com/2013/08/what-to-do-weekends-32.html

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    1. Awesome! I hope you like this recipe! I'll eventually be posting a recipe for pepper jelly that is a big favorite in our house.

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