Tomato Jam

Name: Tomato Jam
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds good ripe tomatoes (Roma are best), cored and coarsely chopped; 1 cup sugar; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice; 1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 jalapeño or other peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced, or red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste

Instructions

Cook:1h 30min

Good tomatoes and balance are crucial. 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. I tried lemon juice, vinegar and finally lime, deciding that I liked the last best.

Updated at: Thu, 01 Jan 2026 12:27:15 GMT