Turn tomato abundance into jammy deliciousness.
Despite claiming to hate them and that “tomatoes suck”, my husband is a whiz with tomatoes. The past few summers we’ve been absolutely flush with them thanks to his careful tending. And I appreciate him for it because growing tomatoes is, in fact, a total pain in the ass.
Processing them is no joy either, with all the peeling and canning that—let’s be real—nobody’s excited to do. To circumvent that, my husband (whom I’ve dubbed the tomato-whisperer) started turning them into jam.
Tomato jam maybe be a cousin to ketchup—and it has the same enticing balance of sweet, sour, salty, and umami flavors—but my husband’s version uses soy sauce in place of salt and vinegar to ramp up those flavors even more. While this keeps it decidedly savory, brown sugar and ginger give it a bit of cozy warmth.
To spice things up, he also throws in whatever hot peppers we have coming out of the garden (habaneros, at the moment). But he specifically requested that I tell you the type and amount of chili peppers is entirely up to you. Add a mini jalapeño if you are sensitive to heat, or load it up with ghost peppers if you’ve got something to prove.
No matter what direction you decide to go in, your jam will be a primo addition to toasts, sandwiches, charcuterie boards, or even as a filling for pastries. I served it with tomato sourdough focaccia and my husband was a big fan. And that’s how I know all his tomato-hating is just a facade. But I’m happy to go along with it as long as the tomatoes keep coming.
More like this hot pepper tomato jam:
Jam isn’t the only way to use up a surplus of tomatoes. For more options check out my full collection of tomato recipes. If you are looking for more sauces and sides, check out my collection here.
Hot Pepper Tomato Jam
Ingredients
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 2-inch piece ginger finely chopped or grated
- 2-6 hot chili peppers (such as habanero, fresno, jalapeño, serrano, etc.) stems removed
- 2.5 lbs (about 6 medium, 4 large, or 6.5 cups cherry) tomatoes cored and chopped (cherry tomatoes can be left whole)
- ¼ packed cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 shallot chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender (in batches, if needed). Blend until smooth.
- Pour blended ingredients into a large non-reactive stock pot or deep skillet (stainless steel, nonstick, or enameled).
- Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 60 minutes, or until thickened to the point where running a spoon down the middle of the pan creates a line that does not fill in with seeping liquid.
- Allow to cool for 20-30 then spoon into a jar. Allow to cool completely then cover and transfer to the fridge.
