What Is Tomato Jam?
Tomato jam is a thick, savory, textured spread that’s flavored with toasted cumin and mustard seed. It’s slightly sweet and earthy tasting. This spread is not chunky like a chutney, nor is it smooth like ketchup. It lies somewhere between the two to create a sauce worthy of almost any dish, but works especially well with sandwiches and burgers.
What Kinds of Tomatoes Make the Best Jam?
I prefer to use plum tomatoes, such as Romas, when making this jam for the same reasons they are so loved for making homemade tomato sauce:
The walls of the fruit are thick, and that provides a higher flesh-to-seed ratio. Fewer seeds make them easier and faster to remove. No one wants tomato seeds in their jam.Also, plum tomatoes don’t have as much water in them, which means less time is needed to reduce the jam.
Essentially, you get more for your jam-making buck.
Ways to Use Your Tomato Jam
Tomato jam is wonderful on burgers, but also as a spread on turkey or grilled cheese sandwiches. Use it to dress up weeknight chicken or spoon it over eggs in the morning. It’s also great on top of crostini with goat cheese and served as an appetizer during the holidays! A jammy sauce like this can take any dish from bland to bodacious. We are at the height of tomato season and it’s time to put those bad boys to work.
Can Tomato Jam Be Canned?
When it comes to tomatoes, I tend to freeze rather than can them. Feel free to double or triple the batch and freeze it in one cup portions to use as necessary. It should keep in the freezer for up to three months. More Sauces and Toppings to Try
Blue Cheese Sauce Bacon Jam Chimichurri Thousand Island Dressing Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce
You should be able to find mustard seed in the spice aisle of your local grocery store. Do not substitute mustard for mustard seed. Add red wine vinegar and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. You want the finished product to be combined, look uniform in shape, but still have a little texture. You don’t want to pulse it so much that it’s smooth like a sauce.
