Tomato Jam

Hi, my name is Taylor, and I'm a condiment addict. I'm not in denial, and I don't need an intervention. I just need more shelf space in my refrigerator door.

Come take a look at what's in there: 1 two pound tub of mayo (Duke's only, I've got a little thing for the stuff), 1 bottle of bbq sauce, 2 bottles of ketchup, 2 jars of olives, 2 jars of vegetable spreads, 3 bottles of salad dressings, 4 jars of fruit spreads, 4 bottles of hot sauces, 5 kinds of pickles, 5 various ethnic sauces, 5 jars of mustard, and, count 'em, 7 jars of chutney.

Make that 8 jars of chutney. I just made tomato jam. It's really more of a chutney, or a chunky spiced ketchup, than jam.

Being the condiment whore that I am, I knew I wanted to make tomato jam when I saw it in The New York Times a while back. Bookmarked it and made it in under one month, which is a record for me in terms of getting around to actually making bookmarked recipes (one year to never is the usual turnaround time). As Mark Bittman says in his recipe demo video, if you're at the point of tomato desperation (tomato season is ending very soon!) where you're actually thinking about making ketchup, don't; make tomato jam - spicier, sweeter, and much more flavorful.

Now, I'm not keen on eating it on toast for breakfast like you would a fruit jam, but I imagine that might go over well with some. I like to eat it as a chutney on crackers with cheese, or as a sandwich spread. I haven't tried it yet, but I imagine it would be good as a sauce on baked tofu (or meat), and even as a base for a sweet and sour stir fry. I only say the stir fry bit because I had great success a few weeks ago using a jalapeno jam in stir fry (trust, it was good).

I reworked the original recipe to include lime zest, and subbed Thai Dragon peppers for jalapenos. If i were to do it again, I'd add more heat and less cloves.Tomato Jam
adapted from The New York Times
makes about 1 pint

1 1/2 pounds ripe paste tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeno or other hot pepper, seeded and minced

• Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
• Turn down heat, and simmer for about 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened to the consistency of a jam. (Actually took me 1 hour 45 minutes, but I made a double batch.)
• Cool and store in refridgerator. Will keep for 1 week in refridgerator.