A few weeks ago, I kept looking at my tomato plants thinking to myself that, sooner than later, I would have to uproot them and put them in my compost pile. But not yet: the weather was still unseasonably warm, there was no forecast of frost and maybe, just maybe, all those beautiful green tomatoes would still have time to ripe. But a few days later my cousin sent me a picture of a jar with a greenish content that immediately reminded me of a recipe that I had forgotten, that of green tomato jam.
There was my answer: so why risk all those beautiful green tomatoes to an unexpected frost when I could make something delicious with some of them?
Green tomato jam is great with cheese as an appetizer, but also tasty on toast and cream cheese for breakfast.
And it also makes an interesting conversation item if you make your guests try to guess what it is.
Ingredients: S V Gf Ef Df
(makes approx. 12 half-pint jars)
- 4 lbs. green tomatoes
- 2 1/2 lbs. organic sugar
- 2 organic lemons (zest only)
Wash the tomatoes and cut them into small pieces. Put them in a big pot, add the sugar and the grated zest of the two lemons. Stir well and wait 10-15 minutes to allow the sugar to absorb the juice from the tomatoes.
Then cook on medium heat for about one hour. The cooking time depends on the juiciness of the tomatoes. Don’t forget to stir often!
Remove any white foam that floats to the top because it will make your jam cloudy.
Fill your clean jars with the hot jam, put them in a big pot with a clean kitchen towel on the bottom, bring to a boil and simmer for a minimum of 20 minutes. Let jars cool down in the pot overnight. This process keeps your jam safe to eat for many months.
