Better Late than Never

Okay, apparently I got busy over the end of summer, because somehow, this recipe managed to slip through the cracks. I was so absolutely sure I had posted it, and was all ready to recommend it for holiday cheese trays. But, no. Alas. And now, it is probably way too late. Certainly up here in the cold north of the US, tomatoes are long, long, gone. 

Green Tomato Jam

Maybe, in the south, or in some countries where it never gets so cold (as when I lived in Guatemala), there are those with tomatoes still growing, but otherwise, you may have to wait until next season to try this amazingly good recipe for Green Tomato Jam.

As often happens with me, I had been thinking of all the green tomatoes on the plants outside back in October. I was in the process of making Chow Chow, which turned out to be a new favorite in the relish department. And as I was musing on the uses for green tomatoes, I wondered if Green Tomato Jam would be a viable idea. And, what flavors would I add to such a thing. So, as usual, I Googled it, and found, to my amazement, quite a few versions of Green Tomato Jam out there.  

Spiced Tomato Jam

I make a Spiced Tomato Jam (click on the link to my recipe) with red tomatoes, usually Romas as they have more meat to them, and it uses lemon juice and a nice blend of spices to make a marvelous jam for your breakfast toast. At least this is how I have always used that jam, and I had been making it for at least 40-some years now. My kids loved it, growing up, and some have wanted the recipe. 

Somehow, though, thinking about those flavors with green tomatoes just wasn't really doing the trick for me, when mentally "tasting" the combination. And so I perused all the recipes online I could find, looking at what was used for flavoring a Green Tomato Jam. I was having a harder time imagining the flavors, as using green tomatoes in jam was totally a new idea for me. 

Green Tomato Jam

By the time I got to this idea, I had almost no tomatoes left to use, and my Farmers' Market supplier was also at his end of tomato season, green or no. Given this scarce quantity of green tomatoes, my idea came a bit late in the season, though next year I will rectify this! 

In the end, I opted to flavor this jam with lime juice (a more "green" flavor) and zest, and then opted to use a star anise (because someone mentioned it as a possibility and I happen to have a bag of them), a cinnamon stick, some fresh ginger and just for the heck of it, a vanilla pod. I planned to just cook this jam down on my own rather than use pectin, and to ensure that it would set, I used a little bit of agar agar (a non-animal "gelatin") towards the end of cooking. It set absolutely perfectly, and when I tasted the result, I was amazed at how wonderful it was. 

While I could certainly imagine tasting it on a piece of toast, what first jumped to mind was that it would be fantastic on cheese and crackers. I tested that theory out immediately, with a piece of aged white cheddar and OMG! Okay, new favorite on the cheese platter! So without further ado, here is what I did:

Green Tomato Jam

Makes 4½ cups

Green Tomato Jam

3 pounds green tomatoes, washed
3 cups granulated sugar
5 tablespoons lime juice
zest of one lime
1 vanilla pod
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick (about 3 - 4-inches)
1 walnut sized chunk fresh ginger, peeled & finely grated
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½ teaspoon agar agar
½ cup water

Cut the green tomatoes into approximately 1-inch and pulse them, in batches if necessary, in the food processor until broken down to a coarse texture. Place the tomato mixture into a wide pot and add in the sugar, lime juice and zest and stir. Set pan onto medium heat, stirring often until the sugar is all dissolved. 

While the sugar is dissolving, slice the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out all the seeds and add to the pot, along with the pod, the star anise, cinnamon stick and ginger pulp. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce to a medium simmer and cook until the mixture reaches about 220 to 222 degrees, stirring occasionally. This will take approximately an hour.

Separately, have ready the agar agar mixed into the water. Once the temperature reaches 220, stir in this mixture and cook for a further 3 minutes. Pour the jam into sterile, one-cup jars, seal and cool, then store in the refrigerator. 

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.