Cherry Tomato Ginger Jam

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite things to do with the end of the season glut of cherry tomatoes.

ingredients

4 qts Cherry tomatoes (any color)

1/4 cup fresh ginger, grated

Sugar, around 8 cups

1/4 cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

instructions

1. Place the tomatoes in a thick bottomed pot and begin cooking over medium flame.

2. Mash with a potato masher. Once they have begun looking like sauce, use an immersion blender to puree (optional).

3. Add the ginger, salt and lemon.

4. Now add your sugar- you have some leeway with the quantity of sugar- you want to add enough that the color and texture of the jam changes and looks more like jam and less like tomato sauce.

5. In general you can estimate around a cup of sugar per cup of tomato puree.

6. Now cook the mixture down until it reaches the texture you are looking for.

7. I put a few little plates in the freezer and when I think the jam is ready I test the texture by putting a spoonful on a frozen plate, returning to the freezer for a couple minutes and then tasting. This way you can both assess the ultimate texture of the finished jam as well as adjust the seasoning.