Tomato Jam

Marie Overton
Jun 13, 2022
3 min read

Updated: Jun 26

Tomato jam is a versatile almost habit-forming spread. Once you start cooking and tasting it, you won’t know what you did before it. You will want to eat it on everything!

When I first heard of tomato jam I thought it sounded crazy. Who would want to eat that? I actually didn’t try it for years due to my disbelief that it would taste good. Even though it took a while, I finally came around to trying Tomato Jam so I could have a recipe for it in my tomato series. Once I made this Tomato Jam I was pleasantly surprised at the results. I have to admit that I still prefer a good sweet berry jam on my toast but tomato jam is fabulous for using with BBQ sauce as a marinade for meat or paired with cream cheese on fresh French bread.

This recipe makes approximately 5 half-pints of Tomato Jam.

Ingredients:

6 pounds quartered Tomatoes
3.5 c Sugar
6 tbsp Pectin
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Lemon Peel
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Butter (optional)

Cooking Tomato Jam:

Soften the quartered tomatoes by simmering for about 20 minutes.

Process the soft tomatoes through a food mill. Then place the pulp in a strainer (I like my husband’s honey strainer.) or cheesecloth to drain out the juice. Save the juice to be canned later. This step of straining the sauce allows you to skip the reducing down process which usually takes about 2 hours to do. If for some reason the sauce seems too thick you can add some of the juice back in.

Bowl of orange puree on a granite counter surrounded by a measuring cup, spices, and butter. A red cup holds a white powder.

Place 3 cups of the strained pulp (add juice if you need more to reach 3 cups) in a large pot and add the rest of the ingredients except the sugar.

Bowl with pumpkin puree, flour, and spices on a granite countertop. A hand holds a measuring cup with butter. Steel cups and a red bowl nearby.

Bring the mixture to a boil.

Hand stirring tomato sauce in a pot on a black stovetop, with a hexagonal tile backsplash and wooden shakers in the background.

Add the sugar and return to a hard rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute.

Equipment Preparation:

While your Tomato Jam is cooking on the stove it is time to prepare your canning equipment.

Fill your boiling water bath canner half full with water and place it on the stove on low to begin heating. Do not let it get too hot, just warm it up.

Gather your ladle, jar lifter, clean cloth, and any other needed supplies for canning.

Filling and Processing Jars of Tomato Jam:

Jars being filled with orange jam using a funnel on a granite countertop. Stove and kitchen items in the background.

Using a jar funnel, fill the jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace.

Use a chopstick to remove any air bubbles.

If you spilled on the edge or rim of the jar, use a clean cloth to wipe the rim clean.

Place the lid on top of the jar and add the ring. Tighten the ring to fingertip tight.

(For quality, American made Superb canning lids and jars follow this link and use the coupon code WP20 to get 20% off your purchase.)

Process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes if at sea level. Remember to adjust your processing time if you are above 1000 feet in elevation.

Once your jars have completed processing, turn off the heat, remove the lid and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Then, use the jar lifter to remove them from the boiling water bath canner. Space the jars about an inch apart on a heat resistant surface for 24 hours to cool and completely seal.

Jars of tomato preserves and fresh tomatoes on a wooden board. A slice of bread with jam rests on a white plate. Warm kitchen setting.

If your jar did not seal, then place it in the refrigerator and use it immediately.

Store the sealed jars in your pantry to enjoy for the next 1-3 years. After three years the nutritional value of canned food diminishes. The quality is best during the first year.