Sweet & Savory Tomato Jam Recipe on Food52 (2024)

The result of this recipe was truly amazing. It took me a long time to cook it to the correct consistency. I live 6000 feet above sea level, and erred on the side of caution with the heat. For flavor, I went for the savory side, using Roma tomatoes, a pinch of cumin, fresh cilantro, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, and otherwise followed the recipe and its proportions. My goal was to make something to serve with chicken and pork, as well as morning toast. I completely met my goals and more! One night I added a little to some chocolate ice cream! Soooo tasty, and now I have to make more. 🙂

This the first time making this recipe. Do you need to peel the tomatoes? Thank you

Been making this wonderful jam since 2013 At Christmas one year my brother begged me for jar but had no fresh tomatoes. Since then I’ve been doubling the recipe with a 100 ounce jar of San Marzano tomatoes Great winter project today House smells awesome

I found this recipe back in 2009 and have made it faithfully each summer since. I make it to recipe specifications and have never had trouble with it gelling or being too sweet. It's my favorite condiment for a fall cheese plate with Jasper Hill Harbison and Marcona almonds. Yum!

Mine didn’t gel much, more like chili sauce.

It’s simmering between now and smells great. I added a touch of ginger and some red pepper flakes and smoked paprika to give it a little more depth.

This was my first try at making jam and at canning. It worked out perfectly! I did cut the sugar in half as many suggested. I'd cut back on the vinegar a little next time - maybe by a third. It was very good none-the-less. I gave a few away and got good feedback. This is a great way to use a bounty of summer tomatoes!

Like many others here, I found this to be absolutely delicious, but a bit too sweet. I cut back by about 25% on the sugar portions when making it, but still. If you're going for more of a traditional jam, then this will probably be fine for you. However, I was looking for a more savory tomato condiment, and found that the sweetness overpowered the taste of the tomatoes and the spices. For next time, I'll probably just add in <1/4 cup of brown sugar to help this caramelize, but that's it.
FYI, it's still phenomenal on top of everything, even as sweet as it is. My favorite pairings so far have been spreading it on top of goat cheese toast, and adding to some thyme-y white beans!

Heidi August 30, 2016

Delicious! Ate it on my bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. Shared some with my coworker who immediately asked for the recipe.
Watch the cooking time; however, I found my jam only needed to cook two hours.

Luuuuuve this recipe!!!! Its amazing and so versatile, we have it with everything, from cold meat, toasted sandwiches to scones and whipped cream.

Since I like peach salsa, this year I added 4 peaches to this recipe. Everything else the same. It's a jammy, peachy, tomatoey deliciousness. So good with eggs wrapped in a butter tortilla

This is a wonderful recipe, but the skins and seeds need to be removed from the tomatoes first. The skins are unpleasant to chew through, and the seeds are hard, even after the 3 hours of cooking. It was so unpleasant, I threw the whole double batch out! And it thickened so nicely, darn. I will make this again, but first seed and skin the tomatoes.

Dee G. September 10, 2015

This has become my go-to recipe at this time of year when my tomatoes are coming in a little too fast - if they are just a little to soft for sandwiches, they are perfect for this jam. Great with a bit of heat from red pepper flakes too.

I think it did take me a lot longer than the recipe called for. My work around is to put it in the oven at 300 with the lid off and then you don't have stir.

Mine has been cooking for 4 hours and still isn't very think. I did reduce the sugar by half. If any of you have tips please help!!

Lorin August 21, 2015

I agree that this is AhMazing with chevre. I'm glad I read through the comments prior to making though because I reduced the sugar to half and it was still rather sweet for me. I also added chili flakes and some balsamic.

Heaven in a jar! I tripled the recipe and I'm glad I did. I added additional vinegar and spice (cayenne, red pepper flakes, etc.) to make it a little less sweet. That sweet/hot combination is addicting.

Made this last year and it was amazing!! No more store bought ketchup! Will be making a lot more this season so it will last us until next year :-) Thanks for sharing!

I've made this about 5 times now, each time using more tomatoes. Right now I am using 25 lbs. I let them simmer down until the consistency is very thick and the color is a deep burgundy. I usually add a little cayenne and I also greatly reduce the sugar like many others who have commented. My whole family loves it, we use it on meatloaf, with eggs and toast, with wine and cheese, as a sub for ketchup. It is so artisanal and makes a great gift!

Thanks for this recipe. I made this yesterday and it turned out great! I altered the recipe when I left out the cumin because I was fresh out. Added some red pepper flakes with a dusting of cayenne at the end to bring the heat up. Took longer to cook but I thought my fire was too low at first. When I cranked it up some it was ready with an added 45 minutes. A lick of the spoon said its wonderful!!