It’s rich and complex, not your average tomato jam. The cinnamon and cloves spice it up, but the ruby port makes all the difference between an average jam and a memorable jam. It’s good by itself on toast, crackers, or baguette slices, and even better with sheep or goat cheese.
The recipe comes from the newly released The New Portuguese Table by award-winning author David Leite, a book combining culinary tradition with modern flavors. In his version, Leite reduced the sugar considerably, leaving plenty of room for the flavor of the tomatoes to shine. We used our homegrown Cherokee Purple tomatoes, a rich rose-purple colored heirloom. We had several of them ripen at once, giving us the perfect opportunity to try them in this jam. The tomatoes have a sweet, rich flavor that works perfectly with the spices and port.
I’m delighted to announce the second anniversary of Grow Your Own, a blogging event that celebrates the dishes we create from foods we've grown, raised, foraged, or hunted ourselves. Two years ago I was searching for a food blogging event with a grow-your-own theme but couldn’t find one, so I said, “Why not?” and announced a new food event. I’ve been thrilled to meet bloggers through Grow Your Own and learn about the things you grow, forage, hunt, and raise. My thanks to all who have supported the event by participating, hosting, or spreading the word.
If you would like to join us for the fun, please send your post information to me by midnight EST August 30. If this is your first time participating, welcome! You can read more about the rules for participating at the Grow Your Own page. You don’t need a big garden or farm to participate, even a few herbs in a pot or foods you foraged, hunted, or raised qualifies for Grow Your Own. And because people who garden, farm, forage, or hunt often share the bounty, we also permit foods that were given to you from the source. Of course if you would like to host an upcoming GYO event, please send me an email.
[Updated September 2, 2010.]
Tomato Jam (Doce de Tomate)
Equipment
- 4-quart saucepan
- 2 (8-ounce) glass canning jars with new lids and bands (When canning jam, I always add one 4 ounce jar + lid + band as back up for any extra. It’s just a thing I do, but I almost always need the extra.)
- canning pot with rack
- small bowl
- lid wand
- jar lifter or tongs
- plastic spatula
- wide mouth funnel
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds very ripe tomatoes (peeled, seeded, and chopped)
- 2¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
- 4 strips lemon zest (remove with a vegetable peeler)
- 2 whole cloves
- ¼ cup ruby port
Preparation
- Combine the tomatoes and any accumulated juice, the sugar, cinnamon, zest, cloves, and port in the 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming any foam that accumulates on top. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally. As the jam thickens, stir more frequently, at least 1 hour.
- Test the jam to see if it’s ready to can. Put a small plate in the freezer for about 10 minutes, then dollop a spoonful of jam on top and put in the refrigerator for 2 minutes. It it gels, you are ready to can.
- While the jam cooks, sterilize the jars, rings, and lids. In the canning pot, add enough water to cover the canning jars by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil and immerse the jars and the metal bands. Ladle some of the boiling water into a small bowl and put the lids in to soften the rubber.
- When the jam is ready, remove from heat and discard the cinnamon stick, cloves, and lemon zest.
- Using the jar lifter or tongs, remove the jars from the water, keeping the water boiling. Using the wide-mouth funnel, ladle the hot jam into the jars and leave ¼-inch (6 mm) headroom. Wipe the rims clean with a wet cloth, place the lids on top, and screw on the bands until finger tight (not too tight).
- Lower the jars into the pot and make sure they are covered by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water. Once the water returns to a boil, process for 5 minutes. Transfer the jars to a heat resistant surface (I use an old cutting board) and let cool completely.
- Listen for the “pop” to indicate the jars have sealed and check the lids to make sure they’re depressed. If the jar did not seal, keep it in the refrigerator and eat within 2 weeks. Properly processed jam will store for up to 1 year in a cool, dark place. Refrigerate after opening.
Variation
- You can use dry pectin to speed up the setting process, though the flavor will change somewhat because it only cooks for a few minutes instead of an hour. Add the dry pectin in Step 1 and bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add the sugar, stir, and bring back to a hard boil. Boil it hard for 1 minute. Skim off the foam and proceed with canning.
Alisa - Frugal Foodie says
Wow Andrea, that flavor combination really does sound lovely!
Rosa says
That jam looks fantastic! I've never eaten tomato jam, so yours intrigues me...
Cheers,
Rosa
Nate says
Wow, ruby port! What an exquisite addition.
A&N says
Love the color on it!
Jennifer says
Congrats on the Grow Your Own anniversary! That's quite a milestone.
I've been reading Leite's site for quite awhile now. I was even a recipe tester at one point. I'm very excited for his cookbook, especially if the recipes are as beguiling as this jam.
susan from food blogga says
The color is exquisite! I love tomato jam on crostini and paired with grilled meats. Wish I had some for the grilled lamb chops I'm making tonight!
TexasDeb says
You had me at tomato... I too am a fan of Leite's website and agree - this looks especially delicious. Well worth a trip back to the store for more tomatoes as sadly, the plants in our yard have given up the ghost for the season after weeks (and weeks
David Leite says
So glad you enjoyed my jam, and I'm honored that you're using the recipe as part of your Grow Your Own project. Now you have me wanting to make it all over again--even after making it a half dozen times. Oh, a tip: I sometimes squeeze 2 tablespoons of lemon into the pan. Gives it a nice spark of citrus.
Andrea says
Thanks David, you are right, the lemon does add a nice little spark.
Nina Francis says
I've tried this recipe, it's absolutley lovely, I've had many types of tomato jam in Portugal, but this is the best!! muito muito obrigado.
Cris says
Oh that doce de tomate looks delicious, I had never heard of such a thing, Portugal has little surprises and I would love to visit there one day.
Jessica says
The packaging is beautiful! I've never had tomato jam before, so I'm excited to try this recipe out!
Sam@BingeNYC says
I love tomato jam, especially spread on toast with a bit of goat cheese. Yum. Your recipe sounds delish!
Linda @ Kitchen Therapy says
What a lovely thing to do with extra tomatoes. My mother-in-law used to make yummy tomato jam with orange peel. I love the addition of port, so adult.
Congrats on your GYO two year anniversary!
maybelles mom says
my aunt makes a terrible tomato jam--this one looks delicious and makes me want to try it.
Charlie says
Hi - this looks delicious and I'll try making it this weekend. A question though - do the tomatoes really need seeding? I would have thought the seeds made little or no difference to the jam, and cutting out the seeds takes out a lot of the juice.
Andrea says
Hi Charlie. You are correct, seeding removes the juice. If tomatoes have excess juice the jam may not set properly, leaving it runny.
MG says
This looks fabulous - my tomato plants are on major overload this year. You mentioned the excess juice issue - would it be ok to use a bit of pectin to help with that?
It's also a great reason to buy a good bottle of port!
Chelsea says
Well, I've never tried this particular recipe, but it's so nice to see *a* recipe for it. Doce de tomate is one of the things I missed most after returning from my year as an exchange student in Portugal. Thank you for posting so I could stumble on this on Google 🙂
Jeanette Heydn says
Thank you for this lovely recipe. Having grown my own toms for the first year ever, with seeds purchased in Italy - this is a great way to preserve some of my wonderful summer flavours into the colder winter months (just around the corner). Works fabulously with a rich pate, as well as a great side to cheese.
ed kinnen says
How about using a commercial pectin product to avoid the long boing down? I've been makeing tomato jam for years with pectin but I like you ingrediants. Thanks Ed
Andrea says
Hi Ed. Yes, you can use dry pectin to make tomato jam in this recipe, though the flavor will be changed somewhat because the cooking time is greatly reduced. I will add some instructions this morning as a variation.
Manuela says
was looking for a genuine Portuguese tomato jam when I stumbled over this one. have been telling all my English friends how lovely tomato jam is and I will definitely try to make it, and also will pass it on, but I remember my mum using walnuts as well and no alcohol was allowed! this one sounds great, though;-)
Fran says
I made your jam, was a little skeptical at first- but it is fabulous! Everyone who tries it loves it.
Thankyou for the recipe, I think this is one I will make every year!
cindy says
Made this jam, pretty good and quite candied....nothing close to tomato sauce or ketchup....took me by surprise.
Not sure if the tomatoes are to be weighed first and then prepped for cooking. I lost about 1/3 of the mass in waste, I'm now wondering if the jam should have had a bit more tang/acid and less sweet.