Green Tomato Jam
Italian Country Green Tomato Jam
Adapted from The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy‘s Farmhouse Kitchens by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, (Scribner 1999). Copyright © 2004 Lynne Rossetto Kasper. All Rights Reserved.
Makes 1-1/2 cups and doubles easily
Having the tomatoes and sugar stand for 24 hours before cooking allows the sugar to draw out the tomatoes’ juices so they stay crisper in cooking and their syrup is more flavorful (a good trick for any fruit dessert). Actual simmering takes 40 minutes.
Insure bright contrasts of tart-sweet fruit and spice by cooking the jam only long enough for it not to run when spooned onto a chilled plate (210 degrees on candy thermometer). Beyond this, flavors flatten.
- 2 pounds green tomatoes (preferably organic), cored and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (keep the juices and seeds)
- 1-3/4 cups sugar
- 2 medium lemons
- Pinch of salt
- Generous pinch fresh-ground black pepper
- 3-inch cinnamon stick, broken
1. In a glass or china bowl toss together the tomatoes, their juices and seeds, and the sugar. Lightly cover with plastic wrap. Leave at room temperature 24 hours. Turn into a 4-quart saucepan.
2. With a zester, shred yellow skins of both lemons into tomatoes. Cut away the white pith. Seed and cut up lemon’s flesh into small pieces. Stir into the tomatoes with remaining ingredients.
3. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat. Reduce heat so jam cooks at a moderate simmer. Simmer, uncovered, 40 minutes, or until a candy thermometer set into the jam reads 210 degrees. Test by spooning a little jam onto a chilled plate. It should not run. Do not overcook. Turn jam into a bowl to cool. Refrigerate or freeze. Jam is best served at room temperature.