Last summer, Scott and I spent a weekend in New York. While wandering the Union Square Greenmarket, I picked up a half pint jar of yellow tomato jam. Soon after we got home, I cracked it open and proceeded to make quick work of it. It was good with cheese and even better as a glaze for roasted chicken thighs.
Since then, I’ve been pondering yellow tomato jam. I really wanted to make it from Sungold tomatoes since they are so sweet, but they can be prohibitively expensive if you haven’t grown your own and you’re buying them in the city (I’ve seen them for as much as $5 a pint at farmers’ markets).
Then, when at Root’s Market in Lancaster County last Tuesday, I hit the jackpot. Rows of of glowing, Amish-grown Sungolds for $1 a piece. I bought six.
Cut in half, combined with sugar and lemon juice, and cooked until thick and sticky, this jam is gorgeously vivid in both looks and taste. To make things slightly more interesting, I stirred in a quarter cup of chopped basil at the very end of cooking. Tomatoes and basil do make such good partners.
If you can’t get Sungolds, you could swap in a different tomato. But I do think they give it a depth of sweetness and flavor that is pretty fabulous.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Sungold or other yellow tomatoes
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- zest of two lemons, divided
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped basil
Instructions
- Cut Sungold tomatoes in half, or, if using larger yellow tomatoes, chop them into smallish pieces.
- Combine chopped tomatoes with sugar in a large, non-reactive pot and stir. Let sit for at least one hour, or until the tomatoes release their juice.
- When ready to cook, prep canning pot and jars and place jam pot over high heat. Add lemon juice and bring to a boil.
- Cook at a boil for 30-35, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes have softened and the syrup has gotten thick. Check set with plate test. Once you’re satisfied with the set, remove the pot from the heat and stir in half the lemon zest and chopped basil. Taste and add remaining lemon zest only if you feel the jam requires it.
- Pour jam into prepared jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings. Process jars in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
- When time is up, remove jars from pot and let them cool on a kitchen towel. When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and test seals. Place any unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use promptly. All sealed jars can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.
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Is it possible to skip the lemon zest altogether? I’m not a big fan of it in general (and I don’t have any lemons at home right now!) I’ve got loads of yellow pear tomatoes (I get numerous volunteers in my garden every year) and sungolds that I can’t wait to use in this recipe!
You certainly can skip the lemon zest if you don’t like it. You shouldn’t skip the lemon juice though, as it is necessary for safety.
Add some ginger in tamato jam.
I am making this now, I have yellow cherry heirlooms and red ones so I mixed them to come up with enough from my garden. I plan to use it to add flavor to meats and to serve w creamcheese and crackers.
Poop – So i started chopping my tomatoes for this, and I’m stoked to make it, but I dont have a kitchen scale. Roughly how many cups of diced tomatoes are in this recipe? Or, if its easier, how should I divide this recipe up for 4 cups of diced tomatoes?
I have the exact same question as Jess, above. I looked for weeks for sungolds and finally found some at the farmers market yesterday. I also don’t have a scale to weigh them – need an idea for roughly how many cups….? Hoping to make it tomorrow.
It has been more than a year since I made this jam, so I honestly have no idea exactly how many cups of chopped tomatoes it used. I’d say that it was approximately 9-10 cups chopped tomatoes.
I needed a scale for other things – so I caved and got one this morning. 4 cups of romas (pretty dense, not much liquid) was about 1 and a half pounds.
Thanks for reporting back, Jess!
I’ve found howmuchisin.com calculator site helpful. Calculates various produce quantities. For tomatoes: http://www.howmuchisin.com/produce_converters/tomato
[...] by browsing the site’s extensive recipe collection which includes such colorful creations as Yellow Tomato and Basil Jam, Peach-Plum Ginger Jam, and Curried Coconut Pumpkin [...]
I was so pleasently surprised by this recipe. Originaly it just sounded off (I’m slowly expanding my taste outside of the box for me) and I really had no desire to make tomato jam to put on bread, cheese, or even chicken.
However, I have slightly over 3 lbs of large yellow tomatoes and small cherry tomatoes and decided to give it a whirl.
OMG I wish I had more of this, more yellow tomatoes. This was so good, I had plans of Christmas presents but I don’t think it will last threw November.
Thanks for always provider a wide range of recipes, it’s helping me expand my taste buds.
Fantastic! I will be thanking you all winter, as I open my jars of jam and am instantly transported to my tomato-and-basil-filled early September kitchen. I also reviewed this recipe on cookbooker, which you can see here. I just love your site – and your cookbook. Its made me dust off my old canning pot, and my 13-yr old daughter is enjoying learning the process.
[...] Basil Jam Adapted from Food in Jars, makes 5 half pint [...]
Just made this today with heirloom tomatoes that were soft and juicy. Chopped them up and had German Greens, Great Whites, a couple of beef steak and a Purple Cherokee. Beautiful in the pot! Turned mostly red…. but oh so yummy!
Thanks for a great recipe!
[...] Tomato Jam Makes enough to fill about six 4 ounce jars. Slightly adapted from Food in Jars’ yellow tomato basil jam. [...]
I made this over the weekend and it is fantastic! It reminded me of the jam one of my favorite market vendors sells that I can only buy in summer, and now I have some stashed away for the cold months
I might need to make another batch just to make sure I have enough.
Plus the little gold tomatoes are just so pretty.
Made this today and it’s great…I would say, though, that without knowing what Sungold Tomatoes are like, and how big they are, I probably didn’t chop my yellow tomatoes into small enough pieces. That said, they reduced nicely, so it’ll be a bit chunky but still delicious! Also, it took well over an hour for it to reduce.
I added a Tbsp. of crushed pepper to give it a kick and left out the lemon zest. Five pounds of yellow tomatoes have me 6 half pints.
[...] won’t be any tomato jam from my kitchen this year. I promised to link the original recipe from Food in Jars, so here it is. My version uses a mix of chopped heirloom tomatoes in the same proportions, and I had planned on [...]
Love the Tomato Jam. It really is a hit with everyone I have served it. Now the growing season is over and I have an abundance of green tomatoes. Any reason that I cannot make the Tomato Jam recipe using green tomatoes?
[...] endless quarts and pints of both dill and bread-and-butter zucchini pickles. I also made batches of tomato basil jam and green chile jam. Head start on Christmas presents, I [...]
[...] September, Marie posted a link to a recipe for tomato jam that used yellow heirloom tomatoes and basil. I spoke to Zia about my intention to try my hand at [...]
[...] tomato sauce, and tomato jam. The tomato jam was one of my favorites and you can find the recipe here. I also did lots of pickled jalapenos and many other varieties of [...]
[...] Yellow Tomato Jam, adapted from Food in Jars (I left out the basil) [...]
Hey, Marisa,
I have a bunch of yellow pear tomatoes coming in. I note that this recipe is for large yellow tomatoes. Any recipes for small yellow tomatoes, besides roasting or cobblers?
Thanks.
You could making this jam with small tomatoes, too. Also, have you seen my post about five ways to preserve small tomatoes? http://www.foodinjars.com/2011/08/five-ways-to-preserve-small-tomatoes/