You Say Tomato... I Say Tomato Jam!

My calendar says it's September! And before the best tomatoes are gone for the season it's time to recreate one of my favorites, grandma Ruth's tomato jam. Canning and making preserves was common when we were kids, especially in farm country.

Cardboard boxes filled with canning jars were found in most basements in the 1950s in the Midwest, ours included. And long after mom could physically do the hard labor of canning, and no longer had five kids at home to feed, she still had a gallon jar of "refrigerator pickles", she called them, on the top shelf at the back of the refrigerator. When the pickle level ran low, more sliced cucumbers, onions or vinegar was added to the jar and the pickles kept flowing. It was a way of keeping a little bit of summer in the fridge, long after the snow had started to fall.

Early in the morning on canning day, the big, blue speckled enamel canner was hauled out of the basement. It was large enough to cover two burners on the top of the gas range and the boiling liquid would heat the already hot summer kitchen to a vinegar smelling sauna. With fans running and windows open wide, mom would prepare an assembly line of glass Mason jars on the kitchen table, along with lids and rims, ready to fill and seal with hot food. Canning tomatoes, pickles, beans or peaches is a task that requires a lot of work and time to prepare, but when ready, it happened fast and wasn't a good idea for kids to get in the way. The sound of the lids sealing to the jars, "pop!" signalled that they were filled and soon it would be safe to return to the kitchen.

Grandma Ruth's tomato jam is something I have never made until now, but it's combination of flavors I've thought about periodically for many years during tomato season. A quick e-mail to my cousins in Minnesota brought the ingredients together. There was a flavor I couldn't put my finger on, and my aunt remembered that the mystery ingredient was oranges. After a trial run in my kitchen, sure-as-shootin', she was right. Ruth's jam had the flavor of orange and I remember biting into bits of cooked, sweet orange rind, adding a bit of chewiness. More good news, making this jam that can be stored in the refrigerator is far more simple than canning tomatoes!

To bring the recipe into 2010,  I replaced what I assume was a lot of white sugar in the original recipe, with a smaller amount of honey and brown sugar, and added a bit of food grade lavender for a not-too-sweet, sightly floral version of tomato orange jam. Back in the day we ate it, like any other jam, by itself on bread or toast. But tonight, this will accompany me to a Labor Day BBQ as part of an appetizer, combining the sweet jam with tangy goat and blue cheeses. It could also be served as a complement with grilled chicken thighs, spread on a grilled chicken sandwich, or just about anything you can imagine.

Grilled Bread With Cheeses and Tomato Lavender Jam

This makes enough for two to three creative dishes.
Remove skins from about 4 lbs. of tomatoes by blanching first and then peeling. Easy! Here's how:
On the bottom of each tomato, cut a small "X" in the skin. Bring a large pot of water to boil and drop the tomatoes in for 30-45 seconds. Careful not to splash boiling water on yourself. Cool slightly and the skins will come off easily. Remove the hard stem end and discard. Cut tomatoes into chunks and put in large heavy-bottom stainless steel pan. (No aluminum pans with tomatoes, the acid will interact with the pan.)

To the chopped tomatoes add:
2 heaping T. coarsely grated orange peel, mostly orange part, but a little white is OK too.
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T. honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. culinary grade lavender (if you don't have or don't want to buy it, it's good without it!)
dash of salt and ground black pepper

Mix all in large pan and mash with a metal potato masher to break down the tomatoes. Simmer over medium-low heat for at least 30 minutes, depending on how much juice was in your tomatoes, until it thickens and becomes spreadable. For this appetizer, grill ciabatta or baguette bread by brushing with olive oil and placing on hot grill or grill pan for a minute or two each side. (Crackers would work to save time). Depending on how many you are serving, the ratio should be 3/4 parts softened goat cheese with 1/4 part blue cheese crumbles and spread on bread. Top with cooled jam and garnish with either chopped nuts or finely chopped fresh basil. I have served this with just soft goat cheese and jam and it's delish too.