Tomato Treats

  On the way to Fishguard today I stopped to buy tomatoes. Beautiful round tomatoes, in varying stages of ripeness: sulphuric greens, orange greens, Spanish yellows and gutsy, deep reds. 

Back home, I piled them in a white enamel colander.  I like using fruit and vegetables as ornaments in the kitchen, if only for a few hours.

Someone said  that education teaches that a tomato is a fruit, but knowledge stops you from putting it in a fruit salad. Quite. But how about using tomatoes in a jam?

I've had this recipe for years.  Once made into jam, the peppery traces of the tomatoes disappear and the flavour resembles rose hip jelly.

It's a sacrilege to fry or cook a beautifully firm tomato, so first we'll have a tomato salad with  slices of tangy, Havarti cheese from Denmark and toasted rosemary bread.  Later in the week, when the remaining tomatoes ripen, I'll jam them and feel no guilt.

This recipe produces about 4 pounds of jam, or slightly less than 2 kg.

Tomato Jam

Ingredients:
2 pounds or 1 kg of tomatoes
2 pounds or 1 kg preserving sugar
The juice and grated rind of 2 lemons

Method:
Prepare the tomatoes by  plunging them into really hot water. Alternatively, simmer for a few seconds in boiling water.  Skin when cool. Cut into quarters,  remove the centres and the seeds. Chop the flesh  into small pieces.
Using unwaxed, washed lemons, grate the rinds and squeeze out all the juice. (Warming the lemons for a few seconds makes it easier to extract the juice).

I dislike jam that has had the flavour boiled out of it, so to overcome this, the chopped tomatoes can be microwaved until they are soft, to cut down on boiling time. 
3 to 5 minutes minutes should be long enough.
Transfer the tomatoes to a very large saucepan. 
Add the lemon juice, the rind and the sugar.
(The lemon juice and the preserving sugar should ensure a good set, so there will be no need to boil the mixture for as long as many other jams).
Bring slowly to the boil, stirring all the time. (Burnt jam is vile and the saucepan will be devilish to clean).  Boil  for 40 minutes, but not fiercely,  before dropping a globule onto a saucer.  Leave for  a minute or two then prod with your finger.
It should be gooey now, at setting point.  If not, boil for 5 minutes again, but no more.  
Home made jam is runnier than commercial jam and that's part of it's beauty.
(Some people use thermometers to gauge the temperature for setting point, but I don't.)
Skim off the foam on the top and allow to cool to room temeperature, before potting.
The jam will be clear and golden as a boiled sweet.

If you like Spanish membrillo, a jammy paste, you could reduce the jam further by boiling it gently for about 60 minutes in all.  Eat with Cheddar cheese and a bread roll or water biscuit.
A bunch of fresh thyme added to the jam when it is cooling gives it a savour.  (Remove the herbs before the jam has set.)
This jelly is good  eaten with pork. It goes well with almost any meat, though, especially in a Brie and bacon  sandwich.