Sungold Tomato Jam

a simple tomato jam recipe that is going to be your new favorite condiment

May 02, 2024

Hi! Hello. So glad you’re here. If you arn’t subscribed, but want to be (I would love to have you), check out the link below:

To check out the full version of this post visit the link here. And for more recipes like this be sure to check out the site at www.mosthungry.com

sungold tomato jam

I think I may be officially entering my jam era. It’s taken me a while to get here, but I’m very happy with where I’ve ended up so far. I’ve never really gotten into making shelf-stable preserves or canning before; it hasn’t been of much interest to me. And that includes jam; I just kind of lumped it in there. There are a ton of jams and preserves you can buy at the store, so why make your own? Well, because the flavor is mind-blowingly good when you make it yourself. Especially this homemade sungold tomato jam. It is on a whole other level.

My whole jam journey started out when I made a quick batch of strawberry jam because we had a few extra containers that needed to get used up. I didn’t really have the space to freeze them, so I figured I might try out a basic jam recipe, 1 part fruit to ~1/2 part sugar by weight (I did closer to 1/3). It’s so basic it kind of blew my mind. I let it simmer for 20 minutes and no joke, the flavor was unreal. Though I will note that this is certainly not a jam that is canned, preserved, and shelf-stable. This is going into a container in the fridge and getting eaten in about a week.

After the strawberry jam, I moved onto blackberry jam and then realized that I could kind of use whatever I wanted. And then we ended up with this super simple tomato jam recipe. It’s sungold tomatoes, sugar, and a pinch of salt. That’s it. You let it all simmer for 20 minutes, or until it gets thick and sticky, let it cool and eat up. The flavor is most certainly tomato, concentrated, but sweet and less acidic. It’s delicious and one condiment I would highly suggest you try making.

I kept this recipe super simple, and I didn’t add in any extra aromatics or spices. I was planning on using it as the base for some whipped ricotta toast with fried basil, so no extra flavors needed. But, you can (and should!) experiment and go wild. Some classic additions would be onions, for a caramelized onion tomato jam, some chilis added in for a spicy version, whole cumin seeds for an earthy hit, or double down on the savory flavors and add in some chopped cooked bacon. A bacon tomato jam sounds so good!

Ok, now onto the recipe…

get the recipe card

Ingredients

320 g sungold tomatoes or any other tomatoes you like
80 g granulated sugar (25% of the weight of your tomatoes)
pinch salt
splash water

Instructions

Combine your tomatoes and sugar in a saucepan with a splash of water. Bring everything to a boil, then let it simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.
You'll know the jam is thickened when the bubbles start to slow, and the texture of the jam is super shiny. If you use a wider pan, you'll notice that you can drag your spoon through the jam and see the bottom of the pan for a brief moment.
If you're still unsure, you can take a small plate, drizzle a little of the jam on it (be careful, it is very hot), let it cool for a moment, and then check the consistency. It should be thick and jelly-like. If it's still totally runny, cook it a little longer.
Add a pinch of salt right at then end and stir to combine. Let the jam cool and then transfer to a jar or another air tight storage container. Then use however you like!

Notes:

This recipe can, and should, be adjusted depending on the initial weight of your tomatoes. And yes, you do need to weigh this out. You want the sugar to be 25% of the weight of your tomatoes. You could go as much as 50%, but I found that 25-30% is a good sweet/savory spot.