Tomato Basil Jam

You know Lolly never steers you wrong. I love you and would never do that. That being said, make this tomato basil jam as quickly as you can. Please. And then come back here and gush and blabber incoherent thoughts about how marvelously delicious it was. You will. Trust me.

24 Roma tomatoes

1 cup chopped fresh basil

1 cup sweet onion, chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar

1 t. salt

3/4 t. ground coriander

1/2 t. cumin

1/8 cup cider vinegar

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

Juice of one lemon

Clean the tomatoes well, removing stems.  Cut a shallow "X" into each end of the tomato with a sharp knife.  Prepare an ice water bath.

Bring four quarts water to a boil.  Drop tomatoes in a few at a time.  When the skin starts to peel remove the tomatoes and put them in the ice water. 

Peel the tomatoes and roughly chop them dropping them into a non stick pot.

Add all over ingredients to the chopped tomatoes.   Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Stir it frequently so it doesn't stick and burn.

Here's the tomato mixture after cooking for about a half hour.

And after 1 1/2 hours.

And after 2 1/2 hours it's reached a thick jam consistency.

Now you will need to prepare your canning jars.  I used 4 oz. jelly/jam jars.  Wash the jars well and heat them in a deep pot that will allow 1 - 2 inches of water over the top of the jars.  Heat the lids and rings in a separate saucepan with water to cover and bring it to a simmer.

Fill the jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Place on lids and rings and tighten gently.  Add the filled jars back to the water bath for 25 minutes.

Remove and let cool in a non-drafty area.  After a few hours, make sure all have properly sealed.  Refrigerate any that have not sealed or "pinged."

This recipe will make about 8 4-oz. jars.

Adapted from www.afamilyfeast.com