Sun Gold Tomato Jam

Post by Anna

As a laissez-faire gardener, I rely on plants that take little maintenance to boost my ego. In truth, I’m something of a fraud when it comes to tomatoes — the hardest part of growing Sun Golds was stringing them up with dental floss. It’s almost unfair how easy it is to be up to your ears in little yellow drops of tomato heaven, with almost no work.

As I learned from a little bird at a farm in Berkeley, the trick to an extra productive tomato plant is pruning the suckers. These little suckers (literally) sprout between the main stem of the plant and a tomato offshoot, and direct nutrients away from the tomatoes. By pruning them before they get too big, you’re ensuring that the existing fruit are sweet and plentiful. The issue is, the tomatoes all ripen at the same time and even with three roommates, I can barely keep up. They mature so quickly that it’s a mere 24 hours that separate a perfect tomato and a molded calamity. Perfect Tupp Up material.

Sun Golds are so sweet that they might as well be jam, so I made some. I had it on bread with sharp cheddar, though it would go well as a ketchup substitute with a burger or sausage (I only look vegetarian), or as an Indian-style chutney.

Prep time: 15 minutes / Makes 1.5 pints jam

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 2.5 cups Sun Gold Tomatoes
• 2 large, beefy tomatoes (I had Early Girls lying around)
• 1 cup sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves (ground)
• Pinch salt
• Pinch baharat spice
• 1 jalapeno, chopped finely with seeds, or ¼ tsp red chili flakes

WHAT YOU DO:

1. Chop Sun Golds in half and any larger tomatoes into 1 inch cubes, throw in a saucepan on medium heat
2. Add sugar and lemon, let the juices release for appx. 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
3. Add remaining spices, reduce heat to low
4. Let simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and jam clumps rather than runs when it drops from a spoon.
5. Remove whole spices, store in fridge for a week (if it lasts that long)

If you make a big batch, this is a good thing to process in a water-bath. Canning instructions here, exact recipe here.