Tomato & Chilli Jam – A Delicious Way to Use Up the Tomato Glut

There’s something rather lovely about having a glut of tomatoes. Well… it is lovely until you realise you have another bowlful sitting on the kitchen worktop and more ripening in the greenhouse!

This year the tomato plants on my allotment have been incredibly generous. every time I take some home , I know I have more tomatoes waiting to be picked.

I’m certainly not complaining. There is something very satisfying about growing your own food, especially when you can wander down to the allotment and pick something for dinner. But there comes a point when you need to get a little creative with the harvest.

And that’s where my tomato and chilli jam came in.

A little bit of summer in a jar

I love making preserves when I have a glut of homegrown produce. There’s something particularly satisfying about turning something you have grown from a tiny seed into a jar of something delicious that you can enjoy weeks or even months later.

This tomato and chilli jam is sweet, savoury and has just enough chilli warmth to make it interesting without completely blowing your head off!

It’s also incredibly versatile.

I particularly love it with cheese. A spoonful alongside a chunk of mature cheddar is absolutely delicious, and I can imagine it being rather wonderful with a good piece of Dorset cheese too.

It’s also lovely spread onto crusty bread, served alongside cold meats or added to a cheese toastie. I’ve even been known to sneak a little onto a sausage sandwich.

Basically, if it involves cheese, bread or anything savoury, this little jar of jam is probably going to make it better.

My tomato and chilli jam recipe

This is a fairly simple recipe and a great way of using up tomatoes that might otherwise be sitting around waiting for you to decide what to do with them.

Ingredients

• 1kg ripe tomatoes

• 2–3 fresh red chillies, finely chopped (remove the seeds for a milder jam)

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 250g soft brown sugar

• 150ml cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

• 1 tsp salt

• Juice of 1 lime

Method

Start by preparing your tomatoes. I like to roughly chop them rather than making them too fine, as I like a little texture in the finished jam.

Put the tomatoes into a large saucepan along with the chopped chillies, garlic and ginger.

Add the brown sugar, cider vinegar, salt and lime juice and give everything a good stir.

Bring the mixture slowly to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow it to simmer gently.

Now comes the easy bit – let the tomatoes do their thing!

Cook uncovered for around 45–60 minutes, stirring regularly, until the mixture has reduced and thickened into a sticky, jam-like consistency.

Keep an eye on it towards the end because it can catch on the bottom of the pan once it becomes thick.

You want it to look glossy and rich, with most of the liquid cooked away.

Once you're happy with the consistency, spoon the hot jam into sterilised jars and seal immediately.

Leave to cool before labelling.

How to serve

tomato and chilli jam

There are so many ways to enjoy this that I suspect my first batch won't last very long.

My favourite is simply tomato and chilli jam with cheese and crackers. There's something about the sweetness of the jam against a strong, salty cheese that works beautifully.

It would also be lovely served with:

• Mature cheddar

• Dorset Blue Vinny

• Brie or Camembert

• Sausage rolls

• Burgers

• Cold meats

• Cheese toasties

• Crusty sourdough

• Roast meats

And, of course, it makes a lovely little homemade gift. Pop a jar into a basket with a nice piece of cheese, some crackers and a bottle of wine and you've got a rather lovely foodie present.

Making the most of the allotment harvest

One of the things I love about growing vegetables is that it encourages you to be inventive in the kitchen.

You plant a few tomato seeds in spring, spend the summer watering, feeding and tying them up, and then suddenly you're faced with more tomatoes than you know what to do with!

But rather than seeing that as a problem, I think it's part of the fun.

Some will become sauces and soups, some will be eaten straight from the plant, and others will find their way into jars like this one.

There is something very satisfying about opening a jar later in the year and remembering that the tomatoes inside started life growing in my little greenhouse on the allotment.

And as the evenings begin to draw in here in Dorset, I rather like the thought of having a few jars of sunshine tucked away in the cupboard.

Now, I just need to decide what I'm going to do with the next bowlful of tomatoes...

I have a feeling there may be a few more jars of tomato and chilli jam in my future!

A little Dorset Country Life tip

If you grow your own tomatoes, don't wait until you're completely overwhelmed by the glut before deciding what to make. Keep a few jars and bottles ready for preserving season and you'll soon find that those extra tomatoes become something to look forward to rather than something you need to use up.