Tomato & Chilli Jam

We had our first go at growing our own tomatoes from seed this year. In previous years we've always bought them either as plugs or as small plants.

We'd grown four different varieties - Tigerella, Maskotka, Gardeners Delight, and our old favourite, Moneymaker.

All did really well as seedlings and we had enough for both ourselves and for mum and dad.

After a slow start, all have done brilliantly well, and we are now in the position of having more tomatoes than we really know what to do with, so on the agenda one day last week was Tomato and Chilli Jam.

I'd already tried this recipe a few weeks ago, but the measurements only yielded 2 small jars of the jam so, this time, I was doubling up.

Makes - 4-5 small jars

Preparation time - 20 minutes

Cooking time - Approx 1 hour

Ingredients

1kg ripe tomatoes

6 red chillis

4 tsps chopped fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic

60ml fish sauce

600g golden caster sugar

200ml red wine vinegar

• Dice half of the tomatoes. I used the firmest.
• Blend the rest of the tomatoes with the garlic, chillis, ginger and fish sauce until puréed
• Put in a pan with the sugar and vinegar. Bring to the boil stirring slowly.
• Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and add diced tomatoes.
• At this point I split my mixture between two large pans to help speed up the reducing time.
• Boil gently, with the lid off, for 35-45 minutes until the mixture is the right consistency. When it's ready, a wooden spoon dragged across the base of the pan will leave a clear path that takes a few seconds to cover over.

• While the jam is simmering sterilise your jars.
• Spoon into jars.

This jam can be used as a savoury spread to perk up sandwiches, served with a cheese board, as a dip, or as a replacement for chilli sauce.