Isle of Wight Tomato and Chilli Jam

The perfect accompaniment to a cheese board, stir fry or fish dish this Isle of Wight Tomatoes Jam recipe gets the balance of sweet and fiery just right.

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 1 hour

You’ll need

1.5kg Isle of Wight tomatoes

1.5kg granulated sugar

1 large Bramley apple, peeled and diced

1 fresh red chilli, optional

2 cardamon pods

Juice of 1 large lemon

How to make the jam

Sterilise the jars. Wash in very hot water or on the hot cycle of a dishwasher. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the jars upside down on a baking tray and dry in the oven for 10 minutes.

Have a big pan of water boiling. Slash the skin of each tomato and plunge into the boiling water for 10 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and put to one side. Work in batches until all the tomatoes have been blanched. Leave to cool slightly. The skins should now slip off easily. Peel all of the tomatoes.

Roughly chop all the tomatoes and place in a deep pan suitable for making jam. Add the sugar and apple and mix well. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes. Add the chilli, sliced in half, if using, and the cardamon pods. Add the juice of the lemon.

Put the pan on the heat and bring to a rapid boil. Be careful as the mixture will be very, very hot. Boil the mixture until it reaches 105°C on a digital thermometer. Alternatively, put a plate in the freezer when you begin the jam-making process and when the bubbles on the jam begin to appear fatter and more viscous, anytime from around 20 minutes of boiling, test a spoon of jam on the cold plate, if it is ready, it should thicken instantly and have a slight skin to the top if you push it with your finger. A digital thermometer is best though. Boil the jam hard for 2 minutes when you get to 105°C for a perfect set.

Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour the jam into the sterilized jars. Remove the chillies and cardamon pods, or if you like keep them in, and then seal the jars shut. Sealed and stored correctly, the jam should last indefinitely.

Recipe courtesy of The Tomato Stall

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Melina - Assistant Editor

Hi I'm Melina, a mother of 3 teenage children and with a particular interest in all things health related. I run a busy household and smallholding alongside my work with Silversurfers, which currently includes dogs, fish, hens, ducks and pigs!

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