tomato jam

I got up at 4:20 this morning because I had many things I had to get cooked before 10:30, when Annie was picking me up for a little party at Tom Stratman's house. I had to make Magic Bars for the party, bread and garbanzo beans for dinner, and tomato jam. I got everything but actually boiling the the jam done in plenty of time, so I got all set up for the jam (jars in the boiling water bath, my towels and funnels and ladles and hot pads for the hot pans arranged on the counter, etc.) and took my bath.

After my bath I turned the jam on and cooked it for about 1/2 an hour. I took its temperature--221ºF--and decided it was done. After I'd set the pan on its hot pad, I looked at it more closely and decided to cook it a little longer. I put it back on high heat and left the room for about 20 seconds. When I came back, the pan was engulfed in flames! Not pausing to take its picture, I turned off the stove and took the pan off the heat. I realised that my pan was still stuck to my cute Ikea magnetic trivet, and that was what was burning. I pried it off and threw it in the sink and ran water on it, so the fire was out, but there were terrible ashes everywhere, and the smoke alarm was going. I was so sad! And my cute trivet was ruined! Below, you can see that one of its little magnets burned right out and stuck to the stove.



The jam turned out okay, though, if you like tomato jam. I think it seems more like the kind of thing you'd put on a hamburger than on a scone, but I know that some people like it.



Lime-Ginger Tomato Jam

4lbs tomatoes, cored and chopped
2 limes, thinly sliced
4 1/2C sugar
1/2C julienned ginger
2t Aleppo pepper (or a smaller amount of hotter pepper flakes)
1 1/2t cinnamon
1/4t cloves

Put the lime slices in a little pan with a cup of water, bring to a boil, and simmer till it's thoroughly tender. Combine with all the remaining ingredients in a great big pan and cook on high heat till it's jam. Bottle and boiling-water-bathe. Makes about 7 1/2-pints.