Spiced Cherry Tomato Jam

All of August I waited for the glut of cherry tomatoes...September here they are!  I now have baskets full and I'm sort of finished with my favorite summer dishes featuring cherry tomatoes like Panzanella, Caprese, etc. I'm ready to move into a few autumnal style dishes. 

Last month I featured a Tomato Jam at The Boulevard Market during a preserving class and chose to redesign it using cherry tomatoes.  Because it would be so ridiculously time consuming to peel every cherry tomato, my suggestion is to use a food mill or push the cherry tomatoes through a mesh strainer to avoid the majority of seeds and skin.


CHERRY TOMATO JAM

4 cups tomatoes, peeled and strained
1 1/2 cups sugar
½ t ground allspice
½ t ground cinnamon
¼ t ground cloves
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
1 package pectin

Cook prepared tomatoes 10 minutes in preserving pot, add seasonings and lemon juice.  Stir in pectin until completely dissolved and bring to a boil, add sugar.  Bring back to a boil and boil 1 minute stirring constantly.  Skim off foam, fill hot sterilized jars and process in hot water bath for 15 minutes.
Yield; 5 half pints

I used a Habanero Hot Sauce already prepared for a fair amount of heat to give the jam some depth.  I really like the cloves and cinnamon in this jam!  I think the spices give an autumnal twist to this recipe without overpowering the clean, sweet tomato flavor.  I used a combination of yellow and red cherry tomatoes and my jam was on the orange side, which I found quite attractive! 


I like to serve tomato jam with cheese and cold meat sandwiches or use it as a base to bbq sauce.  I also smear a few tablespoons on a roast beef before putting in the oven and on top of an old fashioned meatloaf!  It's really great with pork and chicken as well.