With summers abundance of tomatoes, making jam is delicious way to savor the flavor of summers most abundant fruit.

This recipe combines onion, garlic and spices that give the tomatoes a rich delicious flavors to add to cheese boards, crostini’s and even a grilled steak.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds assorted tomatoes , peeled, chopped and seeds removed

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 dried bay leaf

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated

DIRECTIONS

1. Add all ingredients into heavy bottom pot, stir to combine.

2. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring often.

3. Reduce heat and simmer for at least one hour, additional time may be needed until jam has thickened.

4. Taste jam, adjust sugar and spices to taste.

5. Store jam in glass jar, jam will keep in refrigerator for up to a month.

Yield: 1 pint jar of jam

Suggestion: For my recipe I used a wide variety of tomatoes to create a rich, full flavor jam. Shop your local farmers market for heirloom variates. Add in a handful of cherry tomatoes, as they are naturally sweet. Don’t worry about peeling the cherry tomatoes. The larger varieties will need to be peeled and seeded.

Shallots can be substituted for onions.