Tomato Jam

This easy 4-ingredient Tomato Jam Recipe is the perfect way to extend tomato season.

Enjoy it with a piping hot big breakfast in winter, a lazy Sunday BBQ, a thick slice of sourdough toast or any other way – or day – you fancy.

Recipe for Tomato Jam

This recipe comes straight from Nana Ling‘s handwritten recipe book.

I have updated the quantities to modern measurement units and reduced the quantities so the recipe produces two medium jars of Tomato Jam.

So keep scrolling to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the tested and tweaked recipe. Plus this post has plenty more tips and tricks for making the best Tomato Jam!

Ingredients for Tomato Jam

You’ll need just 4 ingredients:

• 1 kg tomatoes
• 1/2 pineapple
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon tartaric acid (or substitute 1 tablespoon of lemon juice if you don’t have this ingredient).

How to make Tomato Jam

Remove the skin and core from the pineapple and dice into small pieces.

Next, we need to “scald and peel” the tomatoes according to Nana Ling’s instructions.

To do that, you place the tomatoes in a large bowl and pour boiling water over the tomatoes until they are covered.

Leave for 5 minutes and then drain off the liquid and wait until they are cool enough to touch.

The tomato skins should split after being scalded and you should be able to easily peel them off with your hands.

If they’re not split, apply a little pressure or cut the skin a little with a sharp knife and then the skin should peel off easily.

If using cherry tomatoes, they should just pop out of their skin by applying a little pressure at the base of the tomato.

Once peeled, dice tomatoes into small pieces and place into a large saucepan along with the pineapple pieces.

Place one cup of the sugar into the saucepan with the chopped fruits and place the rest of the sugar in a baking dish. Put the baking dish with the sugar in it into the oven and turn heat to 160 degrees celsius (fan-forced) or equivalent.

Gently heat the pineapple, tomato and sugar mixture until the sugar dissolves.

Turn up the heat to medium/high and boil for 20 minutes.

Add heated sugar from oven to the mixture and stir in quickly to dissolve.

Continue to boil steadily on medium heat, stirring regularly, for 30 minutes.

A couple of minutes before taking the jam off the stove, add the tartaric acid and stir to combine.

Pour into sterilised jars and seal immediately.

How to make sure your jam sets without burning it

The trickiest part of this recipe, like all jams, is reaching setting point without burning your jam.

The best way to avoid this is by continually monitoring and stirring regularly after adding the remaining sugar. Make sure you stir almost continually towards the end of the cooking time. 

You should also adjust the temperature so the jam is boiling steadily rather than rapidly.

How do you know when your Tomato Jam is set and ready to be put into jars?

The times above should be a good guide.

However, you’ll also know it’s done when you scrape a wooden spoon around the bottom of the pot and no liquid immediately fills in the path – so you can actually see the bottom of the pot briefly as you stir.

Storing Tomato Jam

Depending on how well you sterilise and process your jars, Tomato Jam can last for up to 12 months in the pantry.

It will also last last about a month in the fridge once opened, or up to 6 months in the freezer. 

Use your own judgment before eating stored jams.