Confident green tomato jam would be as good as green tomato pie, I decided to use up some of those tomatoes hanging around stunned into non-ripening by the heat. I picked what I could find and hauled them to the house in an ice cream bucket. Tomatoes rinsed and draining in a collander, I set off on an internet search for a recipe.
Green tomato jam with cinnamon? No, I don't think so.
Green tomato jam with allspice? Nuh-uh.
Green tomato jam with citrus? Maybe, but not orange.
Searching, searching, searching...
Green tomato jam with lemon... Maybe? I don't have enough tomatoes for this one, and where's the pectin in this recipe? How will it thicken?
I know! I'll make up my own recipe! Please note the directions with the pectin powder specify to use the exact amount of sugar to cause the jam to jell. Seven Cups?
I must follow the directions, I must follow.... Gads! This stuff tastes like 100% sugar! Maybe if I add more lemon juice? I trickled in 1/4 cup, stirred and tasted. Marginally better. More lemon? I poured in another 1/2 cup of lemon juice and tasted. Much better, but still too sticky sweet. One whole cup????? Glup! I dumped in a full cup of lemon this time. Ahhhhh, perfection! Tangy, fruity and delightful!
I packed and processed the batch according to package directions with the help of my hubby. We removed the jars to cool overnight. Such beautiful emerald beauty gleaming in gem-like jars, standing on the towel.
The next morning I lifted one of those stained glass beauties and tipped it. Did it remain in place, even across the jar, fully jelled?
Did I follow the recipe?
Eight half-pints of green tomato syrup leered at me from the towel. Looks like I'll have to get more tomatoes and remake the whole batch. The directions say to do a sample test before redoing the entire batch.
"Begin with with one cup unjelled jam...."
"Hmmmm...?"
I was shocked how much suger we were mixing in there. It was like mixing cement.
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