Cherry Tomato Jam Recipe
Sweet-savory cherry tomato jam made without pectin. 2½ lb of cherry tomatoes simmers down into five small jars in about an hour and a half. No special equipment, six pantry ingredients, plus safe water-bath canning steps.
Servings 5 jars
Cost $20
Equipment
- 1 Wide shallow pan 12"
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 5 five 4-oz Ball jars. For canning
- 1 Water bath canner or deep stockpot with rack
- 1 Jar lifter
Ingredients
- 2½ lbs cherry tomatoes halved
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice bottled if canning
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper coarsely cracked
Optional add-ins (use the WPRM ingredient group feature)
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 sprig rosemary or basil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes, remove any stems, and halve them.
- Toss the halved tomatoes with the sugar, vinegar, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Let sit 30 minutes at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge. This draws out the juices and shortens the cooking time.
- Transfer to a wide, heavy-bottomed pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Mash the tomatoes gently with a wooden spoon as they soften.
- Stir in the salt, pepper, and any add-ins. Raise the heat to medium-high, bring to a gentle boil, and skim off the foam.
- Reduce to a simmer and cook 40 to 50 minutes, stirring more often as it thickens, until the jam mounds on a spoon and a spatula dragged across the pan leaves a track that takes a beat to fill in.
- Cool 10 minutes, then spoon into clean jars. The jam firms up considerably as it cools. Refrigerate once fully cool.
For canning
- Use bottled lemon juice, not fresh, and make the base recipe exactly as written with no honey substitution or reduced sugar.
- Sterilize jars in boiling water for 10 minutes and keep them hot.
- Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims, apply lids, tighten bands to fingertip-tight.
- Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes at sea level. Add 5 minutes at 1,000–3,000 ft, 10 minutes at 3,000–6,000 ft, 15 minutes above that.
- Cool undisturbed 12 hours, then check seals. Refrigerate any jar that didn't seal.
Notes
Yield: about 2½ cups, or five 4-oz jars. Yield varies by variety — juicy types like Sungold cook down closer to 2 cups, meatier ones like Juliet can exceed 3.
Storage: 2–3 weeks refrigerated, 6 months frozen, 12 months for properly canned jars.
Canning safety: bottled lemon juice is required for shelf-stable jars. Its acidity is standardized; fresh lemon juice varies, and tomatoes sit right at the pH borderline. Honey and reduced-sugar versions are for the fridge or freezer only.
Doubling: cook in two separate pans. Jam piled too deep scorches on the bottom before it thickens on top.