WHOLE GREEN TOMATO JAM
(She normally cooks 2kg per batch)
Green tomatoes, prick with a fork
Ginger
Sugar
Water
Lemon Juice
Slaked Lime (can be bought at Pharmacy, called Pickling Lime in the UK and can be ordered online)
Method:
Make a mixture of 5 litres water and 25ml of the slaked lime. Soak the tomatoes in this mixture for one day. Stir regularly while the tomates are in the water mixture.
Remove tomatoes from mixture and rinse very well.
Boil water (clean), with some salt, in a big pot.
Place the tomatoes one-by-one in the boiling water and ensure that the water does not stop boiling – it could lead to the tomatoes becoming ‘mushy’.
Boil for 10 minutes
Syrup (per 1 kg of uncooked tomatoes):
Heat 2,5 litres of water slowly while adding 1,5kg of sugar until all the sugar has dissolved. It is important not to bring this mixture to the boil until the sugar has dissolved.
Add 25ml of lemon juice and 6 chunks of fresh peeled ginger, bring the mixture to the boil and keep it on the boil for 10 minutes
Now place the tomatoes gently in the boiling water and sugar mixture and keep it on the boil till the syrup starts thickening and the tomatoes become ‘glassy’ or see-through.
Remove the pot from the heat and leave the tomatoes overnight in the syrup mixture.
Remove the tomatoes from the syrup the next morning and heat the syrup to boiling temperature again and place the tomatoes back for a quick stint. This is to get it all hot for the bottling process.
Place tomatoes in clean containers, fill with syrup and seal immediately.
Recipe and picture: Petre van Jaarsveld
Tranlated: Nicolette Fick
Beulah Visser
Beautiful!! Next time try putting fig leaves in when you cook your green tomato jam. I did that many years ago and has a delicious fig taste to it!