Tomato Jam

Have you heard about tomato jam? I've seen it, especially in the summer time, in just about every cooking magazine known to man, and I've seen about a dozen recipes calling for everything from bacon to ginger. Tomato jam is a surprisingly sweet, yet savory concoction that can be used in place of ketchup, or paired with cheeses or eggs. Its uses are only as narrow or as wide as your imagination. I've always wanted to try my hand at it, so tonight, I found a simple recipe and gave it a go.

BEWARE: Your house will smell ABSOLUTELY scrumptious when you make this tomato jam. My kids kept coming around, sniffing at the pot, asking me over and over (even though I told them from the get-go) what it was I was making. The cloves, cinnamon and ginger are decadently over the top.

Tomato Jam (as seen on The Wednesday Chef blog)
Ingredients:
1.5 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan, Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.

2. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until mixture has consistency of thick jam, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
**Mine took a bit less time then this...go by sight, not the timer.** Taste and adjust seasoning, then pour into hot, sterilized jam jars, screw the lids on and turn the jars upside down to cool completely.