Jaci Hicken, our seasoned journalist and trained chef, shares her wealth of knowledge on growing, cooking, and preserving homegrown produce.
This week, we have taken the tomatoes from ‘Preparing the perfect chutney’ to cook everyone's favourite: tomato chilli jam.
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But you will not need to peel and deseed as many tomatoes for this recipe, as only 500 grams are needed.
The only thing is, 500g of tomatoes won’t make much of this wonderfully sweet, sticky, not-that-hot jam, and you may need more, as this version of sweet chilli is way better than the one you get in the shops.
Now, let's talk oregano.
Until a couple of years ago, when the local footy club asked me to cater the winter break ball, Mexican-themed, I didn’t know that different countries had different types of oregano.
Okay, you called it, I’m not Mexican — and the local footy club is not in Mexico either — but it must have been the theme of the year, with a lot of Day of the Dead facepaint and my take on Mexican food.
Tacos, enchiladas and churros were served to 200 of the town’s best footy and nettie players, their other halves and hangers-on.
While googling ‘How to make Mexican food’, I came across Mexican oregano as one of the secret ingredients behind the cuisine of the Central American country.
Mexican oregano seems to have a slightly more earthy, less sweet flavour than the one used in Greek cuisine, the one we get from the supermarket.
Mexican oregano is used in the tomato chilli jam recipe, adding a little depth to the flavour.
If you can’t be bothered ordering it online, just use the oregano they have in the supermarket or hanging in the kitchen at yiayia’s place.
Tomato chilli jam recipe
Ingredients
500 grams of tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
Juice of one lemon
Salt, a pinch
10 grams of citrus pectin
280 grams of sugar
Method
Step one: Place all ingredients except sugar and pectin in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes have broken down and softened.
Step two: Combine the sugar and pectin.
Step three: Add the sugar and pectin to the tomatoes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat to bring it to a rapid boil.
Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the jam reaches the setting point.
Step four: Bottle and seal.
Sadly, this recipe made only two jars of what, in my opinion, is the best tomato chilli jam.
You can easily multiply the recipe and make as many jars as you want.
It is more than likely that next time tomato chilli jam is cooked at my place, we will be doing at least two kilograms of tomatoes, so there will be enough for you to take some home as well.
But, at this point, I am keeping the only two jars we have in the house for ourselves.
– Jaci
Do you have a favourite preserving recipe that Jaci can cook? Let her know by dropping her a line at jaci.hicken@mmg.com.au.