Basil Peach Heirloom Tomato Jam

Fresh basil and juicy sweet peaches add the perfect summer touch to this heirloom tomato jam! Wonderful spread on a toasted baguette and an incredible condiment for a charcuterie board.

I’m about to be that person that convinces you to jam something this summer. Or in this case, put all those garden tomatoes and the last of this season’s peaches to very good use.

An unconventional combo I know, but hear me out. This tomato jam is SHOCKINGLY good.

And no, it’s NOT a pain in the butt to make. I think a lot of people hear the words “homemade jam” and picture spending the whole day in a hot kitchen prepping fruit and standing over a hot stove.

For this jam, I do in fact insist that you NOT do that. Instead we’re gonna take 15 minutes to prep our tomatoes and peaches and then set the clock for 1 hour of stovetop time

The amount of flavors we’re able to develop into this jam during only an hour of cook time is absolutely unreal. The juicy peaches and heirloom tomatoes bring the sweetness. A little fresh ginger + red pepper flakes provide a little heat. And a handful of fresh basil at the end just brings all the flavors together.

Again, not your traditional jam experience, but dang if it’s ever good. ??

Here’s how we’ll be making this tomato jam >>

 

First on the agenda is prepping the fruit. 1 lb heirloom tomatoes and about 1/2 lb peaches is going to make up the bulk of your jam. 

For the peaches, we’re simply just going to peel, pit, and dice them. The tomatoes, however, require a little more TLC.

We want to get those pesky skins and seeds out of our tomatoes so we’re going to do a poach in boiling water for the whole tomatoes for about 3-5 minutes. Once cooled, you should be able to slip the skins off the tomatoes and discard the inside seeds easily.

It’s jam making time! Fruit goes into the saucepan followed by sugar (necessary ingredient for jam) a little apple cider vinegar for acidity, fresh grated ginger, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and salt/pepper.

Let the jam cook and reduce slowly at medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 1 hour. You really can’t rush this cook time because the fruit needs to completely cook down and that’s a low ‘n’ slow process.

Once the jam is reduced down to a thick, jam-like consistency, the last step is minced fresh basil. We save this step for after the jam is finished cooking so the basil maintains its fresh herby flavor throughout the jam.

**Quick note on canning: this jam can definitely be canned, however, I am not an expert on canning and recommend you follow 

Holy smokes, if you could capture summer in a jar……this is it, guys.

If you can bear to part with it and if you choose to go the canning route, this jam makes for great gifts AND lets you have a little summer in the off season.

Slather this gold ALL over your toastiest baguette slice, add it to your next charcuterie board,  pile it on your burger, dip your finger in it…..??

Recipe adapted from Sarah - Whole and Heavenly Oven