Green tomato jam (Confiture de tomates vertes)

It was the first of the end of season tidy up days at the garden on Saturday, and I collected a lot of green tomatoes. I had chutney in mind, then thought maybe I had enough tomatoes to make a couple of different things, and came across this unusual sounding jam (possibly a French idea). I saw several recipe variations but decided to go with this simple amalgamation.

(made 3-4 standard sized jars)

2.5 lb green tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 lb sugar
zest and juice of one lemon

Mix the sliced tomatoes in a large bowl with the sugar. Cover and leave for 24 hours. Transfer the mixture to a large pan with the lemon zest and juice, and heat over a low flame for 2 hours. Check for setting point, heat faster for a while if necessary. Allow to cool for ten minutes then put carefully into jars and close the lids tightly.


This stuff is really interesting. It looks like a Martian raspberry jam - lots of small seeds and a deep colour, but richly green rather than pink-red. The taste is fairly subtle, with a slight sharpness to it. I haven't quite figured it out yet: will need to eat some more...


A couple of months later I was at Grandma's, looking through an old cookery book (Miss Tuxford's Cookery for the Middle Classes, 9th Edition, 1927) that we found in a box of books that used to belong to Mum. In the chapter on 'Food Reform Cookery', which I think means vegetarian food but perhaps has a grander meaning too, I found a recipe for Green Tomato Jam:

So perhaps it's just an old-fashioned idea rather than being particularly French. Anyway, it was nice, and next time I have green toms I will try it with ginger!