This week my Irish colleague was wondering why you don’t have to use added pectin to make tomato jam. I had never thought about it. I pulled out my gramma’s recipe. Sure enough! No added pectin!
Tomatoes are more complicated than they look; however, gelling them is a conquerable challenge! Tomatoes contain an enzyme called polygalacturonase (PG), which is essential to the ripening process, but it degrades the naturally occurring pectin methylesterase enzymes (PME) pectin. Heat inactivates the PG enzyme, but it also knocks out the PME, which means no amount of sugar is going to make the tomatoes gel. So you need something additional to assist the gelling process, but it doesn’t have to be added pectin. French Chef Jean Yves Wilmot suggests using orange juice to change the enzymes in tomatoes and work like traditional pectin. It cause low methoxyl (LM) to be made out of high methoxyl (HM) and together with sugar and citric acid, forces the pectin to stick together. Leaving the seeds and skins of chopped tomatoes also benefits the gelling process.
That’s the chemistry of making tomato jam. Imagine how smart you’ll look when this question comes up in a game of Trivial Pursuit!
Try my gramma’s recipe on your next burger instead of ketchup!
Easy Tomato and Caramelized Onion Hamburger Jam
¾ pounds chopped yellow onions
1 Tbs butter
Melt butter in a heavy fry pan over high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring until light brown. Add 2 Tbs of water, and scrape everything from the bottom. Continue to cook while often stirring for about 2 minutes. Add two more Tbs water and continue to scrape and cook until dark brown, which should be about 12-15 mins.
1 – 1 ½ pounds chopped tomatoes (Early Girl or plum work best – less watery, more flavor)
½ cup organic caster sugar
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup raw organic apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs orange zest
3 Tbs orange juice
2 tsp Himalayan salt
1 tsp cinnamon
To the onions, add chopped tomatoes, sugar, zest, orange juice, vinegar, and salt. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer. Stirring occasionally, cook until the skins break down and the mixture has thickened, which will take 1 to 1 ½ hour. Watch for the bubbles to begin to slow. If using a thermometer, this will be around 220F degrees. Remove from heat. Cool, jar, and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Or ladle into sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 mins for storage up to 18 months.
August 26, 2020 at 04:00PM
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Easy tomato and caramelized onion hamburger jam | Lewiston Sun Journal - The Bethel Citizen
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