Save Those Green Tomatoes Now! Jam to the Rescue

Walking through my Northwest Philly neighborhood on the way to work this morning, I noticed two things: air brisk enough to make me look like Puff the Magic Dragon and tons of forlorn green or semi-ripe tomatoes, hanging sadly from their cages and trellises.

In green, green Germantown, it seemed like nearly every block had a bushel of the unharvested fruit awaiting the final cold snap—one that looks likely to come this week as temps dip below freezing. Once the tomatoes freeze and thaw, all those burst cells inside will leave the meat mushy and unappealing.

But if you have a bunch of green tomatoes in the backyard because you (like me) couldn’t bring yourself to rip out this year’s bushes, this is your last shot to turn them into something wonderful: GREEN TOMATO JAM!

End of summer Tomato Jam

Michele K. Koskinen

The end of the tomato season leaves me a bit sad as I enjoy tomatoes more than any other fruit (vegetable) in the summer. I wait for them to grow, pick them and often pop them in my mouth as I am tending the garden. I have put up tomato jam, green dilled tomatoes, whole tomatoes, salsa, and recently a new recipe, yellow tomato and basil jam.

Stopping at a local farmer’s market for gourds, I spied lovely yellow tomatoes and decided to try a new jam. I grabbed apples for butter and sauce, plum tomatoes, and the yellow tomatoes. A day spent preserving is on the schedule. Just enough produce for a few small jars to go along with all of the other foods I have canned over the summer.

I use recipes from a book on small jar canning and also the Ball book on canning. You can also find a multitude of recipes on small batch canning today on many blogs and cooking sites. It is the modern way of enjoying preserving food for the entire year. No longer putting up dozens of quarts many, including me, simply do small batches of pints, or 4 and 8 oz jars. 

 Tomato Basil Jam recipe

Applesauce recipe

Before you begin to can or preserve using the hot water method, you should read carefully and follow the sanitary instructions for food safety. Careful preparation of your jars and food temperature is important to prevent foodborne illness.          extension.psu.edu/food/preservation/