Old Fashioned Tomato Jam

This is SUCH a fun recipe! We use it with cheese or on any kind of meat. I do a lot of preserving because I use them as gifts throughout the year. This batch made 24 – 1 1/2 cup jars of jam. I am almost at the end of canning season – I have some applesauce and apple pie filling to make this Fall. I make marmalade throughout the year and I can always make a batch of apricot jam by re-constituting dried apricots. I love small batch preserving because you can try different recipes without spending a lot of time in the kitchen – and EVERYONE appreciates a homemade gift!!

10 lbs of ripe plum tomatoes, diced
3 – 1/2 cups of brown sugar
5 cups of chopped white onion
1 – 1/4 cups of lemon juice
5 tablespoons of grated ginger
7 – 1/2 teaspoons of salt
2 – 1/2 teaspoons of cumin
3 tablespoons of gluten free Worcestershire sauce
4 teaspoons of crushed red pepper
4 – 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder

Bring everything to a boil in a large pot. Lower the heat and boil for about 2 hours until it is very thick. The jam should look thick and glossy by the end of the cooking time. It takes awhile so, don’t be surprised if it goes up to 3 hours. Keep stirring about every 15 minutes to prevent it burning or sticking to the bottom.
Place in sterilized jars, boil lids and caps for at least 5 minutes. Place lids on jars and tighten caps. Process jars for 15 minutes in boiling water.