Tomato marmalade ideas?

19 years ago

Hi wise members...

I had a brief spurt of tomato growth while I was on vacation, so I decided to try out the recipe from Small Batch Preserves for Tomato Marmalade... (5 cups tomatoes, 1 lemon, 2 large oranges, 4 cups sugar)

The problem is, it's way too sweet-citrusy for me. My husband agreed - neither of us could taste any tomato flavor at all to it. I'm not sure if its something I did (or didn't do) or the recipe itself.

I'm not going to hold out hope that I can salvage the batch to be more tomato-ey, but if there are some ideas I'm willing to try anything before I process it. It's hard to give it up completely as a loss because I love the idea of it... Since there is so much citrus in it, could I fiddle around with adding more tomatos and sugar and still be able to process it?

Thanks all...

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

readinglady
19 years ago
Why not make a second batch of a plain tomato preserve (cut back on sugar a bit if desired), heat both batches, stir together and process?

Carol
E
Original Author
19 years ago
I'm not sure I have enough tomatoes for a batch of preserve. The Farmer's market isn't until Saturday (Wednesday if I'm lucky), so I'm not sure I can get some more tomatoes until next weekend...

I have about another 2 cups of tomatoes left - Would adding these to the marmalade still keep the right sugar-acid balance for bwb?
Related Professionals
Lafayette Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Rolla Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Killeen Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Plymouth Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Middletown Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Wheeling Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Saint George Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Jackson Landscape Contractors · Martinsburg Landscape Contractors · Louisville Home Builders · Hilton Head Island Home Builders · Middletown Home Builders · Rockford Home Builders · Huron Home Builders · Juneau Home Builders
readinglady
19 years ago
I don't know. There're oranges, the lemon and all that sugar, so my guess would be 2 cups wouldn't make much difference but for verification you could use a pH test strip to check acidity.

Having said that, it wouldn't do this marmalade any harm to be refrigerated until you get enough tomatoes to do a full plain batch. A week in the fridge should be fine.

Carol
E
Original Author
19 years ago
After second thought - I'm wondering if the marmalade tastes just like it's supposed to - I just don't care for it. I realized that I have no idea what tomato marmalade is SUPPOSED to taste like...

Can anyone fill me in? Is it supposed to taste a little tomato-ey, or just like a marmalade that happens to have tomatoes in it?
jenn_of_ark
19 years ago
I was going to try this tomato marmalade recipe from The Good Cook: Preserving. Not much citrus in it, just some lemon juice. I don't know how it's supposed to taste, either; just have to do something with all these ripe tomatoes ...

TOMATO MARMALADE
To make about 2 pints

1-1/2 lb. large ripe tomatoes, peeled, halved, and seeded
2-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
6 tbsp. strained fresh lemon juice

Boil the sugar and water together for about five minutes to make a thick syrup. Stir in the tomatoes and the lemon juice. Stirring frequently, cook over medium heat for about 45 minutes, or until the tomatoes are translucent and the syrup thick. Put in jars and cover. Process.
VICTORIA SERRA
TIA VICTORIA'S SPANISH KITCHEN

The recipe refers you to the pages in the book about processing ... for marmalade, it says:
Hot-pack. Process in a boiling water bath; pints, 15 minutes.