Nicola & Gerry’s Tomato Chilli Jam
I had a plan to make tomato chutney as Christmas gifts when a funny thing happened. On returning Gerry’s great-uncle’s confectionery recipe book I inadvertently stumbled into an annual tomato chilli jam cook-off.
One of Gerry’s friends, Nicola, has been making a variant of this same tomato chilli jam just before Christmas every year for the last 12 years. She and Gerry have been friends for just as long so Gerry was welcomed to join in on the tradition.
Preparation takes place weeks in advance. Buying bulk herbs and spices, ordering boxes of tomatoes, stocking up on ingredients for Campari cocktails etc etc. There is no recipe per se, when I arrived there is a master list of ingredients scrawled on the glass splashback behind the stovetop. It’s not until the day of jamming that it’s actually known how much of each ingredient will make the up the recipe that will be reproduced in batches throughout the day. I’m told so much depends on the characteristics of the tomatoes each year that a pilot recipe is crucial. From there, modifications are made. Thus, every year the recipe takes on its own unique taste.
An experiment in clear tomato soup || Boxes of tomatoes ready for jamming
Gerry multi-tasks || Mise-en-place
Stirring support || Clear tomato soup experiment
This year a secondary experiment was underway whereby the juice from all the cut tomatoes was drained and reserved before being passed through a muslin-lined colander in an attempt at clear tomato soup.
It’s with equal measure of anguish and delight that this post comes without a recipe. Just a list of ingredients for one of the most deeply flavourful tomato chilli jams I have ever had the pleasure of eating. It’s now up to all of us to have a red hot go at making it.
I got to take home two jars (one from the pilot and one from the tweaked recipe) and was given strict instructions to eat it with baked ham on Christmas Day. It was awesome.
One of the many batches of tomato chilli jam || Jamming assembly line
Campari cocktails (without chilli) are a crucial part of the day || The final product
Nicola & Gerry’s Tomato Chilli Jam
Onion, garlic, ginger, oil
Tomatoes
Cumin, coriander, turmeric (ground)
Lemongrass
Sugar (brown)
Red wine vinegar
Fish sauce
Coriander balls (seeds)
Kaffir lime (leaves)
Chilli
The ingredients look great but what is the method. do you just chuck it all in together or do you cook in order starting with tomatoes and gradually adding spices???
Good question. I wasn’t privy to the method, just the ingredients (because they were written on the glass splashback). My guess would be:
+ Saute the onions until just brown then add the garlic and ginger and continue cooking till fragrant
+ Add the chopped tomatoes and all the other ingredients and simmer over low heat for a long time till the sauce is thickened and dark in colour.
I’d test the balance of the remaining ingredients half way through cooking and adjust accordingly.
Thanks for the tip
What quantities ?
Hi Lynda – that’s the thing…I don’t know! The only thing I do know is the ingredients and order.