Last summer, Scott and I spent a weekend in New York. While wandering the Union Square Greenmarket, I picked up a half pint jar of yellow tomato jam. Soon after we got home, I cracked it open and proceeded to make quick work of it. It was good with cheese and even better as a glaze for roasted chicken thighs.
Since then, I’ve been pondering yellow tomato jam. I really wanted to make it from Sungold tomatoes since they are so sweet, but they can be prohibitively expensive if you haven’t grown your own and you’re buying them in the city (I’ve seen them for as much as $5 a pint at farmers’ markets).
Then, when at Root’s Market in Lancaster County last Tuesday, I hit the jackpot. Rows of of glowing, Amish-grown Sungolds for $1 a piece. I bought six.
Cut in half, combined with sugar and lemon juice, and cooked until thick and sticky, this jam is gorgeously vivid in both looks and taste. To make things slightly more interesting, I stirred in a quarter cup of chopped basil at the very end of cooking. Tomatoes and basil do make such good partners.
If you can’t get Sungolds, you could swap in a different tomato. But I do think they give it a depth of sweetness and flavor that is pretty fabulous.
Yellow Tomato and Basil Jam
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Sungold or other yellow tomatoes
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- zest of two lemons divided
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped basil
Instructions
- Cut Sungold tomatoes in half, or, if using larger yellow tomatoes, chop them into smallish pieces.
- Combine chopped tomatoes with sugar in a large, non-reactive pot and stir. Let sit for at least one hour, or until the tomatoes release their juice.
- When ready to cook, prep canning pot and jars and place jam pot over high heat. Add lemon juice and bring to a boil.
- Cook at a boil for 30-35, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes have softened and the syrup has gotten thick. Check set with plate test. Once you’re satisfied with the set, remove the pot from the heat and stir in half the lemon zest and chopped basil. Taste and add remaining lemon zest only if you feel the jam requires it.
- Pour jam into prepared jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings. Process jars in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
- When time is up, remove jars from pot and let them cool on a kitchen towel. When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and test seals. Place any unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use promptly. All sealed jars can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.
I love this recipe. So yummy! Took about an hour to cook down for me. Got 2 pints out of it. Can’t wait to try my pineapple tomatoes with it next.
So glad you like it!
I love this recipe and save yellow tomatoes in the freezer to make a big batch every year. This year I was making a double batch at the same time as I was making hot sauce with my sugar rush peach peppers and I thought of a fun variation:
I did one normal batch and one spicy batch.
I added some of the pepper pulp that was left over from making my hot sauce and I subbed the lemon for lime and added a tablespoon of crystallized ginger instead of the basil. It was also awesome.
That sounds SO good. I love when people start playing with the flavorings, that’s such an easy and safe way to add variety.
I love this jam! I used yellow pear tomatoes. I struggled with the plate test, so my yield was only 2.5 pints…I might have to make it again tomorrow!
I’m so happy to hear it!
This is the second time I have made this jam… I had an abundance of yellow cherry tomatoes and remembered it! It is a winner in my book, very pretty and tasty.
This jam is delicious! I omitted the lemon zest based on the comments. I am going to make a batch without the basil for a sweet jam instead of savory. I appreciate the temperature tip as well as the plate test tip for a perfect set! I used Lemon Boy yellow tomatoes and they worked perfectly. The jam turns into a beautiful amber color and I look forward to enjoying it this winter! Delicious!!
I’m so glad you like it!
Made this a couple of times this summer with both red and yellow cherry tomatoes depending on what we had on hand and it is incredible. A keeper! I have a small stash of jars in the basement to give out as holiday gifts later this year!
I cook fresh *whole stem* basil with tomatoes, then pull it out. It will turn black in the jars if canned. When canning, it’s always best to use dried basil where basil is called for. If you want to use fresh basil, cut stem(s) from near the top, leaving the largest leaves for the plant, and cook with the other ingredients, then remove before canning. You get the flavor without the blackened leaves.
I also add flavor: for every 4 cups of prepared tomatoes,
add 1 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup lemon juice (1/2 cup is not necessary, but if you want it more sour, that will work).
The other concern I have is the timing. It takes about 1.5 hours to cook this amount of tomatoes and sugar down to a jam without pectin. So I’m not sure how that texture is going to work.
All my tomato jams are made without additional pectin and take time to cook down. Did you actually try the recipe before leaving a low review score?
So delicious! I used pear tomatoes. Added extra basil.
Hooray!
Simple recipe. Thanks a lot, We will try it for our Bo-Kaap Community Garden produce, Cape Town
Making mine today and I can’t wait. I am glad I have basil in my garden. I will definately post my views.
What is the recommended head space to leave? 1/4 inch?
When in doubt, leave 1/2 inch.
So I don’t see in the recipe anything about blanching/peeling the tomatoes — how does that work with the peels . . . did I miss something? Thanks!
This jam uses the tomatoes, peels and all. If a recipe doesn’t instruct you to peel the tomatoes, that means you don’t need to peel the tomatoes.
I know this is an old post, but will the basil discolor over time or will that lemon help it hold its color? Thanks for posting recipe and for your help!
It totally discolors. But that always happens with cooked basil. It doesn’t impact the finished flavor.
Thanks! Good to know, I still plan to make! Organic farm down the road has a ton of yellow tomatoes and fresh basil 🙂
On a side note, I’m making peach jam now and I had peaches in a bowl that had a little basil in it. My husband ate a peach and really liked it with the stray basil leaf. Any thoughts on peach jam w fresh basil?
Marisa, overwhelmed by a huge sungold crop this year, I came to your site to see if you had any recipes. You are my hero! 🙂 I just finished making a batch of this jam … and wow. wow. wow. It’s so good I’m going to make a second batch for gifts. Thank you for putting this one out there!
I’m so glad you like it!
Is it necessary to cook it that long or can I just add fruit pectin?
I cannot predict how it will turn out if you shorten the cooking time and use pectin instead.
Can I use honey instead of sugar?
You could try it, but I haven’t made it that way, so I make no promises as to the outcome. If you do go that route, use one-third less honey than sugar.
Would adding a bit of coriander and cumin be possible in this recipe? Also adding a bit of balsamic vinegar (not altering the amount of lemon juice of course, just additional). I am new to canning and can’t seem to find anything on whether or not spices can be added/changed without affecting ph. I made a different non-approved tomato jam recipe without realizing about the ph balance, so just to be safe I am going to throw it out, but this other recipe used these spices as well as balsamic (and cider) vinegar, and I think it was the addition of the spices alongside basil that made me like it so much. Yours is the first recipe for tomato jam with basil I have found and would love to add these other ingredients to it if that wouldn’t affect the ph. Sorry to comment so much later than when you originally posted the recipe! (BTW I made your blueberry butter recipe and oh my word, LOVE)
As long as you keep the additions of coriander and cumin relatively small, it should be fine. And adding some additional vinegar is no problem either.
Can you sub red tomatoes for the yellow?
I made the yellow tomato with paprika last year and loved it but now I have 5lbs of red canning tomatoes that I’m looking to use.
I do not have the canning pot, and I’m not a fan of canned jams/jellies; however, I do like freezer jams. Can this Yellow Tomato and Basil jam be frozen instead?
Yes. Just leave more headspace to account for expansion.
Its been a while since this post, but I was wondering if this jam could be tried with vinegar instead of lemon juice… I want to use it as a glaze for chicken as suggested, but am thinking that white balsamic vinegar would add a nicer depth of flavor to the meat than lemon juice. But, might this cause problems in the canning? I know acid is important when canning tomatoes, but maybe the balsamic vinegar would still be okay?
Unfortunately, you can’t swap vinegar in for the lemon juice in this recipe. The lemon juice is serving as an acid balancer in this recipe, and vinegar doesn’t have the same concentration of acid.
I had a bounty of yellow pear tomatoes – they are small, like cherry tomatoes but pear shaped and yellow. Oh, and also a bounty of basil! Came across this recipe and made 4 half pint jars of it and OMG it is delicious!!! I was worried my little yellow tomatoes would not be sweet enough but this jam rocks my world. Too bad I’m out of yellow tomatoes now 😉 maybe more next year….
PS I was unable to get the jam up to 220 degrees without uber scorching so I packed it in the jars after it reached 215 and it set up just fine.
Have you calibrated your thermometer recently? This jam really should need to cook hotter than 215 in order to set up.
This looks great and works with what I got from my CSA yesterday. Bit does the process time apply to the pint or half pint? Thanks.
Processing time is the same for pints or smaller jars.
I’m really getting into canning and along the way I’m trying to understand the science behind it. Not to be a nudge, but why is it only 10 minutes when your “Amy’s” is for 20 minutes? Are yellow tomatoes more acidic than regular tomatoes? Or is it the difference between lemon and line juice? Thanks for your patience and tutelage.
When Amy gave me her recipe for tomato jam, she indicated that it should be processed for 20 minutes. To my mind, that’s a conservative amount of time to process that jam, but since it was what the recipe called for, I went with it. Typically, acidic jams only need ten minutes in the canner. So, when I wrote a recipe for tomato jam, I went with a time that was more in keeping with the norm.
Thanks so much. You rock!
You’re welcome! Happy to help!
I just made this with some yellow pear tomatoes from our garden… It is so delicious I was licking all the utensils. I’ve never had tomato jam before but we’ll have to make this every summer. Thanks!
If you were going to pectin-ize this would you use one package of pectin? And when would you add it?
Love the Tomato Jam. It really is a hit with everyone I have served it. Now the growing season is over and I have an abundance of green tomatoes. Any reason that I cannot make the Tomato Jam recipe using green tomatoes?
Made this today and it’s great…I would say, though, that without knowing what Sungold Tomatoes are like, and how big they are, I probably didn’t chop my yellow tomatoes into small enough pieces. That said, they reduced nicely, so it’ll be a bit chunky but still delicious! Also, it took well over an hour for it to reduce.
I added a Tbsp. of crushed pepper to give it a kick and left out the lemon zest. Five pounds of yellow tomatoes have me 6 half pints.
I made this over the weekend and it is fantastic! It reminded me of the jam one of my favorite market vendors sells that I can only buy in summer, and now I have some stashed away for the cold months 🙂 I might need to make another batch just to make sure I have enough.
Plus the little gold tomatoes are just so pretty.
Just made this today with heirloom tomatoes that were soft and juicy. Chopped them up and had German Greens, Great Whites, a couple of beef steak and a Purple Cherokee. Beautiful in the pot! Turned mostly red…. but oh so yummy!
Thanks for a great recipe!
Fantastic! I will be thanking you all winter, as I open my jars of jam and am instantly transported to my tomato-and-basil-filled early September kitchen. I also reviewed this recipe on cookbooker, which you can see here. I just love your site – and your cookbook. Its made me dust off my old canning pot, and my 13-yr old daughter is enjoying learning the process.
I was so pleasently surprised by this recipe. Originaly it just sounded off (I’m slowly expanding my taste outside of the box for me) and I really had no desire to make tomato jam to put on bread, cheese, or even chicken.
However, I have slightly over 3 lbs of large yellow tomatoes and small cherry tomatoes and decided to give it a whirl.
OMG I wish I had more of this, more yellow tomatoes. This was so good, I had plans of Christmas presents but I don’t think it will last threw November.
Thanks for always provider a wide range of recipes, it’s helping me expand my taste buds.