As summer draws to a close, my sungold tomato plants are producing fewer and fewer tomatoes. They are so sweet and juicy, and we want to savor the last of our harvest as much as we can. Luckily, we’ll have tons of sungold preserves to take us through the winter!
My favorite way to eat these preserves is on a grilled cheese sandwich. Especially one made with a sharp cheddar and fresh sourdough. In fact, that may be my favorite sandwich of all time.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds sungold tomatoes
- 3/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons nutmeg
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, blend the tomatoes until mostly smooth. Mix the tomato puree with the rest of the ingredients in a large stockpot. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about an hour, or until the preserves will mound on the back of a spoon without sliding off. Use an immersion blender to smooth out the preserves.
- Savvy Tip: If you don't have an immersion blender, you can process the preserves in batches in a food processor or blender. Alternatively, don't blend the preserves any further, and enjoy the more chunky preserves.
- While the preserves cook, prepare for canning. Wash the jars and flat lids with hot, soapy water. Put the jars in the canning pot and fill the pot with hot water. Heat over medium-high heat to keep the jars hot. Place the lids in a heat-proof bowl.
- When the preserves are almost done, move some of the boiling water from the canning pot into the heat-proof bowl containing the lids. Line the hot jars up on a folded towel, then pour the water out of the heat-proof bowl and off the lids.
- Fill the jars with preserves up to ¼” below the rim. Use a clean towel to wipe any preserves off the rims, then top each jar with a lid and a tightened ring. Place the jars back in the canning pot and make sure they are covered by at least 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes. Place the jars on a folded towel and allow to sit, undisturbed, for 24 hours. Check the seals of the lids after 1 hour. If a seal has not formed, refrigerate the jar immediately.
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http://www.savvyeat.com/sungold-tomato-preserves/ Copyrighted by Julie Grice and Savvy Eats
To read more on this topic:
Extending the Seasons: Canning. Why I can, what you need to start canning, and finding safe recipes for canning.
Brain Food 101: The Science of Canning. How the canning process insures that your preserved food is safe.
Foodbuzz 24×24: Preserving the Seasons. I host a canning party.
More canning recipes on the Food Preservation page.
Check out USA Today’s article about home canning…your’s truly is quoted!
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These would be amazing on a grilled cheese! I need to try that.
IT IS!
i ate these preserves on a grilled cheese for about a week straight.
toasted bagels with mild cheddar.
fresh bakery bread with extra sharp cheddar.
rye with swiss.
yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I wish I lived closer so you could teach me how to can!
Just FYI – in the recipe you have both 3/4 c brown sugar and 2 c brown sugar. Wasn’t sure if that was correct?
Typo! Fixed it. Thanks for the catch.
I wish you lived closer, too!
OH MY WORD.
this is my FAVORITE thing you’ve ever made. EVER.
i went through my little jar SO QUICKLY. it was ridiculous. I could eat this every day. YUMMMMMMMM.
now i need to grow some sungolds!
Oh my gosh, I want to make this! Do you think it will work with any type of tomato?
Probably, but…
1. It won’t be as sweet of a spread as with Sungold.
2. Sungold tomatoes are cherry tomato sized. If you use bigger tomatoes, you’ll want to remove the skins and the seeds first. Otherwise, the water activity of the preserves will be too high, allowing bacteria and mold to grow!
Other than that, it should work just fine! Let me know if you try it.
This sounds so so good. And the grilled cheese idea? OMG. I wish you sold these. I could go for this tonight.
Even though this recipe seems DELICIOUS and simple enough, I would probably ruin it completely! It looks so delicious and filling! I LOVE your blog!
Thank you so much!
And, I doubt you’d ruin it.
so you had mentioned these at some point last week in a post & I scoured both your site & the internet for a recipe.. couldn’t find one..
But YAY! you posted it!! I’m hoping that there is still some yellow tomatoes on the vine this weekend when we pick up our CSA share!!
Wow. This definitely looks amazing. I can’t wait to get some time to try!
Congrats on the USA Today article. That’s really awesome
Oh my gosh, what an amazing idea! I’ve never thought of tomato preserves! Definitely going to try this! Thanks for your genius!
Ever since tasting this at your house I’ve been looking for these tomatoes. But no luck. Instead I will dream of their deliciousness you made.
Julie,
This was phenomenal. I loved it. Thank you! I can’t wait to make another batch!
So glad to hear you liked them!!