Before starting you might want to review my Kitchen Notes on Making Quick &Easy Jams.
This is a refrigerator jam and not intended to be sealed and stored in the pantry. All you need is a very clean jar. Once the jam has cooked to consistency, pour into jar, let cool and refrigerate. This jam will keep for several months in the refrigerator.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
Sterilize a pint jar: (2 methods) Sterilize the jar in a hot water bath OR, wash and rinse a pint jar. Add about an inch of water to the jar and place in the microwave for 2 minutes. Using jar grips, pour out the hot water and place jar on a clean towel until ready to pour.* (Please read the related Kitchen Notes before doing this!)
Once the mixture starts to thicken (after about 15 minutes), stir constantly for another 10 to 15 minutes*. If using a candy thermometer, cook to 205ºF. Since I use this jam primarily as a marinade, I leave it a little thinner than other jams.
When the jam becomes thick and glassy, pour into the pint jar, place the lid on the jar, and let cool. Once cool - refrigerate.
Red Chile – Red chile sauce works better in this jam than powder or flakes. With the sauce you get other flavors such as garlic, onion, toasted cumin/coriander, and oregano. All of these ingredients help to give this jam its savory element. As I mentioned before, you can quickly make a red chile from powder using this recipe. OR, prior to making the jam, you can make red chile from dried pods.
Amount of Red Chile - Don’t be tempted to add more red chile because you think it’s not hot enough or because you can’t really taste it when you first start the cooking process. The chile heat and flavor intensify as the liquid from the tomatoes evaporates.
Tomatoes – As I mentioned earlier, you can use any type of tomato for this jam or a mix of tomatoes; however, the meatier the better. Watery tomatoes will increase the cooking time to possibility as much as an hour. The main criteria are that the tomatoes are ripe and that you like the flavor. This isn’t hard to come by if they are homegrown.
Cook Time and Consistency – As with any jam, the longer you cook the jam, the thicker it becomes. The same is true here, but it does take a very long time to get a stiff jam because of all of the water in the tomatoes. I have found 30 to 35 minutes and a temperature of 205ºF (for an elevation of 5000 feet) yields a nice consistency. At sea level, look for a temperature of 215ºF or just cook until it becomes thick and glassy. Remember that it will thicken up a bit once it sits overnight in the refrigerator.
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen