By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 11, 2026
Serves 4
351 cal · 75 min
Summer Tomato Jam
Recipe GLPRce06d285832750
A vibrant, slow-cooked tomato jam infused with warm ginger, bright lemon zest, and juice. This ruby-red spread develops a rich, jammy texture and intensifies in flavor over time, making it perfect for toasting, spreading on cheese boards, or swirling into yogurt.
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Ingredients
2 pounds ripe tomatoes
1½ cups light brown sugar
1 lemon, zested and juiced
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Directions
Wash the tomatoes and remove the cores. Cut them into quarters and place in a blender or food processor. Pulse several times until the tomatoes are broken down into a coarse puree, working in batches if necessary.
Pour the tomato puree into a medium saucepan or skillet and set over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and ground ginger, stirring well to combine.
Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently to prevent sticking and help the sugar dissolve. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour until the mixture becomes thick and jam-like.
Test the jam's readiness by dipping a clean, cool metal spoon into it. Lift the spoon and let the jam drip back into the pan—when ready, it should slide off the spoon in one thick sheet rather than in thin, watery droplets.
Once the jam reaches the desired consistency, carefully ladle it into sterilized half-pint jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Seal each jar according to the jar manufacturer's instructions.
Allow the jam to cool to room temperature. It is delicious when freshly made, but the flavor deepens and becomes more complex after a few weeks of storage in a cool, dark place.
Comments
All four ingredients are stocked year-round at any Charlotte grocer, making this a single-stop shop with no travel friction. The cost per serving runs roughly $1.50 to $2 depending on tomato season, driven entirely by tomato price—a modest outlay for a preserve that stores for weeks. The 75-minute time is honest for jam-making, which requires sustained simmering; there's prep work upfront but then it's mostly hands-off. This is a pure condiment, not a meal component, so household fit depends on how your family uses jam—it reheats perfectly and is valuable in a pantry, but you're not feeding dinner with it.
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