A tomato-based dessert? No, I am not crazy, and yeah, you'll love my Dulce de Tomate (Tomato Jam).
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Cooking, and sharing it with friends and family, is a joy; it should always be a joy. When it comes to learning and sharing Dulce de Tomate (Tomato Jam) is a great dish, it is easy to prepare, very forgiving, exotic, and delicious.
Who can resist a nicely-presented jar of delicious jam? And for a lot of people outside the Dominican Republic a jar of tomato jam will certainly be a surprise, though it should not be so because after all, tomatoes are fruits.
About this recipe
For this dish you can either use the larger and "meatier" plum tomatoes, or go with the milder and prettier cherry tomatoes. I prefer cherry tomatoes though. In the Dominican Republic this is usually served as a dessert and served in a thin syrup, but if you want to turn it into jam just let all the liquid evaporate. The process is basically the same.
Buen provecho!
Dulce de Tomate Recipe (Tomato Jam)
Ingredients
- 3 lb [1.4 kg] cherry tomatoes
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 star anise
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 cup of raisins (optional)
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Wash the tomatoes and make a superficial cross cut on the opposite side of the stems.
- Drop the tomatoes in abundant boiling water (enough to cover them). Remove from the water when the peel starts to come off. Let the tomatoes cool down to room temperature.
- Peel the tomatoes by pinching them on the stem side with your thumb and index finger. Squeeze the tomatoes to extract the seeds, catch into a separate clean bowl.
- Strain the seeds to get all the juice you can.
- In a heavy saucepan boil the cinnamon and star anise in two cups of water until the water becomes lightly colored. Add the tomatoes, tomato juice, sugar, raisins and salt.
- Boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until you reach the desired consistency (with a light syrup to serve as dessert, no liquid to make it into jam).
- Chill before serving.
Ripe Tomato Jam is also an old American recipe! It is absolutely delicious and can be made from any type of tomatoes....just boil longer to reduce it. American version I use is spicy from cloves, cinnamon types of spices and is not as chunky as these pictures.
Aunt Clara I have noticed how usually before your recipies you tell the stories of were these recipies come from. I am Dominican-American (american because I was born in the states). My family is from the south specifically from Azua. As I'm sure you know that the Dulce de Tomate… Read more »
This sounds amazing. I can only imagine how this tastes with homegrown tomatoes! I can't wait to try it this summer. I grow about 10 different types in my garden. YUM.