A Low-Calorie Tomato Jam Recipe

Have you ever tasted tomato jam? It tastes pretty delightful! It’s neither too sweet, nor too sour, which makes it the perfect addition for all sorts of dishes. On the whole, it’s delicious, versatile and most significantly, one of the most healthy jams out there.

Tomato jam contains many important vitamins. It’s highly rich in carotenes, which is why it has that characteristic and attractive red colour. If all these positives aren’t enough, it hardly has any calories, is an excellent source of antioxidants and has many hypoglycaemic, anti-carcinogenic and antibacterial properties too. We aren’t making up all this information! All this has actually been proven and supported by nutritionists, making it the perfect natural food for prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Tomatoes’ many benefits

• They work as an ally against cancer. The University of Harvard carried out studies that revealed that eating tomatoes on a regular basis can prevent occurrence of breast cancer and cancers commonly associated with the digestive system.
• Tomatoes are both fat and calorie free. Tomatoes are made up of 95% water and 5% nutrients that make us feel satiated, without adding anything to our body weight. They are excellent sources of minerals like manganese, sodium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and calcium; and vitamins like vitamins C, vitamin B and vitamin A.
• Reduce cholesterol. Thanks to lycopene, the most important element contained in tomatoes, they’re considered fabulously effective in reducing bad cholesterol levels and eliminating toxins from the body. Many scientific studies support this fact. It has also been proven that people who eat tomatoes on a regular basis -either in the form of jams, juices or in salads – reduce their chances of suffering from cardiovascular accidents by as much as 50%. Lycopene in particular, is known to protect our arteries.
• Help in oral conditions and improve vision. Regular tomato consumption helps with oral conditions like ulcers and is also known to improve vision.

Tomato jam recipe

Ingredients required

• Cinnamon – 1 stick
• Lemon juice – from 1 lemon
• Sugar – 400 gm
• Tomatoes – 1 kg

Directions for preparation

• Start by scalding the tomatoes. This is best done by filling up a pot with water, heating it, bringing it to boil and then putting 1 kg of tomatoes into it. Leave them inside the boiling water for no more than 1 minute and take them out and cool with cold water once they’re scalded. You’ll find it much easier to peel them now. Always try to get rid of the seeds if possible.
• Separate the tomato pulp and put it in a bowl or a strainer. Pour 400 gm of sugar and lemon juice (extracted from 1 lemon) on top of this pulp. Allow the mixture to set for at least an hour. Doing so will help the tomatoes’ flavours and acids to mix together well.
• Now you’re all set to put this mixture into a pot and start cooking the ingredients over low heat. Do not forget to add a cinnamon stick to this mixture as it will provide a very distinct and delicious flavour. Keep cooking and stirring the mixture slowly over low heat and take out the juice, little by little, to make the jam thinner. This process should last for no more than an hour. Don’t hesitate to taste it in between if you like, but make sure that you keep stirring it every now and then. If not, you may end up having burnt jam at the bottom, making it taste bitter.
• Remove the pot from the stove once you achieve a somewhat light and thin texture. Allow the mixture to set for around an hour, giving the jam ample time to cool down and set properly. You’ll slowly start noticing the mixture thickening up as it cools down. The end product will be simply delicious.
• Now you can pour and store the mixture in glass jars. A good way to make it last longer is by vacuum sealing the jars. One way of doing it is by placing the glass jars full with tomato jam into a pot full of boiling water. The jars will get hermetically sealed and last very long once you hear a distinct ‘pop’ sound after placing them inside boiling water.

An excellent method of eating this tomato jam is by spreading it over a whole-grain toast and having it with a slice of brie. The combination tastes amazing!