Spicy Tomato Preserves

This Tomato Preserves Recipe with Serranos has a kick of heat and is an ideal way to use up your summer tomatoes from the garden -- but, you can make it all year long. It'll enhance anything you add it to.

Tomatoes scream summer -- especially if you can grab one off the vine in your garden (or your neighbor's garden). Next best will be at your local Farmers Market.

This tomato preserves recipe combines so many of my favorite things -- spice, sweetness, soft texture, and tiny bits of crunch (from the onion). And even though it's sans fat of any kind, I would call it rich.

It's always good to have scrumptious tomato recipes on hand for those times you might find yourself with an abundance of tomatoes.

About the Key Ingredients

• fresh tomatoes - Color and feel are the best cues to ripeness. Ripe tomatoes should be slightly firm, but have a little give when gently squeezed, and they should have a deep red color (or whatever the color is intended to be).
• serrano chile peppers - Serranos are quite spicy, and they're balanced beautifully with the sweetness of the tomato and sugar in the recipe. A good pepper should be firm, deeply colored and slightly shiny. Substitution: Though they're milder, jalapeño peppers are a good substitution.

How to Make it

(More detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.)

- Add the tomatoes, onion and peppers to a pot, and mix in sugar and citrus juice.

- Bring to a boil and then immediately turn the heat to low and let it simmer gently until it's nicely thickened, about 2 hours.

Recipe Tips and Substitutions

• Mild version. You can omit the peppers if you don't want any heat in the tomato preserves.
• In the middle of the summer, tomatoes should be super sweet, so less sugar is needed. If at the end of the cooking time, it's not sweet enough for you, you can add more sugar, and let it cook a bit longer.

Serving Suggestions

• This tomato preserves recipe is the star of my Sweet and Spicy Mango Appetizer (pictured above). It's an excellent summer party appetizer.
• It's amazing on toast or a bagel with a spread of butter, cream cheese or goat cheese beneath it.
• I love it served on a cheese board with all sorts of cheeses, crackers and fruit.
• How about dolloped on vanilla ice cream? (Yes, really!)

However you decide to use it, enjoy!

How long will it keep?

• Wrapped tightly, this will keep in the refrigerator for about a month.
• To preserve it longer, here is a guide to Sterilizing Jars for Preserves. (If you find yourself with tons of tomatoes, make as much of the preserves as you can at once.)

More Delicious Fruit Condiments

I hope you'll try this unique preserves recipe and love it!

 

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