Green Tomato Marmalade With Orange Peel & Vanilla

Green Tomato With Orange Peel & Vanilla is very unique marmalade for using the last tomatoes of early fall that just never seem to ripen. This dark-green, sweet and citrus marmalade is delicious served with a selection of well-flavored cheeses and biscuits or bread, or with cold roast meats such as ham, turkey, tongue or lamb.



Makes: about 4 11-oz jars

Ingredients:

• 4 lb. green tomatoes, diced 
• 1 1/2 lb. sugar 
• 1 vanilla bean
• juice of one lemon, organic if possible
• juice of one orange, organic if possible
• peel of one orange, cut them into strips

Directions:

Cut the tomatoes into small dice (some people like to scoop out the seeds, but I like to make my jam with seeds) and place them in a large saucepan or a copper jam basin if you have one. Slit the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds with a knife, holding each half flat against the board as you scrape. Add to the tomatoes. Then add sugar, juice of the orange, juice of the lemon and orange peel.

Bring to a boil, stirring, then reduce the heat and let the jam bubble happily and reduce until thickened. It should look like a thick, dark green tomato sauce, which can take up to 2 hours. Test this by dripping some out onto a plate. Let it cool a bit and see if it is jelly consistency.

Meanwhile sterilize the jars. Ladle the hot jam into the jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Remove any air bubbles and adjust the headspace, if necessary. Wipe the rims clean and seal tightly with the lids.

Process the jars in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. The sealed jars can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.