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food preservation

tamarillo jam

Constancia Wiweru

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posted 2 years ago

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I work on an organic farm and my boss grew some tamarillos (if you look it up, it's not tomate de arbol because those are bigger. And tomate de árbol is gross but these are yummy, though slightly bitter. It's the small yellow ones that grow in a bush, like blueberries. Cyphomandra abutiloides). Anyway, she couldn't sell them and her family doesn't like them but we do!

So she said to take as many as I wanted. I brought home all I could pick and I want to make jam. My husband wants me to add some heat to one of the jars. This is a recipe I found that I think will work. It's for blueberries and they are sort of similar:

4 cups berries
1 T lemon juice (I plan to use 1/4 tsp citric acid)
1/4 cup water
2 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp allspice

My question is if I add a teeny bit of heat (like 1/8 tsp dried ghost pepper), do I have to adjust the acidity? It's tricky since this is not a fruit used much in the States.

I like growin' stuff.

Megan Palmer

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Location: Zone 9A, 45S 168E, 329m Queenstown, NZ

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posted 2 years ago

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can't help with your question, however in NZ tamarillos are Solanum betaceum, which are quite different to your tamarillos.
If the fruit are under ripe, they probably won't need the extra acid - the lemon juice is to help the jam to set.
You might want to gently cook the berries without adding any water and only add if really necessary as the water will also inhibit setting.
Keep us posted on how it turns out.

Constancia Wiweru

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posted 2 years ago

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Megan Palmer wrote:can't help with your question, however in NZ tamarillos are Solanum betaceum, which are quite different to your tamarillos.
If the fruit are under ripe, they probably won't need the extra acid - the lemon juice is to help the jam to set.
You might want to gently cook the berries without adding any water and only add if really necessary as the water will also inhibit setting.
Keep us posted on how it turns out.

Thank you, Megan. I did end up making it. The recipe I posted above made the fruit WAY too bitter, so I added another tablespoon of lemon juice, plus some salt (half a teaspoon? teaspoon? I noted the change but don't have it in front of me). This did help. The berries floated but it looks good. Haven't opened any of the jars yet.

If I have any next year, I will probably just eat them straight off of the plant.

I like growin' stuff.

Pearl Sutton

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posted 2 years ago

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For future reference, I have never had to adjust acidity when adding a bit of hot stuff to jam. I like chile in my jam :D

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Megan Palmer

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posted 2 years ago

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Pearl Sutton wrote:For future reference, I have never had to adjust acidity when adding a bit of hot stuff to jam. I like chile in my jam :D

Apologies in advance for hijacking your thread Constancia, however i have to mention crab apple jelly with chilies is amazing. Equally as tasty with cheese, meat or on hot buttered toast or fresh scones😋

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Constancia Wiweru

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posted 2 years ago

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Apologies in advance for hijacking your thread Constancia, however i have to mention crab apple jelly with chilies is amazing. Equally as tasty with cheese, meat or on hot buttered toast or fresh scones😋[/quote wrote:

What an awesome addition to the thread! I'm always looking for something new. Thank you!

P.S. Have you created a thread of your own for this? I'm sure others would like to know.

I like growin' stuff.

Constancia Wiweru

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Megan Palmer wrote: Keep us posted on how it turns out.

I forgot to update. I made the jam but no one—including me—is eating it! I added lemon juice and citric acid. It was so bitter! So I added more sugar and some other stuff to help with the bitterness, which helped.

All in all, those berries are better left to be eaten straight off of the plant.

I like growin' stuff.

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