Not so long ago I wrote that for twenty or thirty years I had been fighting off the happiness of tasting marrow jam, and yet they fed me to it.
Honestly, I did not experience any gastronomic pleasure. Unless you can put a tick - I ate squash jam, and that's all. The taste is flat, nothing interesting, sweetness and... additional ingredients. The zucchini itself gives absolutely nothing to this dessert.
And in the comments, they mentioned other varieties of jams that many find "wild and strange."
And so, among them was... tomato.
I must say right away that I didn’t cook it myself, I didn’t look for homemade ones, but... I brought a souvenir from my last trip to Vietnam - just tomato jam. It stood in the closet and waited in the wings, but everyone forgot about it. Meanwhile, acquaintances and friends, who also got a jar, were delighted.
And yesterday, once again opening the editor, I thought about it - after all, I had promised to open it and tell you what the hardworking Vietnamese had hidden in the bank! Maybe there is really an amazing delicacy, or maybe a rare nasty thing that should be equated with fried herring?
I opened it. I tasted it. I am reporting.
It is surprising!
It is believed that tomato jam was invented by the Spaniards, who did not know what to do with the harvest. Well done, Spaniards. An interesting combination of tomato acid and sweetness in one dish, while it causes increased salivation (but I honestly admit I just love the tomato flavor).
It is impossible to describe all the nuances, you have to try. At the same time, I emphasize once again, my product is not of the highest category - an ordinary can from an ordinary Vietnamese store.
If you get confused and make jam according to the recipes of the chefs (and they are, I think it is worth looking for the old recipes of Alain Chapelle, popularizer of desserts from unsweetened vegetables), then you get something delicious, and, most importantly, not boring, not banal.
On the weekend I will try to cook homemade tomato jam on cane sugar with ginger myself, I won't give a recipe now, I'll tell you about the result a little later.
In the meantime, advice - if you suddenly see a jar of tomato dessert somewhere - take it without hesitation!
Tomato jam is what I will now recommend to all lovers of delicious food.