Late Summer Amber Tomato Marmalade

Buster's friend's Note:

Swimming in tomatoes? We certainly are. Sat down the other night in front of the TV & quartered/halved 9 gallon freezer bags teetotally full of little yellow, orange & red cherry, fig, pear & currant tomatoes. Made 24 pints of New Mexican Tomato Taco Sauce for Canning & 9 - 1/2 pints of Tomato Green Chile Pineapple Preserves. Still more of those beautiful little boogers so I fiddled around with a couple of recipes & came up with this deep amber marmalade. Tastes like late summer afternoon sunshine - full, rich & warm without the burning heat of mid-summer. It takes a long time to cook down & when it begins to thicken up you need to lower the heat & stir often to avoid scorching. But it is worth it - late summer in a jar. DH asked me not to process a jar & bring it right on up for breakfast. Oh, the more red tomatoes makes a darker final product but still tastes amazing.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 10 1/2 pints

• 2 cups water (for lemon & orange rind)
• 2 oranges
• 2 lemons
• 3 quarts tomatoes, peeled (skip it with the little fellers)
• 7 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 5 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice, bottled

Directions:

1. Put water in a 4 cup sauce pan & bring to boil.
2. As the water heats, peel the lemons & oranges - leave some pith (remember it is the bitter part so go easy) with the peels. Peel the pith from the fruits and discard the pith. Finely chop the citrus fruits - removing & discarding the seeds. Boil the peels for 3 minutes, then drain. When cool enough to handle, slice the boiled peels into shreds.
3. Mix tomatoes, sugar, salt,minced ginger, bottled lemon juice, boiled citrus peels & chopped citrus fruits in a generous non-aluminum soup pot.
4. Bring to a rolling boil then reduce heat to yield a gentle boil. Boil 1 1/2 to 2 hours - until fruits are translucent & the syrup thickens. Mind for scorching - lower heat if the bottom is thickening too quickly but also stir often. Test for gelling by putting a teaspoon on a plate & chilling for 10 minutes or so - if it sets, it is ready.
5. Start a hot water bath about an hour & a half into cooking. Ladle the marmalade into sterile hot 1/2 pint jars. Lid then & process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.