My Take At Making A Sweet And Savory Tomato Jam

Earlier in the week I got home early and decided to make a sweet a savory jam – a recipe I grabbed from the coke site. We’ve always made jams at home but I’ve never really thought of making one with coke. I found this one particularly easy to make.

I learned cooking from my mum and one thing she drilled into our heads time after time is to always gather all ingredients before starting off on a recipe. You do not want to be rummaging through drawers looking for missing ingredients or worse still having to stop cooking to rush to the shops. So step one for the making of the sweet and savoury tomato jam was to assemble everything. Everything being:

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 cup Coca-Cola
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 quart chopped tomatoes (about 3-4 large tomatoes)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig fresh thyme (optional)
• 1 teaspoon corn starch

Start by frying the chopped onion in the olive oil until cooked, then add the coke, apple cider vinegar and sugar and boil.

While that mix is boiling away, prepare the tomatoes. The recipe did not call for skinning of the same but I always prefer skinning tomatoes. At least for most recipes and especially something like jam. To skin them, simply cut a star across the bottoms and dip them in very hot water for about 5 minutes. Skin from the point of the star and the skin will come off very easily.

After the mix is boiled, throw in the chopped tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf and salt and boil this mixture until it reduces to half.

On the side I was also making mukimo. For the mukimo, chop some onions and fry till golden brown, add some green peas and cook at low heat for about 20 minutes. You may add some very little water but not to turn the peas into tastelessness. The idea here is for them to cook in the strong onion flavour – not in lots of water. Add potatoes and some little water at a time and cook till they’re all cooked to a point of mashing.

Then mash. Simplest and tastiest meal ever!

All the while your Jam is boiling away. After it reduces to half and thickens nicely, add some corn starch. First stir it with a little water then add to the mix and stir immediately until thickened. Remove from fire and let cool.

You can serve with chicken or fish. I had mine with mukimo and some left over chicken and washed down with an ice cold coke.