Mermelada de Berenjena y Tomate (Eggplant and Tomato Jam)

 I had never tried to make jam before.  I thought it was a complicated process and that it took hours to make.  Well, I was right about the time! But it is a quite simple recipe that requires little ingredients and it’s not too tedious if you have it cooking in the background while you are preparing other things in the kitchen.

  This recipe is from my aunt Elvira.  She makes it a couple times a year and then saves it in jars, which will last about a year in the fridge.  If you go one step further and you can them, they will last much longer and won't have to be in the fridge. This recipe yields about 2 pints of jam, if you want to make more and can it you can double or triple the recipe.

     Here´s what you´ll need:

MATERIALS

• Sauce pan (a taller one is advised so the jam won’t splash when cooking)
• Food balance
• Peeler and paring knife
• Bigger pot to scald the tomatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 big eggplants (Striped eggplants if possible)
• 2 pounds of Roma tomatoes (the elongated ones)
• About 2 lbs of sugar (it will depend on the final weight o the veggies, once peeled and cut)
• 1 lemon peel (only yellow part)
• 1 stick of cinnamon

 HOW TO PREPARE IT

1. Start by peeling the eggplants and dicing them. Set aside on a bowl.

2. Put some water to boil and scald the tomatoes for a few seconds so they’ll be easy to peel.

3.  Peel the tomatoes, get rid of the seeds and squeeze the juice out of them.

4.  Dice the tomatoes and add them to the bowl.

5.  At this point you want to weight the veggies and divide their weight in half to know the amount of sugar you need to add.  For example if the veggies weight 2 pounds you will need 1 pound of sugar.

6.  Measure the amount of sugar that you need and add the veggies, the sugar, the lemon peel and the cinnamon stick to a sauce pan at a medium temperature.

7.  Whenever it starts to boil and to thicken turn the fire down to low and continue to stir until jam consistency (about 2-3 hours).  Take this time to cook something else or grab a book and sit by the stove!

8.  When ready, let it cool and place in glass jars.  Store in the fridge for up to one year!

Enjoy!