Plow Maker Farms

 

Organic Yellow Perfection Tomato

Tart and savory flavor in a petite organic yellow heirloom tomato! The juicy thin skinned fruit is small to medium sized with a firm flesh. Yellow Perfection is perfect for eating fresh, slicing on salads or grilling on a kabob.

Picture: A cluster of Yellow Perfection Tomatoes.

Yellow Perfection hails from the United Kingdom and is originally from an older British seed company. This rare English heirloom is a potato leaf open pollinated tomato variety. The bright yellow fruit is round and thin skinned.

Recipe: Sweet Yellow Tomato Marmalade

This marmalade recipe hails back to the British origins of this heirloom variety. It can be used as a tasty and colorful substitute for cranberry sauce or fruit preserves. Serve with roasted vegetables or meats. Also great as a spread for Brie cheese or toasted breads.

2 1/2 lbs yellow tomatoes (about 3-4 cups chopped tomatoes)

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon molasses

1 teaspoon salt

2 medium lemons (unpeeled)

1/4 cup grated fresh ginger

optional: 1/2 box low sugar pectin

Directions

Preparing tomatoes: To remove skins easily, dunk the tomatoes into a pot of boiling water for 30-45 seconds. Remove tomatoes and immediately place in bowl of ice water. After tomatoes are cooled enough to handle, remove from water and slip the skins off. You can leave the skin on but skins can become tough and chewy. Cut tomatoes in half and squish to remove most of the seeds (a few seeds will not hurt). Compost tomato skins and seeds or use in other dishes. Dice (coarsely chop) the skinless tomatoes.

Preparing lemons: Remove seeds and finely chop lemons and lemon peel into small pieces. The lemon peel adds pectin which helps the tomato marmalade to gel. The lemon juice adds acidity to the the tomatoes. Since tomatoes are a borderline acid/low acid fruit they need additional acidity to be processed safely.

1) Mix tomatoes with sugar, honey and salt. Let sit in refrigerator for 2 hours to overnight.

2) Add tomato mixture, lemon pieces, and ginger in a large, deep stainless steel saucepan. If you like thicker marmalade you may want to add 1/2 packet of low-sugar pectin at this point. Bring mixture to a to a hard rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until mixture is slightly thickened, about 15-30 minutes.

Making marmalades and preserves is not an exact science. To ensure that the preserve sets, make sure the mixture's temperature reaches 220 °F (which is the setting point of most jams). You can also try the plate test; plop some marmalade on a very cold plate (put plate in freezer beforehand) and let sit for 1-2 minutes. If marmalade forms a surface skin and appears somewhat solid it is done. If it is runny, cook some more.

3) While mixture cooks, prepare the boiling water canner. Heat half pint jars (8 oz) and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil the jars and lids. Set bands aside.

4) Spoon or ladle hot tomato mixture into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the jar rim clean. Center lid on jar and screw on band fingertip tight.

5) Carefully place filled jars into water bath.

6) Heat the filled jars in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude. In the Palouse we are approximately 2,600 feet above sea level and need to add 5 minutes to processing time. Remove processed jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. The lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.