Tomato Basil Jam
In December 2023, TILife’s copy editor, Elspeth Naismith, presented "Call for Recipes!" The article showed a tea towel that hangs proudly in her kitchen and provides the ingredients for a "Traditional 1000 Islands Shore Dinner," written by the late Les Cook, renowned Canadian fishing guide. Elspeth suggested that our River communities have many farmers, restaurants, store keepers, and yes, both year round and summer residents who have favourite recipes that all have special River meanings.
Elspeth wrote: . . .
"Thousand Islands Life" is asking our readers to share their favourite River recipe with us. Tell us about the recipe, why it’s special, and why it reminds you of the River. Is it something that you only make at a specific time of the year? Is it a dish that you only make when you’re on the River?"
And this month Elspeth provides a Tomato recipe - perfect for your winter 2026 pantry! Let us know if you make this one and how it turned out!
Tomato Basil Jam
This recipe was discovered in an ancient issue of the Old Farmer’s Almanac. It was credited to Mary Ann Brahler of Milford, NJ.
This jam makes a lovely addition to a charcuterie board, cheese board, or a ploughman’s lunch. It’s crucial to use fresh local, preferably heritage, tomatoes for the best results. Don’t use those poor bland, flavourless tomatoes from the grocery store – you’ll end up with bland, flavourless jam and wonder why you bothered. Have your canning jars washed and sterilized before you start on the jam.
Yield: 8 – 10 half pint (125 ml) jars (final volume will depend on size of tomatoes)
Ingredients:
6 large ripe heritage tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 to 4 (generous) tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil
3 cups sugar, divided
1 package (approx. 1 ¾ ounces) powdered fruit pectin
Instructions:
- Blanche the tomatoes and then peel them. When seeding and chopping the tomatoes, drain off most of the liquid, but reserve it in case you need it to balance the solidity of the jam.
- Place chopped tomatoes in a kettle. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice and basil.
- In a small bowl, combine 1⁄4 cup sugar and pectin and add to the tomatoes. Heat to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Add remaining 2 ¾ cups sugar. Return to a rolling boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Ladle the jam into hot, sterilized 1⁄2 pint canning jars, leaving a 1⁄4 inch headspace. Clean the rims and seal with lids, then process in a boiling-water bath for 5 minutes. If you have any excess jam that won’t fill a canning jar, put it into a clean jar and refrigerate, but use within 2 – 3 weeks.
- After processing, gently lift the hot jars out of the water and set on a kitchen towel in a draft-free place to cool completely. You should hear the lids “pop” as the jars seal.
By Elspeth Naismith
Elspeth Naismith grew up in Gananoque, graduated from McMaster University in Hamilton (B.Sc (Bio)), and then from Centennial College as an RN. She also joined the Naval Reserve (thanks to a high school chum), and after spending time on both east and west coasts, she took a break from nursing and accepted a 3-year posting to National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa. The "break" turned into 25 years, and included jaunts to East Germany, Wales and the Irish Sea, and Bosnia. She retired from the Navy in 2011 and moved back to Gananoque in 2013.
Today she not only leaves her mark on all TI Life articles, as she is the "Real Editor," "Comma Queen," and "overall lifesaver," but she is also an official recipe tester for America's Test Kitchen.
Illustration by Marie-Anne Erki
Marie-Anne Erki is a Kingston artist and emeritus professor of civil engineering at the Royal Military College. Marie-Anne initially considered a career in architecture, but her love of mathematics led her to become a structural engineer. She says, "At a time before computer assisted drawing (CAD), both disciplines required a huge amount of freehand and mechanical drawing. After a quarter of a century of great fun as a structural engineer, I decided to pursue painting full time." We at TI Life are fortunate that Marie-Anne has agreed to be our Official Illustrator and you will find her work in many of our articles. You can also see her works at marieanneerkipaintings.blogspot.com/