Honeyed Tomato Butter

Today my project is tackling a more advanced recipe for canning. I told my grandma that canning is kind of addictive. I am now asking myself, “What else can I can?” I have always loved good food especially home cooked food using fresh ingredients. I have never entered the winter with a pantry full of food that I have canned myself. I am pretty excited about it. After spending yesterday rearranging shelves so that I could maximize my space and analyzing both canning jars left and things I might like to try I decided on a new recipe with my excess yellow tomatoes–Honeyed Tomato Butter. It is from the Ball Blue Book !00th Anniversary Edition pg 30.

5 pounds yello Tomatoes
2 cups sugar
1 cup honey
1  (1 inch) piece fresh ginger
1 TBSP whole allspice
2 sticks cinnamon

Make a tomato pulp.
Combine tomato pulp, sugar, and honey in a large saucepot. Tie ginger and spices in a spice bag. Add spice bag to tomato mixture. Cook slowly until thick enough to round up on a spoon. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Ladle hot butter into jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Process 10 minutes in boiling-water canner. Makes about 3 half pints.

One thing I have learned is that alot of these recipes only work if you are home a lot, like all day. I had been better at staying home before commuting to the farm, now it seems like we have places to go all the time, but canning has been a good excuse to stay home, though at times that can even be overwhelming, especially when the kids have been begging to go to the park and I am still trying to boil down the tomato sauce. Oh I can’t wait till the time when we live on a farm and I can send the kids outside to play.