½inchpiece of fresh ginger or 4 inch cinnamon stick
Instructions
Slice an x in the top of each tomato. Place in a pot of boiling water until skin begins to peel off. Immediately place in a bowl of ice water. Slough off skin and remove stem button.
Weigh tomatoes and place in a non reactive bowl (plastic or glass). Gently squeeze tomatoes by hand or with a wooden spoon to release juice. Add an equal weight of sugar. Let stand for 12 hours.
When ready to cook, place two metal teaspoons in the freezer.
Drain juice into a large sauce pan. Boil until the syrup thickens and falls of a spoon in heavy drops. Approximately 20 minutes.
Rough chop the tomatoes and add to the thickened syrup. Grate the lemon zest and add to the syrup. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into the syrup. Add the ginger or cinnamon.
Boil mixture until thick for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
To test for doneness, remove one spoon from the freezer. With the spoon you used to stir the preserves remove a small amount of jam and pour into the frozen spoon. Tilt the frozen spoon over the pot, if the preserves pour off in large thick drops it is done. If it pours off quickly, boil for another few minutes and retest with the other frozen spoon.
Remove ginger or cinnamon. Put preserves in sterilized jars and boil in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.