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Are you a condiment person?  Here’s an easy test: is there a shelf of your fridge (or three or four) jammed with little bottles and jars of sauces and oils and pickles and mustards and relishes and jams and chutneys and maybe, way at the back, an unopened jar of truffle butter that came from Italy, ahem, years ago?

Or is that just me?

I love all those delicacies in little jars, so it’s no surprise that I’m a fan of Marisa McClellan’s Food in Jars website.  I bought the Food in Jars cookbook as soon as I saw it appear at Book Larder, and it has been a big part of my summer.  First off, there was that Maple-Roasted Almond Butter we all loved, and then I consulted with Marisa (I mean her book) about jams all summer long–for the record, we see eye to eye.  Marisa (I mean her book) even deserves the thanks for those candied cherries that I couldn’t bear to puree into cherry butter.  See why I like her (I mean her book) so much?And that was before I made this tomato jam.  When I met Marisa at the BlogHer Food Conference earlier this year, I asked which recipe I should make first from her book.  She recommended this one.  It took a while for Seattle’s tomato availability to catch up to my intentions, but better late than never.  I’ll be making another batch of tomato jam this weekend, and you probably should plan on it too.  It’s sweet and savory, robust yet refined, and just spicy enough.  It’s the perfect condiment.

So far we have loved this tomato jam with our Pound of Greens Frittata and with an excellent firm aged goat cheese.  Marisa enjoys hers on a turkey burger.  I can’t wait to try it in a grilled cheese sandwich.  You get the picture.  Start early in the afternoon.  Find yourself a big bowl of fragrant tomatoes–I used a range of varieties that happened to be on my counter that day.  Admire them as you chop them to bits.  Pile a heavy pot full of tomatoes, sugar, lime juice, and spices.  Cook slowly, uncovered, for a long, long time.  Stir more often at the end; you’d hate to lose all that work to a burnt pot.  I let my jam go for two hours.  You want to cook it all down until the watery liquid is gone and the remaining stuff is tomato jam.  You’ll know when you get there, but don’t worry too much; a little thinner or a little thicker will be perfect too.Sweet and Spicy Tomato Jam: In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, combine 5 lb. finely chopped tomatoes, 3 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 c. freshly squeezed lime juice, 2 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. cloves, 1 Tbsp. sea salt, and 1 Tbsp. spicy red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to jam (up to 2 hours).  If you are canning your jam in a boiling water bath, the processing time is 20 minutes.  If you are not canning your jam, I am quite sure that you will find a way to eat or share it quickly.

Food In Jars Cookbook Giveaway!  Running Press has generously agreed to provide a copy of Food in Jars to one lucky Emmy Cooks reader.  Here’s the scoop:

1. To enter, just leave a comment on this post.  Maybe tell me about a favorite preserving recipe, or something you’d like to preserve, or anything about food you like to put in jars, and you’ll be entered to win.  You may also enter up to three additional times if you follow Emmy Cooks on (1) Facebook or (2) Twitter or (3) if you sign up to receive daily updates from Emmy Cooks via email or your own RSS reader.  Just leave a separate comment below for each entry (up to 4 total per person).
2. Comments made before 11:59 p.m. (Seattle time) on Monday, Oct. 1 will be counted as entries. The winner will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Tuesday, Oct. 2. The winner will have 48 hours to claim her/his prize by providing a mailing address; otherwise another winner will be chosen.
3. Giveaway is open to US residents ages 18 and up.

Update 10/2/12: And the winner (chosen by random.org) is Lisa-Marie Haugmoen.  Congratulations, Lisa-Marie!  To those who didn’t win, you can order  your copies here.