Green Tomato Jam

“This dish is all about the ingredients, the farmers, and the community — I had to figure out how to represent all of those things in one bite.”

–Shelburne Farms Executive Chef John Patterson

The Annual Forum Dinner is organized by the Vermont Fresh Network (VFN), a member-based nonprofit working to cultivate the farmer-chef relationship. The event tasks Vermont chefs to create bites highlighting ingredients from a local farm. Shelburne Farms Executive Chef John Patterson paired with a producer just down the dirt road, our organic Market Garden, as well as Ayers Brook Goat Dairy in Randolph, VT.

We’ve hosted the Forum Dinner for 25 years, setting the scene for the grazing farm-to-table dinner which serves as VFN’s largest fundraiser: all proceeds go to continuing programming that helps bring more Vermont-grown and -raised food to the table. 

For the event, Chef John highlighted a quintessential Vermont summer crop—the tomato—in his goat's milk curd with tomato and bayleaf, topped with a bright green tomato jam. “I'm a big fan of green tomatoes because you’re utilizing the plant from start to finish,” explains John. “In this dish, I used the jam to offer a pop of sweetness to contrast the richness of the cooked tomatoes and the goat curd and excite the palate.”

Try Chef John’s green tomato jam recipe after pulling those last unripe tomatoes from the vine. His tip: “I like to add the chopped tomatoes during the last ten minutes of boiling time to keep some of their texture. I actually like it where there are little bits of tomato that you can bite into. It's great on cheese plates.”
 

Green Tomato Jam

🍅 Ingredients

• 3 lb green tomatoes
• 16 oz sugar, by weight
• 1 cup water
• 4 Tbsp apple pectin
• 1 large lemon, zest and juice
• 1 tsp coriander (or more if you like)
• ¼ tsp chili flake
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste

🔪 Method

1. Cut the green tomato into a small dice (avoid the seeds). In a small bowl, toss the diced tomato with the pectin and ⅓ of the sugar. 
2. In a heavy bottom pan, combine the remaining sugar, water, lemon juice, and spices and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook until liquid mixture is reduced by ½ of the original volume.
3. Fold in the green tomato mixture and continue to cook for 10 minutes making sure to stir continuously. After 10 minutes, transfer mixture to a small bowl to cool.
4. Finish by seasoning with salt to taste.