Led by the Kingston resident behind Eltee’s Goods, the jam brand shines a light on everyone’s favorite seasonal fruit—or is it a vegetable?

When it comes to jam flavors, tomato is not the first to come to mind. Grape is great, strawberry is sweet and tasty, and blackberry is a fun upgrade for PB&Js. But tomato?

Before you knock it, consider slathering a scoop of Tommy Jam’s signature tomato jam onto a cheese and cracker combo when snack time rolls around. One taste is all it takes to recognize that the brand is onto something. It might not be the sweet and classic jams of your childhood, but it’s delicious all the same.

“Tomato preserves have been made throughout history by so many cultures,” observes Tommy Jam creator Lindsey Thalheimer. “Despite this, there isn’t a huge tomato jam offering in the grocery stores right now.”

A Foray Into Jam-Making

For Thalheimer, a former special education teacher in Chicago who ventured to NYC for pastry school and, after that, a 10-year run as a pastry chef, the relative lack of tomato jams combined with her interest in preserving farm-grown produce equaled the perfect opportunity to test the product waters.

“After almost a decade of working in the food industry, I was ready to branch out and try working for myself,” she explains. “In 2017, I spent a year traveling across the U.S. to work on small farms. I fell in love with finding new ways to preserve farm-grown produce.”

Tommy Jam. Photo by Sabrina Sucato

Two years later, she crafted a big batch of what would later become the classic Tommy Jam to sell it to friends and family. In 2021, she introduced additional flavors of tomato jam and launched the brand at farmers’ markets in the region. Nowadays, the Tommy Jam line includes the signature jam, along with Tommy en Provence, an herbaceous spread with rosemary, thyme, oregano, and marjoram; Hot Tommy, a spicy jam with fresh habanero peppers; and Smoky Tom, which has a chipotle maple flavor reminiscent of barbecue sauce.

“With a lot of time on my hands [during the pandemic], I got to playing and ended up with Tommy en Provence and Hot Tommy,” she shares. “Smoky Tom came a year later when I really just wanted to use maple syrup in one of my jams.”

Making Tommy Jam

In regard to her process, Thalheimer is essentially preserving tomatoes with sugar and acid, hence why she calls them jams. She sources tomatoes during the eight- to 10-week tomato season from local farms. She aims to work with Hudson Valley farmers as often as possible, with additional sourcing from farms in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. For her standard nine-ounce size, a whole pound of tomatoes goes into the jar, with nary a preservative in sight. Smaller two-ounce jars are also available.

Hot Tommy. Photo by Sabrina Sucato

When it comes to using the jams, Thalheimer recommends treating them like a condiment. She notes that pairing them with cheese is a no-brainer (hello, charcuterie board spreads!), and that they’re also excellent with eggs or on sandwiches. They can even be used as a marinade for proteins and vegetables or as a flavor boost in chili or salad dressings.

Looking ahead, Thalheimer is excited to continue to spread the word about Tommy Jam and further develop Eltee’s Goods, her artisanal food company. She launched a line of baked goods in late 2023 that focuses on utilizing locally grown and milled grains through a collaboration with River Valley Community Grains Project in New Jersey, which helps farmers repurpose their land to grow heritage grains with regenerative practices. She’s also on the hunt for a larger network of retail partners to stock Tommy Jam across the country.

For now, Tommy Jam products are readily available online, with nationwide shipping available. For additional information on which markets and retail partners stock the jams, visit the brand’s website.

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