The word confit [kon-FEE] is derived from an ancient French method of preserving meat (usually goose, duck or pork) where the meat is salted and slowly cooked in its own fat. The meat is then packed into crocks or ceramic pots and covered with their own cooking fat, which seals and preserves them. Confit can be refrigerated for at least 6 months.
Fruit confits are fruits or pieces of fruit preserved in quite a bit of sugar. Think of it as a thick jam.
I still had quite a bit of tomatoes left from the "care box" Richard gave me last week and I didn't want them to spoil on me, so I took the little ones they call Hamakua Sweet (slightly sweet in taste and sort of pointy-oval in shape) and some of the red and yellow ones that are slightly larger than cherries (cocktail tomatoes) and cut them up, put them in a non-reactive saucepan with some of the vinegar and sugar mix left over from when I made the cukes and Green Zebra tomato pickles the other day.
I added more sugar.....and let them cook down to a glossy red, sweet - sour confit or jam that is delicious with cream cheese and crackers!!!
The cheese I used to serve above is a small log of basil chevre, soft goat cheese. Serve with plain unsalted soda crackers or any other plain crackers or even thinly sliced Italian or French bread, toasted and topped with the cheese and tomato confit as you would a crostini.
I would be hard pressed to give you the exact quantities, since I just played it by ear, but there were probably
6 cups of cut tomatoes
1 pint of the vinegar-sugar-salt infusion
and I added
3 more cups of sugar
Let the whole thing cook down until the tomatoes are nice and shiny and the jam is to the consistency you prefer.
I took some by the farm for Richard to taste. Richard, Kimo and Charlotte all thought it was ono!
