A while back, I was obsessing about fig jam and where I could find it. I don’t even remember anymore what I wanted to make with it but I snapped out of it pretty quickly because it seemed like a lost cause. Yesterday, I was shopping for groceries and mindlessly looking through the jam aisle and there it was – everything else in the shelves blurred into the background and my eyes zoomed right into FIG PRESERVES. It was all I could do not to squeal. I also found tomato preserves next to it. When it rains, it pours.
I popped them open for a taste once I got home and seeing as how preserves are supposed to contain sizable chunks of fruit, I concluded that they were more like jam. (Take a look at an interesting visual comparison on jelly, jam, and preserves below.) The tomato jam is sweet and slightly tangy. The fig jam has a depth to its sweetness and has the added texture of seeds. They feel almost identical to poppy seeds.
The whole time I was getting acquainted with my new jams, I was thinking grilled cheese. Now I’ve done a grilled cheese post before which was a lot of fun but this time, I wanted to keep it simpler. Not that another grilled cheese post needs an explanation. It’s grilled cheese! I lucked out on fig jam and I was ecstatic about that but the tomato jam was getting more and more interesting because grilled cheese is often paired with tomato soup. I happen to be a huge fan of adding a sweet element to grilled cheese because the saltiness and sweetness together is a winning, nay, jackpot combo so the tomato jam was like hitting two birds with one stone.
I made my grilled cheese with tomato and fig jams using:
2 slices of bread
mature cheddar cheese
softened butter
a heaping T each of tomato and fig jams
1. I had this cheese loaf from BreadTalk lying around which was perfect because there’s cheese swirling through the thing. This was a most welcome coincidence because my philosophy on cheese is “The more the merrier”.
2. Heat a grill pan on medium. Butter one slice of bread and place on the warmed grill pan, butter side down. Immediately top with cheese slices.
3. While the bread is toasting and the cheese is melting on top of it, spread jam on the other slice of bread. I couldn’t decide if I wanted tomato or fig so I had both.
4. Place jammed bread on top of the cheese, jam side down. Spread butter on top.
5. Check to see if the first slice of bread is toasted to your liking. If it is, go ahead and flip. Gorgeous!
I sliced up my grilled cheese into strips just for kicks. Besides, this way you could see what’s really going on inside my sandwich. Warm buttery bread that’s soft and crisp at the same time. The gooey, salty, rich cheese paired with sweet tomato and fig jams. It tastes like love.
Fun Food Fact: The tomato is a fruit. It’s all quite technical in the botanical world as opposed to the culinary world where it pretty much comes down to preparation. The part of the plant with the seed (ovary) is considered the fruit. So that’s eggplant, bell pepper, cucumber, zucchini…
Hi, I'm Sam Oh - TV host, DJ and newbie food columnist. Cooking and food keep me curious. Welcome to my blog! 
everything is better with fig jam..
Agreed. And it makes a lovely addition to a cheese platter
Oh my gosh! This looks beyond good. I’m keeping an eye out for these next time I’m grocery shopping
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looks yummy
delicious
This looks so gorgeous – anything with grilled cheese is good to me
Love the visualisation diagram! Fig jam is just great.
A Very Delishus looking sandwich you have there .I love how its a unique piece of art.
Now I am hungry.Keep up the good job !!!
Brilliant! there really is nothing better than grilled cheese. I normally have mine with chutney, but that tomato jam sounds like an interesting innovation. I love the grill stripes too!
My son and I love our grilled cheese with seedless strawberry jam! The best! I just may have to try it with Fig. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you and you’re welcome!
If you like figs I would definitely try Guava Paste or Goiabada. Most grocery stores have it in the Latin or International Food aisle. I use to have it as a kid when Brazilian relatives came to visit. It’s a very heavy and sweet but in thin slices is great served with a semi soft cheese, like jack. You can also use it for glazes and I’ve always wanted to use it to make a light mousse.
Looks absolutely yummy — it doesn’t get any better than sweet and salty together…and now I am adding fig jam (preserves?) to my shopping list!
Sounds pretty awesome, but in the end which did you prefer – the tomato side or the fi side?
It was a toss-up but I think I’ll go with tomato
Great blog! Thank you for sharing
– Nicole
Thank you for swinging by
It is a pleasure. Do come check out my blog when you have a moment too
I am new to the blogging world so just trying to learn from you all who have been doing this 
The pics look awesome. Chow.com says to grate the cheese before adding it onto the bread to ensure it melts before the bread burns. But I’ve found that cheese slices don’t need it. Do you experiment with cheeses for your sandwiches? I have a hankering for bleu cheese in a sandwich. Nice post. Congrats on getting Freshly Pressed!
Thank you! As for the cheese, grating it isn’t a bad way to go but you’re right – it’s unnecessary! I pretty much stick to medium cheeses (as opposed to soft or hard) and I’ve never tried a grilled bleu cheese sandwich. Would be nice with some Asian pear slices and truffle honey, I imagine
The last picture looks amazing.
sabrosooooo…
Looks delicious!!!
Going to have to try this!! thanks so much!!
Hey there.
I’m really sorry to be boring, but I’ve just started this blog of mine, about something that’s really important for me, and I’m kind of a beginner in the art of blogging. Anyway, I would really apreciate if you just took a quick look at it just to tell me what you think of it. Thanks so much,
Amelie.
Ps: Cool blog!
Will do and you’re not being boring! Thanks!
Yummyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, It really looks delicious…
Chego a bater uma fome aqui. rsrsrsrsrs
Wouldn’t these make fun cocktail appetizers? And that rustic bread looks certainly makes the sandwich look even more fabulous.
They would! Fun and yummy
Looks great! Don’t you just love it when all the ingredients are in the right place at the right time? (P.S. Does anyone know how to make tomato jam?)
I love that feeling, like the stars aligned for you or something
I actually made tomato jam once, when I was much younger, and it involved a lot of tomatoes and sugar. Wasn’t all that good but I didn’t know what the hell I was doing either 
God! im so hungry right now.
Oh boy, I just put on 5lbs looking at those amazing photos! My favorite fig preserves are those made in England. I’ve also found a really good one here in the USA at Whole Foods.
Man, I’m going to make a vegan, gluten-free version of this tonight. Great post and mouthwatering pics.
Can’t wait to try, great post and congratulations on FP!
OMG! I just had dinner and this is making me hungry! Will try this one day. Maybe I will take a picture and post it as well. I will add your name then
http://virginialicious.com/ Visit mine when you get a chance too 
Just started it!
Love the idea of fig grilled cheese! Looks delicious!
Looks delicious! I love the fig jam and cheese combo – especially with goat cheese or manchego. Tomato jam sounds interesting – totally going to look for it. Thanks for the tip!
Thank you for all your comments! I am beyond excited and humbled about being Freshly Pressed
I love grilled cheese! I might just make one of my own because of this post. lol! thanks.
oh my gosh that grilled cheese looks SO good!
yummy!!!
<3
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anything with melted cheese and jam is good in my books. this would also be great with cream cheese
Hey Sam! Congrats on Freshly Pressed. The bread looks heavenly! Loving the grilled cheese and jam strips.
thank you
surprised that i finally found your blog! freshly pressed never fails.