Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Canning Season - Banana Jam

Banana Jam, July 2013; Photo by J. Stahl
My husband had a wonderful idea this past week and asked if I would be willing to make banana jam since I was so busy in the kitchen. I decided why not, we have some soft bananas!

So, I went surfing the internet and was greatly inspired by this blog post, and began formulating a plan.

For those of you who do not know, our canning sugar is a bit different. It already has the pectin in it, and it's a 1:1 recipe. Basically, I had to modify an existing recipe and hope for the best.

From what I understand after reading many other blogs, it's suggested that banana jam doesn't hold for very long, so plan on using it within 3 months or so, even if you run it through a water bath. Thank goodness it made up into only a couple small jars, right?

Here's our process:

 Fill your large canning pot with water and get it set to boiling before you get started. This will go very quickly. Hunt up your canning funnel and get your glasses and lids sterilized. Once you've got that step done and the lids and mouths of the jars dry, go ahead and pop your funnel into one of the jars.

Blend your bananas, sugar and lemon juice together in a small pot. Stir until the sugar looks like it's dissolved, and allow the pot to boil for 5- 10 minutes. (Be sure to keep stirring, as this will stick!) 

Fill your jars very carefully, screw the lids shut and pop into the water bath with your jar lifter. Process these for 10-15 minutes (depending on your altitude) and then take them out and cool wherever you've got a safe spot for that. (As you can see, mine was right by the apple sauce that day!)

If you have any jars at all that have not sealed, they will need to be refrigerated.The jars that have sealed, should be shelf-stable for around three months or more.

Next time I make this, I plan on adding some cinnamon or other spices.


From what I've heard from friends, this is a rather popular item that is often sold in the local Christmas Markets.  I'd not been able to go in the last couple of years for health reasons, so I did not know that.

The day after I got it made, the kids were able to have some with their bento. There were absolutely no complaints, and my husband said it was very good. I've not yet tried it since I've been having some health battles due to our local wheat fields. 

Let me know if you give this a try. I would love to hear any tweaks you can come up with!!

Bento: Grapes, mini pickles, banana chips, boiled eggs
cherry jam toast and banana jam toast on buttered bread
Photo by J.Stahl

2 comments:

  1. I've never heard of banana jam - that looks great! Any ideas on what to do for sugar/pectin in the states?

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    Replies
    1. Just use regular canning sugar, and I believe the measurement for pectin on this recipe is 1oz.

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