Banana Jam

Submitted by Chef #1138729

"Your overripe bananas don't need to go to waste anymore. Everyone will go "bananas" for this sweet, delectable jam/sauce on everything from waffles to ice cream, crepes to cake filling. I've never done the full canning routine with this, since it's sealed in the jars while hot, but I suppose you could. Recipe from the Joy of Desserts website, adapted slightly for personal taste."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 10 small jars
• Serves: 40

ingredients

• 2 lbs ripe bananas
• 1 3⁄4 cups dark brown sugar
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 1⁄3 cups water
• 3 limes, juice of
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 dash ginger powder
• 6 tablespoons dark rum

directions

1. Thaw bananas if frozen. (I often store up my overripe bananas in a freezer bag in the freezer until I have enough to make something.).
2. Peel bananas, and mash smooth.
3. Mix water, lime juice, sugars, cinnamon, vanilla, ginger over medium heat and stir until thickened.
4. Add mashed bananas and let cook 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add rum during the last few minutes of cooking.
6. Place hot banana jam into sterilized jars. Place lids on and seal.

Reviews

[shelteredcreature]

This banana jam is divine! I did not have rum so I used one of my husband's 12oz, home-brewed pumpkin coffee stouts that I simmered down to about 3 tbsps. I only had 5 bananas, and only ended up with 1#5oz of peeled bananas so I used 1 cup each of dark and light brown sugars, 1 1/2 limes, added a vanilla bean, half tsp cinnamon, 2 pinches ground ginger, and 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract. The flavor was great and had a bit of malt from the beer. I want to try it with the rum as well, since Bananas Foster is one of my favorite desserts. I want to add a bit of semisweet chocolate to that version too, it would be an amazing cake or tart filling. This jam will make excellent pb&js and I can't wait to try it out! I highly recommend using really ripe bananas, they break down easily and make for a nice, smooth jam with some visible bits of banana. I did water bath can mine for 10 minutes, worked out great. Can't wait to try all kinds of variations of this winner :)

 

[NZMumof4]

Delicious! This would make a wonderful dessert sauce if not boiled to jam stage. I didnt have lime so used lemon juice & used white sugar in place of light brown (because we only get one sort of brown sugar in NZ). Am just making my second batch ( I bought a whole box of salad bananas!) & have halved the amount of cinnamon plus added a tablespoon of butter. Also sliced my bananas this time rather than pre-mashing so I get a few fruity chunks.

 

[karatasmom]

I followed this recipe to the 'T'. I spent 25 minutes trying to get the liquid to thicken but it never did. I added the bananas and, even after the required 25 minutes post banana addition cooking, it still didn't thicken. The flavor is incredible so I gave it 2 starts, but I am now gifting banana sauce when I was hoping to gift banana jam. Time to look for a new banana jam recipe.

 

[Erin C.]

Easy to follow and smells amazing! But after sealing the jam in the jars, how long before you can consume the jam? Do they need to be immediately refrigerated after they cool or only after opening?

 

[Chef241]

Pretty good. Made this today, but I messed up and boiled it for about 20 minutes. I added ingredients as stated, though I only ended up with 5 1/2 pint jars..oops. Anyhoo, I canned them anyway. It's good jam, though very very sweet! I would try it again.