After the currant almond jelly, the next day I dug the strawberries, bananas and rhubarb out of the freezer that I had prepped earlier (but not had time to turn into jam). Thawing, measuring, mixing and cooking commenced, and by the end of the day I had 18 more jars (nine each) of strawberry rhubarb and strawberry banana jam.
As I was cooking up the strawberry-banana combo, Duncan stuck his head out of the loft and said, “That smells SO good!” It’s also a great use for overripe bananas. I buy those bags of discounted bananas, but sometimes I don’t have time or opportunity to use them all before they are getting mushy. I peel them, stick them in a baggie, and stuff in the freezer until I need them in a recipe – super easy.
Note: Do not skip the lemon juice in the strawberry-banana jam. For safe water bath canning, the pH must be below 4.6. Plain strawberry jam has a pH of around 3.0 to 3.4. Bananas have a pH of around 4.5 to 5.2.
Bottle lemon juice has a pH between 2.0 and 2.6, so adding the lemon juice keeps the acidity of the jam in the safe range. (See pH levels of common foods.)
PrintStrawberry Banana Jam
Strawberry jam with a tropical twist.
Ingredients
- 4 3/4 cups prepared fruit (about 2 quarts fully ripe strawberries and 3 fully ripe medium bananas
- 3 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
- 6 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 box fruit pectin
- 1/2 teaspoon butter
Instructions
Stem and thoroughly crush strawberries, 1 cup at a time. Measure 3 ¼ cups into 6- or 8- quart saucepot. Mash bananas thoroughly. Measure 1 ½ cups; add to saucepot. Stir in lemon juice.
Prepare jars. Keep lids hot until ready to fill jars.
Measure sugar into separate bowl. Stir fruit pectin into fruit in saucepot. Add butter. Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in all sugar. Return to full rolling roil and boil exactly one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim off any foam with a metal spoon.
Ladle into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of top. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two piece lids. Screw bands until snug. Process for 10 minutes in a water bath canner. Turn off heat, let sit five minutes. Remove from canner and place on kitchen towel on counter top. After jars are cool, check seals.
Makes about 8 (1 cup) jars.
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
A tasty combination of strawberries and rhubarb in a traditional jam.
Ingredients
- 4 cups prepared fruit (about 1 quart fully ripe strawberries, 1 ½ pounds rhubarb and ½ cup water)
- 6 cups sugar
- 1 box fruit pectin
- ½ teaspoon butter
Instructions
Stem and thoroughly crush strawberries, 1 cup at a time. Measure 2 1/4 cups into 6- or 8- quart saucepot. Finely chop rhubarb; do not peel. Place in 2 quart saucepan. Add ½ cup water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 2 minutes or until rhubarb is soft. Measure 1 ¾ cups into sauce pot.
Prepare jars. Keep lids hot until ready to fill jars.
Measure sugar into separate bowl. Stir fruit pectin into fruit in saucepot. Add butter. Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in all sugar. Return to full rolling roil and boil exactly one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim off any foam with a metal spoon.
Ladle into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of top. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two piece lids. Screw bands until snug. Process for 10 minutes in a water bath canner. Turn off heat, let sit five minutes. Remove from canner and place on kitchen towel on counter top. After jars are cool, check seals.
Makes about 7 (1 cup) jars.
These jam recipes were adapted from Gifts from the Harvest: Homemade Jams and Jellies, published by the makers of Sure-Jell and Certo.
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Vera Roth says
do you have a recipe for strawberry rhubarb freezer jam?
Laurie Neverman says
Sorry, I don’t generally do freezer jams because I need my freezer space for other produce and meat. I am planning to update this post next week with a low-sugar strawberry rhubarb jam that would likely function as a freezer jam.
SLA says
The Strawberry Banana Jam is not safe for canning unless you’ve had it tested. Because of the density of bananas – and the fact that bananas are a low acid fruit – there’s no guarantee that 1) the recipe is acidic enough to prevent botulism from developing and 2) that heat from a water bath will penetrate all the way through and evenly.
I would not take the chance on this untested recipe and I would advise that this go into the freezer.
Laurie Neverman says
The recipe is from a recipe book published by the makers of Sure-Jell and Certo, not something I made up. Given that they dominate pectin production for home canning, I would expect their recipes to be tested.
I will clarify this in the post, and make sure to note that people must add the lemon juice.
The high amount of sugar in the recipe also acts as a preservative, as it ties up free water. Botulism spores require free water to germinate.