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.
Strawberry Banana Jam
4 ¾ cups prepared fruit (about 2 quarts fully ripe strawberries and 3 fully ripe medium bananas)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 ¾ cups sugar
1 box fruit pectin
½ teaspoon butter
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 quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tope. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Invert jars 5 minutes, then turn upright, or follow water bath method recommended by the USDA. After jars are cool, check seals.
Makes about 8 (1 cup) jars.
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
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
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 saucepot.
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 quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tope. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Invert jars 5 minutes, then turn upright, or follow water bath method recommended by the USDA. After jars are cool, check seals.
Makes about 7 (1 cup) jars.
These jam recipes were originally listed in Gifts from the Harvest
: Homemade Jams and Jellies published by Kraft General Foods in 1993.
I like to experiment with non-standard fruit combinations, just for something different. Some good recipes I’ve come up with are Lemon Ground Cherry Jelly and Apple Plum Cinnamon Yum jelly. One of the next things I’d like to tackle is a cherry almond conserve. Here’s a link to some unusual jelly recipes from pickyourown.org.
)
because it is non-reactive.
to form pea sized lumps. You want the butter evenly distributed in the dry ingredients. Add in honey and vanilla stevia. Blend well with hands. Use hands to distribute crumble on top of filling.
