Banana jam, I know it doesn’t sound as romantic as strawberry jam or cherry jam. Nor it is full of punching flavors like orange jam and plum jam. It sounds like a mildly boring affair like papaya jam or any fruit that is not so exciting. BUT, you are hearing this from a banana hater. “This jam is DELICIOUS!” Yeah.. that inexpensive fruit that is evergreen and plenty in all seasons makes a scrumptious jam. And it also has a good yield even without pectin. And it doesn’t even require a long cooking time like grape jam. Because bananas have a decent amount of pectin with an average of 0.94. BUT you have to use a ripened FIRM banana. Save your over-ripened, mushy banana for banana bread. Putting them in jam can give you a slightly over-ripened taste and shorter shelf life. This banana jam has a tiny sour tinge that comes naturally from bananas and is intensified with lemon juice which makes it taste really good.
Why make this jam?
This is a no-pectin jam. It has a lovely cinnamon flavor, you can add other spices too that you like best. It has low sugar content than most jams because bananas are naturally sweet. You can skip canning and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 three months. It is a small batch and gets ready in less than an hour.
Ingredients
Banana: Bananas are the main ingredient. Use firm and fully ripe bananas. I do not recommend using overripe or mushy bananas because they have lower pectin. Bananas vary in size a lot and can have thick or thin peels. So I weighed them to measure 1 kg (2.2 lbs) for this recipe. Then I also measured the peeled banana to be more accurate which was 3 and a half cups. Sugar: Bananas are naturally sweet so I used just 1.5 cups of sugar which makes a reasonably sweet jam. An old-fashioned recipe would call for 4 cups of banana so you can add extra sugar after tasting if you want. Because this jam is not intended for canning and we’ll store it in the fridge or freezer adding less sugar is okay. You can switch some white sugar for brown sugar in this jam if adding warm spices. This will give the jam a darker color. Lemon: Bananas are not very acidic like other apples or peaches. We need an acidic environment for the longer shelf life of a jam. So we are adding extra lemon juice to this jam. It also adds some contrasting tartness to the sweet banana jam. And acidity of lemon juice also activates the natural pectin of bananas which helps set the jam. You can switch lemon juice for fresh lime juice which has similar acidity levels.
How to make it?
Find a pictorial step-by-step of how to make banana jam without pectin below with pro tips.
Storage
Banana is a low acidic fruit and I used little sugar in this recipe. So unlike my other jams, this recipe is not recommended for water bath canning. But because this is a small batch recipe you can easily store it in the fridge for months or even freeze it for a year. If you still wish to can this jam, add 1 cup extra sugar and ½ cup orange juice to have enough acidity in the jam for canning. Then run in the hot water bath for 10 minutes. And check the seals. Only sealed jars are safe to be stored in the pantry.
Ideas To Use Jam
Spread it on toast, English muffin, or on biscuit. Make a banana jam sandwich. Add it to your yogurt parfait or oatmeal. Top it over your vanilla ice cream, pancakes, waffles or scones. You can use it as filling in the cake along with fresh cream frosting.
Hungry for jams? Try these! If you try this banana jam recipe, I’d LOVE to hear your feedback in the comments. Your 5-ratings motivate me to do my best. Stay connected for more recipes and videos on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube.
📖 Recipe
