Cranberry Banana Jam

Cranberry Banana Jam what the heck!
At first this combination of cranberry and banana seemed strange. I have never used banana's in any jam the only time I have used the banana is for banana bread. But there are so many recipes for this jam on the internet that I had to try it. Ok and I had a ton of cranberries from winter left in the freezer and I need room for Spring/Summer Berries.





So with that little story let us get started. I could have never imagined how delicious this jam would turn out. So simple and so very very delicious. Do make it.

Banana Tip : Here is one thing I would do and I did. Make sure your banana' are just about ripe enough to use for banana bread. This way there is no brown in the jam. I took some still ripe and froze them the reason is that this makes them super mushy when defrosted and still no brown.


Ingredients

5 cups fresh cranberries
2 mashed bananas
4 cups sugar
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 box of pectin (or not)

Put your whole cranberries with the liquid into your non-reactive pot and keep them on a slow simmer. You are waiting for them to start the popping sound which brings more liquid to the pot. You can squish them now but do keep some whole The whole cranberries look so pretty in the jars.



 

Now start to incorporate the mashed bananas and lemon. Once incorporated add your pectin if using. This jam does not need pectin it uses the banana as a thickening agent and the natural pectin in cranberries.  Start to add you sugar one cup at a time.  Look how beautiful the little pieces of banana and whole cranberries look.










Bring all the ingredients up to a rolling boil and keep stirring. You need a rolling boil that will not stir down. Notice how the sugar clear's the jam up and makes that nice gel look. Shiny sweet!







 While the jam is sitting for 5 minutes scrape the foam off. There is a lot of foam with this jam so scrape the foam prior to filling your jars.

 Ok have your jars ready to fill. Fill the jars with your jam leaving a 1/2 inch head-space.  Wipe clean, cap and twist. Now water-bath for 10 minutes.

This is crazy delicious and I already know next year this is going to be a big seller at the Holiday Boutique. Like the Tomato Jam last year.

Who'd a thought !

Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes.