Banana Blueberry Jam

Here's my second jar of homemade jam. This time it's jamming banana with blueberries :)

I have written quite a fair bit about the homemade jam recipes from a cookbook in my last post on jam making. Hence, I will just go straight into this recipe.

I bought some blueberries which were on sale several months back. I have since learned how to freeze them for later use by following the instructions here. The only thing I do differently is, I do not wash the blueberries before freezing them, as I guess they have already been pre-washed and packed into punnets for sale here.

I thawed the frozen berries and gave them a light rinse before crushing them lightly with a fork. With the same fork, I mashed up the banana, and mix it with the berries, sugar and some lemon juice. I like how easy it is to make this delicious jam. Not only there is little preparation required and it could be done with only a few kitchen utensils. The cooking time is also quite short, all you need is to bring the mixture to a boil and let it continue to boil for another 5 ~10 minutes.



The finished jam was only able to fill up a 1 cup empty jam jar. I thought the amount is just right for our family, since I have not formed the habit of stocking up jars of jam in my cupboards.



This homemade sweet jam tastes as good as my favourite store bought blueberry jam, minus whatever preservatives that you get from ready made ones. I like the presence of the chunks of berries, although like most jam it tasted a tad too sweet for me. Don't ask me about the banana, I think it is added mainly for its higher pectin level...which helps to thicken and set the jam, since no pectin is used in this recipe. Incidentally, pectin content in bananas is water-absorbent which helps create the necessary bulk in easing constipation;)

Besides spreading it over a plain slice of bread, this jam is so versatile that I have also thought of other delicious ways to use it. I have since made a banana blueberry chiffon cake, and I really think the jam would do good to a batch of muffins, and I hope I have time to make some Jammie Dodgers soon!



Banana Blueberry Jam

Ingredient
(yields about 1 cup of jam)

100g bananas (1 large very riped), mashed
200g frozen blueberries, thaw
230g granulated sugar*
juice from 1/2 a lemon

Method:

1. Rinse and thaw frozen berries. With a fork, crush the berries so that some berries are mushed up leaving others only lightly crushed.
2. Place mashed bananas, lemon juice, sugar and blueberries in a pot or a large saucepan. Mix well.
3. On medium heat, stirring constantly with a heat-proof spatula or a wooden spoon, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil (where the bubbles do not stop or lessen when you stir it). Once the mixture starts to boil, skim away any excessive foams or bubbles, stirring constantly all the time.
4. Keep at a rolling boil for another 5 mins, stirring constantly till the mixture thickens, becomes clearer and transparent (no more foams). The entire cooking time should be around 10 ~ 15 mins.
5. Remove from heat. The jam will be a little runny when hot but the consistency will be just right after it has cool off.
6. Ladle hot jam into hot sterilised jars leaving a gap of about 1~2cm from the top. (Since I do not have an appropriate ladle or funnel, I poured the jam into my measuring cup before filling the jars. The sprout on the cup helps easy and clean filling.) Secure lids. Let cool. Jam will keep up to 3 months if stored in fridge or in a cool, dark cupboard. Once opened, store in fridge and best consumed within 3~ 4 weeks.
   
   Recipe source: adapted from 鲜美果酱轻松做! by Romi Igarashi

Note: *Do not reduce the sugar, as the amount is required to preserve the jam.