Tuesday 10 February 2009

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.

32 comments:

Kitchen Corner said...

Hi HHB,
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I love blueberry jam too! I shall try this recipe once I get some banana. Cheers!

twister said...

how does it taste? sour?

Beachlover said...

I have overripped banana sitting on my kitchen counter..hmmmm blueberries on sale tooo!! I think I should make some jam like yours! Thanks for sharing:))

Anonymous said...

How long can you keep this type of home made jam in the fridge?

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Grace; Beachlover, I hope you will like this jam :D

Hi Twister, it is sweet not sour.

Hi Anonymous, the cookbook says, once opened, you will need to use up within 1 week. I tested with my previous homemade jam, once opened I kept it in the fridge for up to 4 weeks, and it was ok.

Anonymous said...

I will try to make it over the weekend. Is it possible to use dried blueberries instead ?

Anonymous said...

hi there,

I love ur baking/cookings. side track from this post.

I have one bottle of cried cranberry given to me by my MIL during her SF trip last year.

Till now, i have no idea what to do with them. Any idea ??

Mico

Aimei said...

I was about to ask whether if the sugar can be reduced, and immediately saw your note at the bottom. Can I use store-bought frozen blueberries? Thanks for sharing this great recipe! :D

Cookie baker Lynn said...

That looks beautiful! I've made jam, but never thought to try blueberry jam. Silly me - I'll have to try it this summer.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Chumpman, no you can't use dried berries. Get fresh ones, if not get those frozen ones that come in a pack.

Hi Aimei, yes, you can get those frozen blueberries, but if u see fresh ones which are on sale, I think it could be cheaper. Don't reduce the sugar. It will be sweet, but it goes just nice on a plain slice of bread, let me know after you have tried it, hope u will like it!


Hi Lynn, I can't wait till summer to read about your jams ;)

Hi Mico, are you referring to Dried cranberries? You can always use them to make muffins, quick breads, yeast breads, and even cookies.

Anonymous said...

Hi HHB,

May I know where did you get this cookbook for making jam?

Thanks!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Joyce, I borrowed the book from the library.

Anonymous said...

Thanks. this week blueberry on offer in ntuc. I may try out this jam. But, how long can i keep the jam ? I homemade kaya using breadmaker, i've kept it for coming to 1 month now. still taste ok.

Mico

Anonymous said...

This must be the easiest jam recipe ever. Maybe you could experiment with different types of sugar to reduce the sweetness but still keep the chemical actions the same.

Mico: This is my favorite cookie recipe for dried cranberries:
http://tinyurl.com/aw9goh
Easy to make and not too sweet either.

CY said...

I love blueberry jam but never tried any jam with banana in it! Thanks for sharing this great recipe! Happy Valentine's Day!

Brilynn said...

That sounds like a fabulous combo!

Anonymous said...

FL MOM,

Thanks for sharing. the recipe looks yummy !

Mico

Anonymous said...

Mico: You're quite welcome! I think you can probably substitute dried cranberries in most any baking recipe that calls for raisins. Have fun!

Anonymous said...

Wow what a fantastic recipe! It is now on my list of things to try! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Can we use strawberries too like bluberries? Do I need to make any changes?I have tons in my fridge!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Anonymous, I am not sure about using strawberries, maybe you can search for other recipes, there are many strawberry jam recipes in the internet.

Triy said...

Hi HHB,

Thank you for this recipe. I just tried it tonight, but halved the recipe as I only had 1 punnet of blueberries, which is only 125g. My hubby loved it. Thank you for sharing your recipes! Cheers to baking and cooking without preservatives!

AK said...

Tried this recipe today for strawberry JAM. Yummy, thanks and will try others fruits too..

. said...

Hi HHB

Would you happen to have a recipe for mikan jam? Most jap recipes I've found do not require any form of pectin, only sugar and lemon juice. Just wondering if it works out fine?

e0

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi e-0, I am sorry I have not tried making jam with mikan. The recipes from this Jap jam-making cookbook do not use any pectin at all. It depends on the clever pairing of different types of fruits...those that contain natural pectin (eg banana) with those fruits that have got less pectin. So far, those jams that I have tried are able to set very well.

Anonymous said...

Hi HHB,
I made 2 jars of this before xmas they didn't last a week everybody loved it so much. Am going to try the banana and chocolate next. Thanks so much for the recipes.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I tried this jam and it tastes DELICIOUS!

I only had about half a cup of blueberries though and a medium banana, but I went ahead and used the recipe and it tasted really good! The banana taste was a bit overpowering but of course, that's because of there being more banana than blueberry in the recipe.

Slabbed some on a slice of french toast and YUM! I love this jam and since I eat jam every morning, instead of buying the store-made ones, I'll start making my own :) Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!

Anonymous said...

nice blog

Anonymous said...

Hi HHB i love browsing through your blog is awesome.

Today i went to try out this recipe but my jam become harden after cooling, btw i omit the banana. Is this the reason that the jam become harden without the banana?

Wish to receive help from anyone can enlighten me the problem. =(

Thanks in advance =D

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi, yes you will need to use the banana.

Anonymous said...

Lovely. Made this jam first in 25 years and was so easy. Great taste and friends loved getting small jars as gifts. SO EASY.

Anonymous said...

Is there a recipe for a batch of banana blueberry jam