Strawberry-Banana Jam is a low-honey cooked jam made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener. This recipe was created by Allison Carroll Duffy for Pomona’s Universal Pectin.Allison says: Bananas sound great for jam, but you might have noticed that there are not a lot of recipes out there. The primary reason is that a straight banana jam would be too dense to safely can. Additionally, unlike most fruits, bananas are considered “low-acid.”To address both of these issues, I’ve used a good quantity of strawberries in this recipe in combination with the bananas, along with some lemon juice. To ensure safe canning, please don’t adjust the quantities of either of the fruits, or of the lemon juice. However, if you are crazy about bananas and absolutely must include more banana in your jam, freeze your jam rather than can it.For this recipe, you can use fresh strawberries if you have them, but I used frozen berries and they work just as well. And, for the bananas, be sure they are ripe enough that you can mash them easily. Enjoy!
Servings 5 cups
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups mashed strawberries
- 1¼ cups mashed bananas
- ¼ cup lemon juice bottled
- 3 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
- ½ cup honey
- 3 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin
Instructions
- Before you begin, prepare calcium water.To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
- Wash and rinse jars, lids, and screw bands. Set screw bands aside until ready to use. Place jars in boiling water bath canner with a rack, fill at least 2/3 of the way full with water, and bring to a boil. Boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize (add 1 additional minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level), then turn down heat and let jars stand in hot water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small pan, bring to a low simmer, and hold there until ready to use.
- If you are using fresh strawberries, place them in a colander, rinse them well, then remove and discard stems. If you are using frozen strawberries, defrost the berries.
- Place fresh or defrosted strawberries in a mixing bowl and mash well. A potato masher works well for this.
- Measure out 2¾ cups of mashed strawberries. (If you have extra, simply use for something else.) Pour the measured amount of strawberries in a large saucepan, then set aside.
- Peel the bananas and discard the peels. Place bananas in a mixing bowl and mash well. A fork works well for this.
- Measure out 1¼ cups of mashed banana. (If you have extra, simply use for something else.) Pour the measured amount of bananas into the large saucepan with the strawberries. Add lemon juice and calcium water, then stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine the honey and pectin powder. Mix well and set aside.
- Bring the strawberry-banana mixture up to rolling boil over high heat. Add honey-pectin mixture, then stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, still over the highest heat, to dissolve pectin. Return jam to a boil, then remove from heat.
- Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with jam, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
- Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, return the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
- Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then remove jars from canner.
- Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Then, confirm that jars have sealed. Remove screw bands from sealed jars, rinse off outside of jars if necessary, label jars, and store for later use.
Ang
If fruit is ripe and sweet, why are you adding sugar. Can I substitute honey for sugar. I don’t eat sugar.
Shelby Collings
You sure can! The honey will measure 1/2 the amount of sugar. So 1 cup of sugar will be 1/2 cup of honey.
Susan
The outcome of this recipe is very dependent on the strawberries you use. If they don’t taste good when eaten as is, your jam isn’t going to taste good. I used Shuksan strawberries, freshly picked. The only variations I made were to add lemon zest and vanilla bean. I made a double batch and only used 1C of raw sugar.
Elizabeth
My first try using this recipe was a bust, but I persisted and now have a version I love and have made multiple times. The problem I had with the original was it was too stiff, too much bananas (proportionally), and not sweet enough. Here’s my variation:
5 1/2 cups mashed strawberries
1 3/4 to 2 cups mashed bananas
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/8 cup water/strawberry juice
3 tsp calcium water
3 1/2 cups sugar
3 tsp Pomona pectin powder
Hilary
I loved it! IMO, the other pectins that require you to put nearly 4x the amount of sugar, cup for cup, is ridiculous and so unhealthy–when fruit is already sweet enough without all the added sugar. For example, this recipe with Pomona’s took 1/4 of the sugar that the other big brand pectin calls for. My stomach can’t take all that sugar anymore (and all that excess is bad for all of us.) This is a great alternative. I used all organic ingredients, the jam tastes great, and I love having a way to preserve some of my bananas that I can’t find a use for before they go bad. Loved it!
RedBlueSpice
This jam tastes amazing!
Caryl Purcell
I make this every year to add to my yogurt, it’s my favorite. Usually, I substitute sugar as the honey makes it very tart.
Amber
How much sugar did you use?
Denise Rinehart
I made this jam as written. I didn’t change a thing. The results were horrible! The jam isn’t sweet. The jam’s consistency is rubbery. It also has after weird taste. I have never tried this brand of pectin before. I was wondering why there wasn’t more sugar in the recipe. I used fresh strawberries that I bought from a local market. My bananas were very ripe, but not rotten. I’ve made strawberry-banana jam for years. I thought I’d give this recipe a try. I was sorely disappointed.
I would like to know if anyone else has tried this recipe and what are their thoughts.
Shelby Collings
Hello Denise,
Thanks so much for trying out Pomona’s Pectin. We are sorry to hear that this recipe did not please your tastebuds! You are always welcome to add additional sweetener, should you prefer, after the initial sweetener-pectin is dissolved into your jam.
Kindly,
Shelby