Ape For Bananas Jam

Good morning Jammers!  Wow, what a stormy day we had, here in the South, yesterday.  We sure needed the rain, though…both gardens are loving the water, I’m sure.  I don’t remember if I mentioned it but I made a homemade organic garden spray to keep the critters, insects and bugs from munching on my leaves.  It is working great!  My baby leaves were getting chewed but I started using this spray once a week and nothing has touched them since.  It’s my own combination of jalapeños and garlic pureed and steeped in a bit of water, rubbing alcohol and dish detergent.  I am impressed with the formula I created! 

About 10 days ago I decided to have a banana day.  I picked up the half priced, taped, extra ripe, ready to use bananas at the grocery store for .29 cents a pound.

 

I made another batch of my Mojo Bananas Foster Jam…………………………………..……..see (http://jamminfromthehearth.blogspot.com/2010/10/mojo-bananas-foster-jam.html), this time leaving out the butter, increasing the pectin to one and a half pouches of liquid pectin and decreasing the rum extract to 1 teaspoon, in hopes my nephew with extreme food allergies may be able to enjoy it.

     

I also made a new one, especially for him, that is a plain banana jam.  It came out so finger lickin’ good…I know you’ve heard this before, but…I think I have a new favorite jam!  Both batches that day came out so good and are wonderful all by themselves.  Yes, I admit, you can catch me in the fridge with nothing but a jar and a spoon with both of these.  Actually…I’ll be right back!

Mmmmmm, now where was I?  Oh yeah, in honor of my nephew who is 5 years old and has severe multiple food allergies AND in honor of his awesome parents that devote so much to making sure he is healthy and happy, please research and show support for http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/.  I never knew what some families have to go through just to make sure their child lives to see their next birthday.  My heart goes out to these families!  It sickens me to no end to hear someone mock or belittle a child with food allergies.  I know of another family that lost their young daughter a few years ago over peanuts.  Please show your support by simply being informed and most of all, tolerant.  It’s the kharmetic (is that a word?  if not, it should be) thing to do.  You know…”do unto others"…that Golden Rule that is the basis for most religions and/or ethical societies?  You never know what position you will be in some day and how would YOU want to be treated by others?  Be a good example for others, especially our impressionable young ones.  They are simply mirrors of their environment…be what you want them to be.  These kids with food allergies deserve as normal of a childhood as they can get.  I hope my nephew is able to enjoy some of the jam I am making for him.  The only question is in the pectin, but I know his Mom will research and contact the company, if needed, before giving him any.  My fingers are crossed…If not then I will be making him some wonderful peach jam when they come in season without any added pectin.  I’ll call this one, for him, my Ape For Bananas Jam.

Ape For Bananas Jam

10 medium bananas
6 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
1 teaspoon Fruit Fresh ascorbic acid crystals
5 cups sugar
1 and 1/2   3oz pouches liquid pectin

Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. Thoroughly mash bananas until smooth, I used a hand emulsifier and got beautiful results.  Combine mashed bananas, lemon juice and Fruit Fresh in a large, deep, pot and then add sugar. 

        

Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in pectin and boil for 1 minute.

Remove pan from heat and quickly skim off any foam from the top. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter, place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 8 half pint jars (I did 4 half pints and 2 pints)

This is a shot of both banana batches that day.  I will be giving away limited ones of this for sure…it is a new fridge staple!

Oh yeah, I made my first chocolate cheesecake last week for a dear friend’s birthday.  Maybe I’m not cut out to make cheesecakes…it wasn’t bad BUT it was awful dense and seemed to get better after 2 days in the fridge as opposed to just 24 hours.  Oh well, C'est la vie!

Check back soon for the next post…I picked up some beautiful mangoes at the Farmers Market.  BTW, the Farmers Market (our main one downtown) has been in the news recently in regards to price savings of roughly 50% over all grocery stores since there is no middle-man.  I am a believer and have been going at least every other week.  They are open 7 days a week and the prices are great.  There is a HUGE variety of things and it is so much fresher than the grocery store selection.  Look out for your local markets and see what I mean.

Till next time, Be Blessed and Be Sweet!

Grannie’s Best Banana Bread Butter

Top o’the morning, Jammers! I am ready for us to be DONE with this unseasonable heat spell…bring on the cool weather. I am ready to open the windows for a while and finally shut down the AC for the year. We were almost 90 degrees today and it’s the last week of October, for the love of Pete! BTW, does anyone know who the heck Pete is and why everyone loves him so much???

I mentioned in my last post that our City Council was going to vote on moving trick-or-treating to Saturday. On Monday morning they decided to withdraw the proposition and I know lots of folks are very happy about it. Halloween is Sunday…period! It’s my son’s birthday and he has his costume all ready, is yours? What kind of scary creature are you going to be? Will you be handing out tricks or treats? We love Halloween, it’s one of our favorite holidays around here. I wish I knew someone that owned their own hearse…I would gladly chauffer my son and his friends around, for the night, in it. Most folks I knew in the business were corporate owned so that possibility is out. Oh yeah, BTW, in case you didn’t know, I went to school and graduated with honors in Funeral Services. I was a Funeral Director and Embalmer. I stopped short of my internship and boards and decided the business, as it stood, was not for me. School was wonderful and the experiences I had working in funeral homes were positive and enlightening. I did enjoy it (mostly) but there are some other ethical issues I have when it comes to the current costs and financial side of funerals. I feel a bit differently than the traditional old fashioned funeral professionals and I am opposed to the corporate hard core sales tactics that are required and most funeral homes around here are corporate run. Maybe one day, I will find a like minded person to work for or I could open my own…maybe if I hit the lottery! Anyway, I am happy doing what I do, customer service. I make more than I would have starting out at any of the funeral establishments around here and the hours are so much better. I get to be home with my family and do not miss out on any planned events, unlike a funeral professional who is on call 24/7/365. Death waits on nothing or noone! Christmas morning would not be fun if I got a call to go on a run. I LOVE what I do and my job and schedule could not be more perfect. Wow, boy did I get off on a tangent huh! This is supposed to be about canning…wait, I guess you could say preserving is preserving. pH levels are always the key, no matter what you’re preserving, fruit or….Ok, bad humor, I know. Moving on…..

Last Saturday was banana day. I posted the recipe for the bananas foster version I did. The other one I did that day was a recipe I found on the Kraft website and I pretty much followed it exactly. It is for a banana nut bread butter. I ended up with leftover bananas, when all were finished, and made a loaf of banana nut bread and posted that recipe on my other blog (the link can be found over on the right side of the this blog). I talked about how special banana nut bread is to me and I’ll share with you, here too. I have always loved banana bread and even requested it as my birthday cake one year for a childhood birthday party, My friends made fun of me for not having a real cake that year, but it didn’t matter, I had my favorite…my Grannie Winchester’s banana bread. Her sister, Aunt Etta (pronounced Aint Etter) was known for making the best in the family, but I always thought Grannie’s was best, no matter what the rest said. This loaf made me think of Grannie and all the times we shared in her kitchen…I miss her so much! I know she would have loved this recipe just the same so I am calling this one Grannie’s Best Banana Bread Butter. 

Grannie’s Best Banana Bread Butter

3 cups prepared fruit (about 10 fully ripe medium bananas)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon fruit protector

1 box powdered pectin

½ teaspoon butter

4 cups sugar

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 cups diced walnuts, lightly toasted

1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

　
Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. Mash bananas thoroughly. Measure exactly 3 cups prepared fruit into 8 qt. pot. Add lemon juice and fruit protector and stir until well blended. Stir in pectin. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugars and stir until well blended. Add walnuts and spices and mix well. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

To prevent the butter from separating in the jars, allow it to cool 5 minutes before filling the jars. Gently stir every minute, or so, to distribute the fruit. Ladle into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter and place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 7 half pint jars.

I tried spreading the butter on a piece of the banana nut bread (talk about a double whammie) and it was delectable! Yummy but very rich. Once the butter is refrigerated, it is very thick, similar to a pecan pie filling consistency. It is very pretty in the jars and looks just like banana nut bread. This would also make a great sundae topping or great as the filling for the recipes for pie-in-a-jar that I am seeing pop up all over the web. The pie crusts are pressed into the small jars and then the filling in put in and the whole jar is then baked in the oven and the tops are put on to store the pies. The idea is very cute and attractive, maybe I will get around to trying it someday. Do a search on the web for pie-in-a-jar and adapt it for this, as the filling.

Have a safe but fun Halloween, everyone! Check back in a few days for the spicy ancho apple butter I made. Till then, you know what to do…Be Blessed and Be Sweet!
　
　
　

Mojo Banana's Foster Jam

Good Monday morning Jammers! What did you get into over the weekend? Me, I got into some bananas, well a LOT of bananas and a few apples too. I lucked out and found all the bananas I needed, fully ripened, for half price (notice the black tape on them).  They were perfect and ready to use!  I wish the weather had cooperated a bit more, especially on Sunday. I made some spicy apple butter and was really feeling into the fall season EXCEPT that it was 87 degrees outside! It was too hot in the kitchen with the windows open so I had to crank up the AC to try to cool off. We are supposed to be unseasonably warm the rest of this week, too. Boo! My son hates it when he goes trick-or-treating and ends up sweating buckets with a mask and costume on. Hopefully it will cool-off for him. For his first few years he actually thought that folks decorated their houses and handed out candy because it was his birthday…he finally caught on that he shared his birthday WITH a holiday when he was 5 or 6 years old. Then for a few years he would tell each person that opened their door that it was his birthday and he would usually get extra treats. He’s stopped all that now and I wonder when he will stop trick-or-treating all together, he will be 12 this year and still wants to go with his friends. The funny thing is, he never cared for much of the candy, eating very little of it. It usually sits in a big bowl on top of the fridge till around Christmas then we throw it out when the stockings get emptied into the same bowl. He’s never been much of a sweets eater. I guess we are lucky that we don’t have a huge dentist bill! Our city council is going to vote on Tuesday night as to whether to change trick-or-treating to Saturday night so there won’t be a conflict with folks attending church on Sunday night. Most folks in town are livid about this for a few reasons. What happened to separation of church and state? It’s not been changed before when it was on a Sunday, so why now? Saturday is a HUGE college football game downtown at the stadium, Florida vs. Georgia, and the tailgating has already begun (7 days in advance, RV’s are already pouring in). I really don’t want kids out trick-or-treating on one of the biggest nights for DUI’s around here! Some folks are concerned that only some kids will go out on Saturday night and others will still go out on Sunday so they will have to deal with 2 nights of it, while others say some kids will choose to go out both night. Personally, I don’t think it should be changed. Halloween in Oct. 31, period! I have been surprised at how many other cities, counties and states change which day it is observed on every year. Our niece in Ohio sent us this snip “Here in Columbus they only allow Trick or Treating Mon-Thurs so if Halloween is on Fri-Sun it gets moved! This year Halloween is on Sun but trick or treating is on Thurs. Last year Halloween was a Saturday and trick or treating was on Thurs.” How bizarre is that?!?

So, for the first banana recipe that I did on Saturday morning I decided to re-do my Banana Rum Jam and make it a Bananas Foster Jam. The recipe was so close and Bananas Foster is my all time favorite dessert, I had to adapt it and go for it. It came out DIVINE! I was instantly transported to Royal Street, a block off Bourbon Street in New Orleans, the home of the world famous Brennan’s Restaurant, where Bananas Foster was created in 1951. I’ve ordered it in many places but none is as good as Brennan’s, where it is prepared and served tableside. The only thing missing in this jam would be the vanilla ice cream it is traditionally served over but you could always heat a bit of it in the microwave for a few seconds and then pour it over a scoop of your favorite vanilla bean ice cream. Now, something else I love to do when I am in New Orleans is to tour all the cemeteries. I always stop and see the tomb of the Voudou Queen, Marie Laveau, and then I will head to her namesake tourist shop on Bourbon St. where you can pick up all kind of mojo trinkets and souvenirs. In honor of my old New Orleans traditions I am naming this one my Mojo Banana’s Foster Jam. When I made it before, as just the Banana Rum Jam, I mentioned that bananas are associated with fertility, potency and prosperity and are most often associated with a masculine energy as opposed to feminine energy. A good internet search will show that women in Hawaii were once forbidden to eat bananas, by law, go figure. I substituted some of the sugar with brown sugar and added a bit of cinnamon. The cinnamon is for power and spirituality and any kind of sugar is for love, of course! Remember to keep your thoughts and intentions clear in your mind when you are crafting your delicacies. A little mood music playing in the background and a candle or two lit near your workspace can make for a great Jammin session and some tasty treats.

Mojo Banana’s Foster Jam

3 ¾ cups peeled and diced ripe bananas (about 9 medium)

6 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Fruit Fresh (or you can use antioxidant crystals or ascorbic acid crystals)

3 cups granulated sugar

2 cups light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter

1 3oz pouch liquid pectin

1 ½ teaspoons rum extract

Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. In an 8 qt pan combine the bananas, lemon juice and Fruit Fresh. Stir in the sugars, butter and cinnamon. Over med-low heat, stirring constantly, heat the mixture until the sugars are completely dissolved. Increase the heat to med-high and bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the entire contents of the pectin pouch. Return the mixture to a full rolling boil and boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Remove pan from the heat. Skim off any foam. Stir in the rum extract. To prevent the jam from separating in the jars, allow the jam to cool 5 minutes before filling the jars. Gently stir the jam every minute, or so, to distribute the fruit. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter and place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 7 half pint jars.

This jam is beautiful and oh-so-yummy-licious! The cinnamon really adds a richness that it was missing before and it tastes just like the dessert I remember so fondly. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am. I don’t know if I will be gifting any of this one…there may not be any left when I am finished!

Stay tuned, I also made a Banana Nut Bread Butter from a recipe I found on the Sure Jell (the pectin) website. I will have it up at the end of the week. I made a yummy loaf of banana nut bread with my leftover ingredients and hope to have it posted to the other blog mid-week, or so. Yesterday I was inspired by a fellow blogger, Tigress, to modify my apple butter to include ground ancho chilis and boy did she hit the nail on the head! I can’t wait to serve this on over a slow roasted pork roast. It was a huge hit with my honey, who has been requesting a spicy or savory type jam. Lots to write about so keep checking back, on both blogs!

I have also created a store over at Amazon. I have recommendations for some great canning books (I have a great friend that co-wrote one of them, check it out) and also some canning supplies. The link to the store is over on the right side of this blog. The holiday’s are coming up…these are some great gift ideas for new or seasoned canners alike. Many of my recipes are in these books or are based on recipes in them.

Till next time, Be Blessed and Be Sweet!
　
　

Forbidden Banana Rum Jam

Hi-Ho Jammers, glad to see you back! It’s almost the weekend and I am sooo ready. I have a very stuffy nose and head and am dreading taking the awful cold medicine, blah. Good thing we bought a case of tissues at BJ’s. We are hosting a little private dinner party on Saturday night and I have shopping, cleaning and cooking to do…no time for side effects of meds. It is an Italian themed meal with bread and dipping oil (I am making the seasoning herbs myself) and an Italian crisp salad followed by two types of pasta dishes and I am going to make my first ever Italian Love Cake for dessert. I have heard it's a yummy dessert…we will see.

I have created a fan page on Facebook. The link is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jammin-From-The-Hearth/110986352295641 . You can visit this page and hit the “Like” button and this will be where I send out notices that the blog has been updated, for those of you that do not want to subscribe directly. I started getting friend requests for my personal Facebook page but that is reserved for friends and family only. Sorry, hope I didn’t offend anyone, but I thought a fan page would be the solution so everyone, known and unknown, can stay updated and share there.

So, I put-up a new jam on Monday and I know you have all been waiting to hear about it (yes, I did get emails asking for it to hurry up and be posted). Are you ready…drum roll, please…Banana-Rum Jam. Now, before I get to the recipe part I want to share in something I did a bit differently. The pot I use as my canner is really tall (it’s the pot that came with the turkey fryer) and my round cake rack sits perfectly in the bottom. The downside to that tall pot is that I basically have to stand on a chair to lift the jars in and out while it sits on the stove…I know, I know, it’s dangerous. This time I thought I would try my large spaghetti pot that is part of my cookware set which is not nearly as tall but it’s almost as big around. Turns out my cake rack would not sit down inside of it though, so I remembered that I had read that you can tie some old jar rings together (I used bread ties to do it with) and use that as a rack.

　
It did sit in my pot nicely and when I put my empty jars into it to simmer I noticed that they did not sit perfectly flat on the rack. I adjusted to water level to make sure I could get 2 or 3 inches of water over the top and the pot was just tall enough. Well, I went ahead and made the jam and then I removed the hot jars from the water to fill them. Now, I was not using the science side of my brain (think water displacement here…actually water and vinegar displacement) and when I started to load the filled jars into the pot (I didn’t have to stand on a chair this time which was nice…not to mention much safer) the water rose to the top and by my 3^rd jar the water overflowed everywhere. So now here I stand with a pyrex measuring cup trying to remove some of the hot water, so I could continue adding the jars, and it turned into a messy nightmare, quick! By the time it was loaded I had to have the water level right at the top of the pot, to make sure there was enough to cover the jars properly BUT the jars would not sit upright. It took long wooden spoons in each hand trying to upright the jars and not burn myself too badly. Over half of them were cock-eyed but mostly upright to I put the lid on and cranked the stove to high. Remember, you have to bring it to a full boil before you start the processing time…well when it finally starting boiling, it was spitting and sputtering from under the lid and water was coming out all sides (vinegar water due to the white residue I mentioned in another post) and I ended up with the WHOLE stove top covered in hot water AND, as I was so mildly informed this morning, it had also leaked down into the stove top (under the burners) and was an inch or so deep in there! EEEKK! Anyway, I guess I will be wishing for that “real” canning pot with the nice lift out rack that I saw at Walmart the other day, as a Christmas present…it was under $20.

So on to the jam recipe. This one was requested by many and my first time of tasting a banana jam. Let me tell you, I LOVE it! It reminds me of one of my favorite all-time desserts, Bananas Foster. This would be great warmed over a good vanilla bean ice cream. I also thought about one of my favorite sandwiches from childhood…banana and peanut butter, which is the first thing I did with it. Oh my…it was delicious! Now, bananas are associated with fertility, potency and prosperity and are most often associated with a masculine energy as opposed to feminine energy. A good internet search will show that women in Hawaii were once forbidden to eat bananas, by law! Go figure. I am naming this one my Forbidden Banana Rum Jam.

Forbidden Banana Rum Jam

3 ¾ cups peeled and diced ripe bananas (about 9 medium)

6 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Fruit Fresh (or you can use antioxidant crystals or ascorbic acid crystals)

5 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter

1 3oz pouch liquid pectin

1 ½ teaspoons rum extract

Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. In an 8 qt pan combine the bananas, lemon juice and Fruit Fresh. Stir in the sugar and butter. Over med-low heat, stirring constantly, heat the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved. Increase the heat to med-high and bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the entire contents of the pectin pouch, Return the mixture to a full rolling boil and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

Remove pan from the heat. Skim off any foam. Stir in the rum extract. To prevent the jam from separating in the jars, allow the jam to cool 5 minutes before filling the jars. Gently stir the jam every minute, or so, to distribute the fruit. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter and place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 7 half pint jars.

I love this jam! The texture is nice and it is perfectly sweetened. I won’t change a thing next time. I would like to maybe try one variation to it just for some variety and substitute some brown sugar for some of the granulated sugar (I will research how to do this) for a true New Orleans flavor reminiscent of one of my favorite restaurants there, Antoine’s.

Ok…I am headed to dig out the vapor rub. Mabert would always smear some on our chests (actually she would then cover that with a warm washcloth tied around our necks) and a dabble under the nose to help clear the stuffiness. I’m also gonna brew a cup of hot tea with honey.

Make sure to vote in the poll, to the right at the top, for which jam I should make next week. I am going to do another basic peach (they are on sale this week) but I want to do something else too…what shall it be? You decide!

Till then...Be Blessed and Be Sweet!