A RUM JAM... WITH BANANAS IN (Preserves)

Member Name: theediscerning

Product:	Preserves
Date:	09/07/04 (165 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The nation's best-loved fruit in a jam

Disadvantages: But banana is a herb (or something) and not a fruit

Earlier this year theediscerning's mum was reading a book which happened to mention banana jam. It just mentioned what was in it ~ er, bananas, lime juice and a tot of rum ~ and from that she just experimented to make the thing, without knowing anything of the quantities involved and so on.

It seems she got it right first time, for the resulting product went down a storm. Here's the recipe like wot she wrote, for all of you. (All proceeds from this op will go back to her, so tell your friends... (and indeed tel your friends))

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Banana and Rum Jam.

3 bananas
3 limes
1 miniature rum
1 lb sugar
1 pt water

Placed sliced bananas in jam saucepan (nb= an old, large one will do), together with the juice of the limes, the rum and the water. Bring to the boil and cook until the bananas are mushy (aren't recipes scientific in terminology?!). Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Setting point is reached in approximately 20 minutes. Pot and cover.

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The end results of this was a jam high in liquidity, high in fruit ~ you just had to pour the stuff onto bread and scoff ~ and high in flavour. Use decent eating 'naners, and not those old manky black ones you might make a cake with. The rum flavour might be enhanced with a more generous splash of the stuff ~ and there was a small discussion about whether the rum settled in the jars.

The recipe as above gave about 2 pots, or 2 and a bit or something. It doesn't come over at all bad, and this from a person who would run a mile at a baked 'naner, as they're like apples, and best eaten au naturel. The limes don't seem to add much to the flavour, perhaps they're just there for balance and to make sure the bananas don't go all black and manky in the cooking. The rum adds a little touch of je ne sais quoi, and perhaps again act as a preservative.

However, the above recipe only
lasted a couple of weeks in the jar before turning on the top ~ so unless you're confident to get through the lot, or are making it for the local bake and take sale, then it's best stick to the quantities above and just have a little made each time.

That said it's a great, and quite cheap, jam to make, and when was the last time you saw banana jam in Aldi? Or even Waitrose for that matter? For the talking point alone it's worth an experiment.

Theediscerning's mum ~ we salute you.

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