Monkey Jam

Some of you have been asking for the recipe for making Monkey Butter.  What is  Monkey Butter?  (besides yummy?)  It is a spread made with banana's. Yep, banana's! The first time I had ever heard of canning bananas was from Jen over at The Double Nickle Farm.   I just love banana's so I was instantly intrigued. After doing some research I found that there was very little information on canning banana's. The most popular and most referred to recipe I could find was Kris Watson's article  but there are others floating out there as well. 

Once in awhile I find banana's marked down for quick sale. Ripe banana's that need to be eaten quickly or frozen for later use in making banana bread or muffins.  So after finding one heck of a deal on them a few weeks ago I decided I was going to try canning banana's.  Here's the version I came up with. A SciFi version if you will! I decided I wanted a jam instead of a butter this time.

Monkey Jam
Makes: about 8 (1-cup) jars.

4 cups prepared fruit (about 11 fully ripe medium bananas)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cans crushed pineapple
1 box powdered fruit pectin
1/2 tsp. butter or margarine (optional)
6 cups sugar,  separate

Get your water bath canner going and sterilize your jars. Warm your lids in a small pot.

Mash the banana's and measure 4 cups into a big pan. Stir in the lemon juice and the crushed pineapple into the fruit. Add the pectin. Then add the butter to reduce foaming if you want.

  Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil (one that won't stir down) on high heat. Stir constantly. Stir in all the sugar at once. Bring the mixture back to aa full rolling boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Spoon into your jars, and fill  to within 1/4 inch of tops. Use a knife and pop any air bubbles.  Wipe the jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw the bands finger tight. Place the jars on a rack in canner.  Process 15 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. If a jar doesn't seal be sure to put it in the fridge and use within 3 months. (I doubt if it lasts nearly that long)


I tried three different recipes and have to say they were all good.  The main difference I ran across was the amount of banana's used in the recipes.  All except one called for about 4 cups of banana's.  Only one called for pectin.They all came out really good but I think the one that worked best for me was the one I shared with you here.  I had a hard time with the ones with no pectin actually setting up as well.  More of a loose spread than I was looking for but they sure don't lack for good flavor. I guess though that's why they call it Monkey Butter instead of Monkey Jam.  Duhhh.....me.