Just because it's published (or even popular!) doesn't mean it's tested. Sorry, I don't know of any tested and approved banana recipes (we did discuss Banana Ketchup in a recent thread, but that recipe was from a cookbook and I don't think it was tested so I'd keep that in the fridge).

Even the Ball Blue Books (or Kerr, or Bernadin) books dated before 2004 (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) have to be used with caution - the USDA Guide to Home Canning (?) was updated in 2009 but they were pretty minor updates.

Search on "canning books" and you'll find numerous discussions on the ones most of us rely on, and on some of the more questionable "coffee table books" that were written by cooks, not food scientists or MFPs.

Yikes, how can someone publish a book with recipes that could possibly not be safe? Is that legal? Is there a way to know what books have been tested and approved? And a few years from now, will the recipes we are currently canning, be considered not safe? Wow, these are disheartening thoughts.

Anybody can publish anything they want if they can find a publisher to print it.

Look for threads on recommended books - though they will change, start with the Ball Blue Book/Ball Complete (2006 but still considered good), USDA Guide (can download), NCHFP website and So Easy to Preserve to start with. Linda Ziedrich's The Joy of Pickling and The Joy of Jams, Jellies and Sweet Preserves are considered safe (she did have pickling recipes reviewed by food scientist). Ellie Topp's Small Batch Preserving is good - she's a food scientist. There are a few others.

And yes, maybe in 10-20 years they'll find that we need to increase the acid or the processing times, or something. Bacteria, molds, etc. mutate (there was a new strain of botulism discovered recently), the acidity of fruits and veggies changes with new hybrids (or new-to-us things like Asian pears come to this country), so canning procedures need to be reviewed and changed (like acidifying tomatoes now) or dropped (like canning summer squash, except pickled).

Don't be discouraged - just try to stay informed. NCHFP is the best site for that, people will also bring things up on this forum.

Thank you. I do regularly check those websites and also have most of those books....but sadly, there are very few using honey instead of sugar. I've been happy using Pomona's or Ball Low Sugar Pectin to make wonderful preserves with just pectin, fruit and honey, but I would love to have some actual recipes for something with more complex flavors. Lots of recipes like that around, but it's all sugar, sugar, sugar. :(

The problem isn't the honey (well, not all of it, it does add some liquid and changes the set a little, make it softer), it's the bananas. You need to use a high-acid fruit.

What sorts of things are you looking for? If you find a recipe using sugar and regular pectin, maybe someone here can help you convert it. I think Carol (readinglady) commented on using honey in preserves once - try a search on readinglady and honey.

Or post another recipe from that book, I'm sure it will be safe using another fruit, though whether the taste and set are to your linking is unknown.

This post was edited by ajsmama on Wed, Sep 10, 14 at 23:51

Sure jell has a recipe for strawberry banana jam.

SURE.JELL Strawberry Banana Jam

4-3/4
cups prepared fruit (about 2 quarts fully ripe strawberries and 3 fully ripe medium bananas)
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 box SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin
1/2
tsp. butter or margarine (optional)
6-3/4
cups sugar, measured into separate bowl (See tip below.)
Make It

BRING boiling-water canner, half-full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot, soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.

STEM and crush strawberries thoroughly, one layer at a time. Measure exactly 3-1/4 cups prepared strawberries into 6- or 8-quart saucepot. Mash bananas thoroughly. Measure exactly 1-1/2 cups prepared bananas into strawberries in saucepot. Stir in lemon juice.

STIR pectin into fruit in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly.

STIR in all sugar quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

LADLE quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches; add boiling water if needed. Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)
Kraft Kitchens Tips
Altitude Chart
At altitudes above 1,000 feet, increase processing time as indicated. 1,001 to 3,000 feet: Increase processing time by 5 minutes. 3,001 to 6,000 feet: Increase processing time by 10 minutes. 6,001 to 8,000 feet: Increase processing time by 15 minutes.
Jam or Jelly Didn't Set?
Every once in a while, you may find that your jam does not set the way you expected. If your efforts resulted in a runny batch, try our Remake Directions to improve your finished jam. If your jam still doesn't set, you can always use it as a glaze or syrup.

I generally do mostly low sugar jams using Pomona's and find it easy and fun to experiment with. You may find the link below interesting to read. I generally use liqueurs and/or herbs to add depth to the lower sugar jams and have had good success with them and the flavors. Liqueurs can be spendy, but we play with them in other ways too, or you can just get the bitty bottles until you find something you really like.

The Pomona's cookbook has a basil mint plum jam that is wonderful! I'm sure it could easily convert to honey.

Here is a link that might be useful: Posting referring to jam safety

I just finished looking through the cookbook "Jam On" by Laena McCarthy. It is interesting--different combinations and mostly low or no sugar recipes (with or without Pomona's). I would think subbing honey in would be easy enough. I have from library right now, but am considering purchasing. Disclaimer--no plain recipes. Nearly all use some form of alcohol and/or herbs/spices. Lots of random too--not all common things, but such as grains of paradise, icewine, etc. But, looks very interesting and fun for the types of jams I like to play with, and lists of possible substitutions. Artisanal definitely, but didn't read as snobbish to me as say, the Blue Chair Jam book.

Haven't seen any reviews of this one on the forum yet. As far as "approved", it doesn't list any testing, nor does she have specific food credentials, other than running an artisanal shop in NYC. That said, I didn't see anything that concerned me since it's acidic jams, and she mentions food safety in her intro and seems knowledgeable about the dos and donts.

Jamlady (Beverly Alfeld) provides a formula for Banana Jam that calls for 3 1/2 lbs. bananas (peeled weight) to 3 cups sugar and 1 1/2 cups lemon juice. Spices can be added.

Linda Ziedrich has a banana jam that uses 2 pounds peeled just-ripe bananas (hence, lower pH) to 1/2 cup lime juice, zest of 2 limes and 2 1/2 cups sugar.

Neither of these formulas calls for commercial pectin.

Honey in preserves presents several challenges. First, honey does not form a pectin bond with the fruit as sugar does. Second, the water content of honey necessitates longer cooking.

The rule-of-thumb for honey is that in a pectin-containing jam up to 2 cups of honey can be substituted for 2 cups of sugar. In a recipe without commercial pectin up to 1/2 of the sugar can be subbed with honey.

Pomona Pectin does not require sugar of any sort and honey could be used freely in those recipes.

In many jams honey can mask the fruit flavor and darken the preserve. Using the lightest-flavored and palest honeys will reduce these problems.

Carol

Thanks Carol, that's very interesting. I will definitely have to take a look at those recipes. It seems that the Linda Ziedrich recipe has less added acidity than the original honey recipe I found, so perhaps that recipe isn't so far off. I don't mind the darkening from honey and I most often use less than what I am able too. Most of the "jams" I do are just fruit, honey and Ball low sugar pectin. I mix them in yoghurt for the baby, spread on toast, water down and use as syrup. So hard to find recipes with honey and absolutely no sugar but I keep looking. I'm afraid to make substitutions unless it is specifically allowed by the recipe.