WHB : Banana and Honey Jam
We know a place where no planes go
We know a place where no ships go
No cars go
Where we know
–No Cars Go, Arcade Fire
You know what they say, familiarity breeds contempt. Or better yet, I prefer to think of it as familiarity breeds better jokes. If you’ve gone out with (or been friends with) someone for long enough and you find yourself knowing exactly what they’re going to say before they say it, then it’s time to think up new ways of making them laugh. Like the time I went to take a bite of an ice-cream cone and completely missed my mouth, which set B off into laughter so hard he had to wipe away tears. (Admittedly, that’s probably just an example of very very bad coordination on my part!)
Then again, familiarity does have it’s merits. B is probably the only person I know who would instantly laugh if I said the words Business Socks, or Hiphopopotamus.
Me, I actually quite like routine. To indulge in the unfamiliar is to break away from those things you find so comforting and safe. Ergo, when you have a handful of potatoes, make creamy mash or if it’s a few sprigs of rosemary, pair it with garlic in a lamb roast. Following this automatic train of thought, when B brought home some overripe bananas, I instantly thought of making banana bread.
What stopped me was the fact that I had recently been making many loaves of said bread at work, and didn’t fancy repeating the task at home. So, I made banana jam. Not terribly groundbreaking. But a nice change from routine. If unlike me you’re not yet tired of making banana bread, you could always try this recipe.
(The banana plant, as I discovered during my web travels, is not actually a tree, but a giant herb. It’s fruit is high in fibre and potassium and is a good source of energy. This always reminds me of when I was once at a kids camp and we were each given a single banana and a bottle of water during a trekking trip. We were told that it was part of an exercise to teach us about how nutritious and energy-giving natural foods like bananas are. I don’t know why it has stuck in my head all these years, given it was one of the most boring parts of the camp, ever.)
Banana and Honey Jam :
(makes 400g; from Two’s Cooking by Jane and Jeremy Strode)
500g ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
250g honey
100g caster sugar
1 lime, juice and strained
Place all the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan. Warm gently over low heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat, bring to a simmer, and stir continuously with a flat-bottomed spoon until jam reaches 105’C on a sugar thermometer. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Pour into a clean container or a sterilised glass jar and refrigerate.
Banana and Honey Jam is my contribution for this week’s WHB, hosted by Margot of Coffee and Vanilla.
MyKitchenInHalfCups said,
April 28, 2008 @ 12:55 am
That looks so simple and soooo good! Have to try that.
Coffee and Vanilla said,
April 28, 2008 @ 6:10 pm
Delicious entry 🙂 Thank you, Margot
Mike said,
April 29, 2008 @ 9:14 am
This is my kind of jam–simple and sinfully delicious. I could see just eating the jam straight by the handful out of the fridge, lol. Not that I’ve ever done such a thing 😮
Aran said,
April 30, 2008 @ 1:42 am
Ohhhh yes!!!! Sounds great!!!
Cakespy said,
April 30, 2008 @ 4:28 am
Wow, we always listen to that album while playing scrabble! I don’t know why with scrabble, but whatevs. These sound like they’d go EQUALLY well with scrabble!!
xoxo
Kalyn said,
April 30, 2008 @ 12:14 pm
I had no idea that bananas were herbs. The jam sounds delicious, great post.
Y said,
April 30, 2008 @ 7:26 pm
Hmm, Mike, HMMMMMMM! ;P
Cakespy: Haven’t played Scrabble in ages and ages (the dust on the board is probably an inch thick by now!) but when we do, definitely no music allowed because music is a distraction and distractions lead me to picking up letters like Q and X from the bag, dammit!
Kalyn: Thanks! Me neither! Saw it mentioned quite a few times on various sites, so figured it must be true. Not that I could imagine growing this particular herb on my balcony 🙂
Ellie said,
May 4, 2008 @ 11:14 pm
Hah! My sister was just asking me whether banana jam was possible and I said I didn’t know…but now I do! Will have to try and pick up some extra bananas at the markets next weekend!
Tartelette said,
May 9, 2008 @ 4:22 am
Sounds and looks delicious! I am just done it loquat jam so now on the bananas! Thanks for the recipe!