Banana Butter... Who Knew?

About a month ago, my dad gave me a book called "Preserving the Fruits of the Earth".  He got it from his grandma (my great-grandma).  The Sub-Title is "How to "Put Up" almost every food grown in the United States in almost every way".  It's not kidding.  Its hard to believe only 230+ pages could contain all that info, but it figures it out.  There are multiple preserving methods and recipes for every american plant, fish and animal you can think of.  Some of its more exotic entries are Buffalo Berry Jelly, Pickled Eel, Candied Kumquats and how to clean and can snapping turtle meat.

Amongst all that craziness, I uncovered a recipe for banana butter.  I've never heard of such a thing, but it sounded wonderful AND bananas are cheap.



3 c. Banana Puree (about 9 or 10 bananas)
2 tbsp. Lemon Juice
6 1/2 c. Sugar
1 Bottle/Packet Liquid Pectin (I used certo and it came out great, but then I'm a fan of sure-jell products)

Makes 8 8oz (half-pint) jars or 4 pints if you never seem to have small jars, like me

Put the banana puree, lemon juice and sugar in a pot and bring to a full boil (this takes a while cuz its so dense).  Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in pectin.  Pack into sterilized jars with 1/4 in headspace and process for 10 minutes.

It's much yum! and very banana-ey.