Strawberry Banana Jam

Directions

1. Wash and rinse jars, lids, and screw bands. Set screw bands aside until ready to use. Place jars in boiling water bath canner with a rack, fill at least 2/3 of the way full with water, and bring to a boil. Boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize (add 1 additional minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level), then turn down heat and let jars stand in hot water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small pan, bring to a low simmer, and hold there until ready to use.
2. If you are using fresh strawberries, place them in a colander, rinse them well, then remove and discard stems. If you are using frozen strawberries, defrost the berries.
3. Place fresh or defrosted strawberries in a mixing bowl and mash well. A potato masher works well for this.
4. Measure out 2¾ cups of mashed strawberries. (If you have extra, simply use for something else.) Pour the measured amount of strawberries in a large saucepan, then set aside.
5. Peel the bananas and discard the peels. Place bananas in a mixing bowl and mash well. A fork works well for this.
6. Measure out 1¼ cups of mashed banana. (If you have extra, simply use for something else.) Pour the measured amount of bananas into the large saucepan with the strawberries. Add lemon juice and calcium water, then stir to combine.
7. In a separate bowl, combine the honey and pectin powder. Mix well and set aside.
8. Bring the strawberry-banana mixture up to rolling boil over high heat. Add honey-pectin mixture, then stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, still over the highest heat, to dissolve pectin. Return jam to a boil, then remove from heat.
9. Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with jam, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
10. Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, return the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
11. Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then remove jars from canner.
12. Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Then, confirm that jars have sealed. Remove screw bands from sealed jars, rinse off outside of jars if necessary, label jars, and store for later use.