Greedy Girl : Easy pineapple lime Jam

Brunch knows best

Jams are so amazingly versatile, you might think they are only meant for crackers and bread. But they can really add a delicious element to so many dishes. I’ve put jam on a pizza (which I’ll post a recipe of later) I’ve used jams in BBQ sauces and its my go to ingredient for sweet and sour sauce. All around its something I use often, so it makes sense that I would have a scratch made pineapple jam recipe.

As I said before, I am constantly using Jams, jellies, preserves and marmalade's in my daily cooking. Most of the products I use are sore bought. I adore guava jam, pepper jellies, pineapple preserves, the works. I have always thought about making my own jam, but never really got the chance to explore it. Why? Because I love fresh fruits. If I have some strawberries in my home, or blueberries, or guava, it is highly unlikely that I’m going to take them to make a jam. I would be too busy having them fresh for breakfast. So how is it you might be wondering that I sacrificed fresh pineapples to make jam?

Back in May of 2017 I had a very large pineapple, sliced it up and had it in the refrigerator. After about a week it still wasn’t finished but I didn’t want it to go to waste, I figure I could use them in smoothies. I bagged it, labeled it, and into the freezer it went. No surprise here, the smoothie was never made, and the bag of pineapples got lost under a whole lot of other stuff. Last week while I was cleaning and organizing the freezer I found it and was about to throw it out, and I was like…what can I reuse these for the blog? Immediately the idea of doing a jam popped into mind.

I wasn’t sure if it would be successful using frozen fruit considering the extra water content, but I pressed on anyway. I washed off all the excess ice, chopped them up and blended them fine. I was really surprised to see how it changed while cooking. It had a considerable amount of liquid, then it started to reduce, and the colors started to deepen. The pineapple and lime make a beautiful pairing. It takes a bit of time to come to the consistency that I wanted, but all in all, it’s a very simple thing to make. I am sure this jam would make an excellent addition to any brunch…or any meal.

Ingredients (printable recipe)

2 ½ cups Frozen or fresh pineapples

1 cup Water

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white Sugar

1 tablespoon Lime zest

1 tablespoon Lime juice

1 pinch Salt

Instructions

Place the chopped pineapple into a food processor and pulse into small pieces
To a sauce pan add the pineapples, water sugar lime juice and salt
Bring to a slow simmer constantly stirring
Cook for about 35 minutes
The liquid will reduce, and the jam will thicken
Add the lime zest
Cook for another 25 minutes, if is seems like it is sticking to the pot lower the heat so it does not burn
I cooked my jam for an hour on medium low heat, alternating temps depending on how the jam was behaving
Place the hot jam in a hot sterilized jar with a sterilized cap
Place the cap on the jar tight and invert it for 8 to 10 minutes
Turn the jar upright and set aside for a few hours to completely cool
Serve with cheese, crackers and your favorite meats
Store in the refrigerator

Greedy Tips:

Please note that once it cools you should place it in the fridge. If you are an experienced canner and make preserves all the time, you should be able to properly can and cool so it vacuum seals and can be stored in a cupboard. My jar of jam was made for immediate use, so it was not vacuum sealed and therefore needs to be stored in a refrigerator.