Ball Automatic Jam and Jelly Maker Pina Colada Jam
Disclosure: I received a Ball Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker along with some other canning supplies to help me write this review.
Pina Colada Jam tastes like a tropical heaven.
Have you tried the Ball Jam and Jelly Maker yet? It is perfect for easy small batch jam and jelly making. If you already have the Ball Jam and Jelly Maker and are looking for Ball Jam and Jelly Maker recipes I have added a few at the bottom of this post.
Review of the Ball Automatic Jam and Jelly Maker
I know it is the dead of winter where you live. It's freezing cold outside and the last thing you have on your mind is making jam or jelly. Jam or jelly making is for the summer months right?
So why am I posting a Jam recipe this time of year. Or maybe your not wondering why at all. Maybe you're like me and you make jam in the winter. Or all year long whenever the urge strike.
Well there are a couple of reasons why I am posting this very tropical jam recipe at the end of December.
One being that I was suppose to post a review of the new Ball Canning Jam & Jelly Maker back in October after a giveaway I hosted ended.
But life got in the way and then the holidays were upon us. Then I moved at the beginning of December.
Never move in month of December if you can avoid it!
A few weeks ago I noticed on the Fresh Preserving website that there were some new recipes just for the new Ball Automatic Jam and Jelly Maker (affiliate link).
Back in October when I was running that giveaway the way to get an entry in to win a Ball canning prize pack was to leave a comment telling what flavor recipes you would like to see created for the new Ball Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker. Ball wanted to see what flavors or flavor combo's people were interested in for the new canning maker.
Ball took all of the suggestions from my readers and from other bloggers readers to come up with a new batch of recipes for the jam maker. So when I saw the recipes I immediately looked through them all. There were a couple that I knew I would be making asap but the Pina Colada Jam jumped off the page at me and I knew that this was the recipe I would be making to test out the Jam & Jelly Maker.
I am very happy I picked that one because it turned out lovely.
I will not be covering the safety measures of making jam or jelly today.
You will still need to prepare your jars, lids and have a way to process the jam or jelly in a hot water bath when using the Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker.
Today I will just be writing about my experience using the jam & jelly maker.
As I mentioned I picked the Pina Colada Jam for my recipe.
Ingredients for Pina Colada Jam
I measured out all the ingredients except for the pectin.
First you add the pectin
Then sprinkled the pectin in the bottom of the jam maker.
I added the pineapple, coconut water and butter to the jam & jelly maker
Next I added the pineapple, coconut water and butter to the jam maker.
Next turn the jam maker on.
After adding all of the ingredients in the order specified I turned the Ball Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker on. The stirrer begins to turn, scraping and mixing the ingredients.
Gradually adding sugar
After four minutes the jam maker beeps and you add the sugar slowly, sprinkling it over the top of the rest of the ingredients. Once all the sugar was added I then sprinkled the coarsely chopped coconut flakes on top of the sugar.
Starting to heat up. We be Jamming.
Almost immediately the ingredients start to bubble and heat up. Once you finished adding all the sugar the instructions say to immediately put the lid on the jam maker.
Warning!
For demonstration purposes I did not put the lid on so I could take these pictures. Please follow all instructions and safety precautions when using the jam maker. It gets very hot very fast.
Put the lid on the jam maker!
If you look closely at the timer on the jam maker you see that there is 15 minutes left to go. During this time I took my canning jars out of the hot water and set them next to the jam maker on a dish towel.
Everything was ready to go when the timer went off.
The jam is done and I begin filling my jars.
From start to finish it took 25 minutes to make a batch of jam.
Ball Pina Colada Jam
My thoughts on the Ball Automatic Jam & Jelly Make
When using the jam maker there is a big difference in the amount of jam or jelly you will can or put up. The amount of ingredients you are using is much smaller them a standard batch of jam made the regular way. In comparing the recipes available for the jam maker all recipes will yield either 2 or 4 half pints of jam or jelly. This is perfect for someone who does not want to make a large amount of jam or jelly.
If your canning goals are to put up a huge amount of jam or jelly this jam maker is probably not for you.
But if you are like me and you like to make flavors that not everyone in your family will be interested in eating then this will not be an issue. Or you do not have accesses to large amounts of fruit or vegetables at at cheap price.
There are some benefits of making small batch jam.
- Less ingredients are needed to make a batch
- Smaller batches mean less jam to store
- Less waste when experimenting with flavors
There are some limitations to using this appliance but I think they out weight the benefits.
- There are only 23 recipes available for the Jam Maker. I am sure Ball will be adding more soon. As I mentioned earlier they just added a bunch of new ones and I am sure before Spring rolls around they will probably be adding more.
- Smaller batches are yielded But if you are canning for yourself or a small family 4 - ½ pints of jelly from each batch is plenty. And if not then you can make a second batch using the jam maker.
- Most of the recipes available are for jams or jellies. There are a few for Pizza Sauce and Salsa.
Since I am the adventurous type I will probably create a few recipes of my own.
To wrap it up
Pina Colada Jam made in the Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker
I loved the ease of using the Ball Jam and Jelly Maker. The process went by so quickly from making a batch of jam to filling the jars and processing in a hot water bath that I made a second recipe. I'll save that recipe for another post. But I can tell you it is so good that I have eaten almost a jar already as a yogurt and cheese cake topping.
I will be making another batch or two of this recipe for sure!
Pina Colada Jam
Equipment
- half pint canning jars
Ingredients
- 3-½ cups crushed fresh pineapple or use canned like I did
- ½ cup coconut water
- 4-½ tablespoon Ball® brand RealFruit™ Classic Pectin
- ½ teaspoon butter or margarine optional
- 5 cups granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup shredded coconut coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Prepare your jars
- Peel and core pineapple or used canned. Coarsely chop and then crush with a potato masher. Measure required quantity of crushed pineapple and remaining ingredients for your recipe; set aside.
- Combine the crushed pineapple and coconut water in an 8-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in Pectin. Add butter, if using. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly.
- Add chopped coconut and the sugar, stirring constantly to dissolve. Bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam, if necessary, from top of jam.
Recipe Expert Tips
- This jam recipe comes from the Ball website and uses the Ball Automatic Jam and Jelly Maker Pina Colada Jam
Brenda Bates
Good morning - I noticed you water bath this recipe, but the Ball Website doesn't list this as a method for preserving. Would you know why not? I'd prefer to water bath but want to make sure it's a safe method for this. Thanks much!
Arlene Mobley
Hi Brenda
I just looked at the Ball website and all of the instructions for this Pina Colada Jam recipe includes instructions to hot water bath preserve it. I can guarantee you that you will never find a jam or jelly recipe on the Ball website that does not include directions to water bath can it unless it is a refrigerator jam or jelly recipe. The old method of canning jam or jelly is not safe. Please follow proper canning methods for safety.
Rebecca Bickerstaff
Arlene, I have the ingredients to make. I notice a larger quantity of ingredients than in booklet, and directions indicate cooking on stove. Did you make in the jam maker with this quantity or did you adjust?
Arlene Mobley
Rebecca
The recipe I used came from the booklet that came with the jam maker at the time I received it back in 2013. I am going to guess and say that Ball updated the recipe on their website and adjusted the ingredient amounts. I would follow the current recipe on the Ball website. I'm not sure why they would have changed it. The jam turned out very good.
Rebecca Bickerstaff
Thank you for answering!
With your listed ingredients, you achieved 6 half pints?
BTW, photo directions indicate jam maker; printed directions indicate saucepan.
sharon
i would like to know if you drain your canned pineapple or just add whole can with juice
Arlene Mobley
Sharon
You do not drain the pineapple.
Roch
Great device. I made a batch of the pepper jelly from the booklet. It was good but a bit sweet and had absolutely no heat. I grow several peppers including habanero, jalapeno, and ghost peppers but am unsure what amount to use in the recipe. Want some heat, but not too hot. Any ideas that might help be avoid making several batches of inedible jelly would be appreciated.
Arlene Mobley
Roch
The heat is in the seeds and membrane of peppers as I am sure you know. So if you want to turn up the heat factor and still follow the recipe exactly leave some of the seeds and membrane in the jalapenos before you chop them. P.S wear gloves when you are working with the jalapeno peppers. They can really burn your skin.
Jackie
Our 10 year old grandson is coming over for the weekend, and we are making this jam and 2 different types of bread. Should be an interesting weekend.
Arlene Mobley
Jackie
That is wonderful. I know he will love the jam and it is great that you are passing on your love of canning to your grandson.
Becky
Do you have a recipe I can use in the jam and jelly maker for Zucchini jam or jelly?
Arlene Mobley
Hi Becky
No I don't. I've never made a zucchini jam and it sounds very interesting. I may have to try to find a recipe myself and try it. Have you checked the Ball site? freshpreserving.com?
Becky
I did check the Ball site, and I have been Googling almost every day to find one! Hopefully I will find one soon but thanks for the reply 🙂
Arlene Mobley
Becky I think the problem is that zucchini is low acid and not safe for unrefrigerated long storage. I searched google and found a few recipes (not for the jam & jelly maker) for zucchini jam that include pineapple. The pineapple will bring up the acid level but I also found a few sites saying that zucchini jam would need to be refrigerated or frozen to keep it safe. Please be safe and use only safe high acid jam & jelly recipes.
Becky
Okay thanks so much for that information, Arlene! I have a few other questions if you don't mind... I tried to make plain rhubarb jam (no strawberry) jam and it did not set up. Too much acid? And you said I should use high acid fruits only for jam? And also, is there a way to make sugar-free jam, or just low sugar? I have a diabetic friend that I would like to make some for but she can't have sugar. Thanks in advance!
Arlene Mobley
Becky I have never made a Rhubarb jam but I know with some jams, jellies and marmalades they can take weeks to set up completely. Have you put a jar in the refrigerator to see if chilling it would thicken it? If it is warm it might be runny but once chilled it may thicken up.
As long as you get your recipes from a reliable source they will be safe. This is why lemon juice is added to most jam and jelly recipes or for a salsa or pickles vinegar is used to bring up the acid level to make those foods safe for the hot water bath canning.
P.S Next month I will be hosting some fun Ball canning giveaways so be sure to sign up for my email updates.
Elsa L
Did you use fresh or canned pineapple?
Arlene Mobley
Elsa
I used canned.
Jenny@CT Limousine
MMmm, thanks for this jam recipe. I just got back from Cabo and I am craving pina colada taste (as I drank those by the pool side). It looks pretty easy to make and I am going to try it. I love jams on bread, fruit or scones with a coffee in the morning or even for a snack. Thanks again for the recipe!
Roberta Taylor
I'm looking for the actual recipe that goes with the pina colada jam. I'm new to this site, but I
am not able to find it. If someone could help me I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Flour On My Face
Hi Roberta
Here is the direct link to the Pina Colda Jam from Ball https://www.freshpreserving.com/recipe.aspx?r=348
Dara
I LOVE this! So tasty. I adore making jam but it gets so hot in the summer. Winter jam is a great idea.
Melissa
OMG thanks so much for sharing the great info and recipe. I cannot wait to make this jam.
Happy New YEar..