Pineapple Jam Recipe
- Dria J
- Jan 13
- 5 min read
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Sooo my local grocery store had a crazy good deal on pineapples. And I do mean CRAZY GOOD. They were on sale for $.87 each! They are normally almost $3 so of course I had every intent on stockpiling pineapples. Alas, the grocery store powers that be crushed this dream by limiting to four pineapples per person. Admittedly, the average person isn’t buying four pineapples at a time but...average I am not. Luckily, my mom was with me so of course I had her buy four and I bought four. It was all fine and dandy until I got home and I was like, what on earth am I going to do with eight pineapples?
After an intense pondering session, I came up with three “taste-tastic” ways to prepare the pineapples.
If you’ve ever met me, you’ll know that my secret obsession is jam making. Give me some fruit, sugar, and a bit of pectin, and I’m a happy girl. So of course I had to make pineapple jam. It’s a jam that I've made before and it became an instant favorite of my mom. In fact, when she came to visit over the holidays, I noticed several of my pineapple jam jars went missing from my pantry, leaving me with only two. Naturally, a restock was in order. So in this post, I'll share with you my go-to pineapple jam recipe. Best of all, this recipe can be canned, frozen, or simply stored in the refrigerator.
Pineapple Jam Recipe Table of Contents
Why does pineapple make your tongue numb?
Ever eat a pineapple and get a weird, tingly or numbing sensation in your mouth? Pineapple contains a protein called Bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down proteins. Basically, it’s trying to "tenderize" your tongue, which may sound concerning but is totally harmless! This is why it's often used to tenderize meat. When you eat fresh pineapple, the bromelain starts breaking down the proteins in your mouth, including those on your tongue and the sensitive tissues around it. This process can cause a temporary tingling, burning, or numb sensation. Again, this effect is completely harmless and usually goes away rather quickly. Cooking or canning pineapple reduces bromelain activity, so these sensations are less likely to occur with processed pineapple.
Things to Note
Pineapple tends to be very stringy and fibrous. However, I prefer a smooth jam so I opted to run the fruit puree through a food mill. However, you can also use a mesh strainer for this step. This is an optional step but I highly recommend it.
I prefer to use Pomona’s Universal Pectin because it’s a low sugar pectin, meaning unlike traditional pectin, it requires little sugar to “jam up”. Additionally, alternative sweeteners can be used like honey. This includes sugar-free sweeteners like allulose, stevia, monk fruit etc.
After processing on the stove, the mixture will have a liquid-like consistency. This is normal and as it cools it will begin to set and “jam up”. This is why it’s important to follow the measurements and instructions specified on the recipe sheet included with the pectin.
If you will be canning your jam, please follow the canning instructions on the recipe sheet included with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. I’d also recommend reviewing the complete guide for home canning in accordance with USDA guidelines. It’s free!
About the Equipment
Food mill or mesh strainer- pineapple is very stringy and fibrous and I prefer a smooth jam so I always run it through a food mill.
Immersion Blender-for breaking up pineapple and blending prior to running through food mil. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a food processor or blender. I absolutely love my immersion blender, it’s a 5in1 and chops, beats, froths, mixes and blends!
Pot- My favorite pot for jam making is my enameled cast iron Dutch oven from Lodge.
Pineapple corer- this is completely optional but makes the process of peeling and cutting the pineapple so much faster and easier. The exact one I own from OXO has since been discontinued but this one comes highly rated.
If you will be canning your jam, you’ll also need:
A canner or any pot with a lid that is large enough to cover your jars with two inches of water without spilling over.
Canning tongs-for lifting your jars in and out of the pot.
Canning funnel-the opening of a canning funnel is much larger than that of a normal funnel to allow for easily transferring food into jars.
Canning rack or dish towel- this prevents the jars from coming in direct contact with the bottom of the pot while cooking and breaking. If you don't have a canning rack, you can simply fold a dish towel at the bottom of your pot, being sure to place the jars on top of it. If you opt to invest in a canning kit, all the items above are included. It's also usually a cheaper and more convenient option.
Canning jars with lids and rings. Lids should be unused.
If you are just starting out with canning, I’d recommend investing in a canning kit. It will include all the supplies needed to get started with water bath canning.
For thorough instructions on how to safely can food in accordance with USDA guidelines, refer to the free complete guide from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
About the Ingredients
Pineapple-You can opt to use fresh or frozen pineapple for this pineapple jam recipe.
Sugar-I used organic cane sugar but regular granulated sugar works perfectly fine. Additionally, the Pomona's Universal Pectin, allows you to use various types of sweeteners with the recipe.
Lemon Juice- for this recipe, the lemon juice is for flavor as opposed to acidify the pineapple to make safe for waterbath canning. You’ll find that a lot of canning recipes require you to use bottled lemon juice to ensure consistency in pH to properly acidify foods for waterbath canning (ph of 4.6 or lower). However, the average pH for pineapple ranges from 3.2-4.0 so it is naturally quite acidic. Additionally, fresh lemons have an average pH of 2-3 so using shouldn’t compromise the pH for the pineapple, This means that either bottled or fresh lemon juice can be used. If you're nervous about using fresh lemon juice to can, use bottled.
Pectin-My favorite pectin to use in jam making is Pomona's Universal Pectin. It’s a low sugar pectin which means you don’t need to add a ton of sugar for it to jam up. You can also use a broad range of sweeteners with it like honey, agave, maple syrup, etc. Additionally, if you are watching your sugar intake, you can even use sugar alternatives like stevia, allulose, etc.
Cinnamon (optional)- I love the addition of cinnamon in most of my jams. It’s one of my not so secret ingredients.
How long will the jam last?
If you are waterbath canning, if done properly in accordance with official USDA home canning guidelines, your jam will last for about 18 months, unopened on shelf.
If freezing, it will last 9-12 months.
If simply refrigerating, it will last 3-4 weeks.
Once you open a canned jar of jam or thaw a frozen batch of it, it should be consumed within 3-4 weeks. Both should be refrigerated upon opening.
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