Pineapple Upside Down Cake Jam Recipe
I turned a favorite classic dessert into a perfectly spreadable jam. This pineapple upside-down cake jam has a WOW factor you can’t get in any other jam. A fantastic pineapple jam base with sweet and warm tones that come from the brown sugar. Later, stirring in the chopped maraschino cherries and almond extract gives this jam the last punch that makes it an upside-down cake.
I have preserved a few great recipes with fresh pineapples. As mentioned above, you have your basic pineapple jam. Then there is an adult version of pineapple jam made with coconut rum in my Pina Colada Jam. This homestead has also made a tart filling made with fresh pineapples. The Tropical Pineapple Pie Filling recipe is dynamite and great for making small tarts.
Safely changing this recipe.
My pineapple upside-down cake jam hasn’t changed too much from the original tested pineapple jam recipe. The ingredients changed do not adjust the acidity, making this recipe safe to home can.
The sugar that makes jam safe to can is still at the same amount as the original recipe. I divided the brown sugar in half. In addition, the maraschino cherries came to me from another tested recipe, Ambrosia Conserve, made from Ball’s Blue Book Guide to Preserving. Finally, adding any 1/2 tsp of the extract is always safe for any recipe.
Canning Equipment
Are you new to canning? Or do you just need more materials? You can get everything you need to make this Pineapple Upside Down Cake Jam all right here and through Amazon.
- 9-piece Granite Ware Enamel-on-Steel Canning Kit
- Ball Half Pint Regular Mouth Mason Jars w/Cap
- Hoosier Hill Fruit Pectin, 2 lb bag
Similar recipes to try and can
Cost of this recipe.
Pineapples can be pretty expensive to purchase at full price. Near us, it is not uncommon for one pineapple to cost between $4-5. So if you make this jam at full price, then it will cost you about $13.71 for eight half-pint jars. Yikes! That is not cheap. Fortunately, I stock up on pineapples when they are not on sale, which is in January and February. I can buy them for $0.99 per pineapple. At this price, my jam cost us around $7.71 for eight half-pints or about $0.96 per half-pint.
Recipe adapted
This canning recipe was changed from Pineapple Jam from Ball’s Blue Book Guide to Preserving. All images and text are all my own and original to the Vintage Mountain Homestead blog. Please refer to our home food preservation disclaimer.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake Jam
Ingredients
- 2 quarts pineapples crushed (about 2 whole)…[$8.00]
- 2½ cups white granulated sugar …[$0.73]
- 2½ cups brown sugar …[$1.18]
- 1 lemon pulp and juice thinly sliced…[$0.50]
- 2 cup water …[$0]
- 1 jar (16oz) maraschino cherries chopped and rinsed…[$3.01]
- 1 tsp. almond extract …[$0.29]
Instructions
- Prepare all water bath canning equipment, including mason jars, lids, and rings.
- Combine all ingredients in a large saucepot except cherries and almond extract and bring slowly to a boil, stirring often until sugar dissolves.
- Cook rapidly to gelling point and stir often as mixture thickens.
- Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary. Fold in chopped cherries and almond extract until evenly distributed.
- Ladle hot jam into hot canning jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace.
- Add lid and rings finger tight and process for 15 minutes in rolling boil water bath canner. Let jam sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake Jam
Cooking Methods
- Water Bath Canner
- Mason Jars, Lids, and Rings
Ingredients
- 2 quarts pineapples, crushed (about 2 whole)…[$8.00]
- 2½ cups white granulated sugar, …[$0.73]
- 2½ cups brown sugar, …[$1.18]
- 1 lemon pulp and juice, thinly sliced…[$0.50]
- 2 cup water, …[$0]
- 1 jar (16oz) maraschino cherries, chopped and rinsed…[$3.01]
- 1 tsp. almond extract, …[$0.29]
Instructions
- Prepare all water bath canning equipment including mason jars, lids, and rings.
- Combine all ingredients in a large saucepot except cherries and almond extract and bring slowly to a boil, stirring often until sugar dissolves.
- Cook rapidly to gelling point and stir often as mixture thickens.
- Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary. Fold in chopped cherries and almond extract until evenly distributed.
- Ladle hot jam into hot canning jars leaving ¼ inch headspace.
- Add lid and rings finger tight and process for 15 minutes in rolling boil water bath canner. Let jam sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
Tastes delicious, but very runny. I reheated and added pectin, still runny. I am going to try without the water and add pectin to see what happens – any advice? Thanks. We are using all 30 jars as ice cream topping instead of jam…lol
I didn’t use this recipe but also made pineapple jam and jelly. I added pectin and it was runny. I recooked with a different kind of pectin and it also came out runny. Maybe it is just a pineapple thing.
Hi! I just made your pineapple upside down jam and I was reading reviews on other sites. Some people were commenting that the fresh lemons were unsafe because the pH might be off. But then I found a site that shows how to can fresh lemon juice. Ahhh, lol! I’m still new to canning. I’m a little nervous about it’s shelf stability, should I keep them in the fridge or am I over reacting? Thank you! 😀