Inspired by an Asheville (NC) restaurant, Biscuit Head, this bananas foster jam is THE BEST thing to put on biscuits, toast, ice cream, or for eating with a spoon! With cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, this jam is reminiscent of the traditional bananas foster dessert!
Call me obsessed. There is this breakfast restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina called Biscuit Head that I just can’t get enough of. Granted, we don’t get to visit very often, but when we do, I always have to go there for breakfast.
I was warned – always arrive before the doors open or else you’ll be waiting in line for a long, long time. I told my husband about this piece of advice the first time we visited and he didn’t take me seriously. We ended up waiting about 15 minutes before we got in the door. The next time, he knew better and we were first in line. By the time we were done, the line had snaked out the door.
Anyway, Biscuit Head has this epic jam bar filled with homemade jams, flavored butters and infused honeys. My absolute favorite, which I bought a jar of on our last visit, was their bananas foster jam. I’m normally not a bananas foster type of girl, but this jam was out of this world. The spices reminded me of apple pie, and the jam was so soft and not banana-like at all. I wanted to spread this jam on everything.
Since my jar of bananas foster jam was running low (translation: it was around half done), I thought I’d try my hand at making my own version. I saw the ingredient list and it didn’t look too bad. They used brown sugar and rum in theirs, while mine does not. But, flavor-wise, it’s pretty similar. I caramelized some sugar and added bananas to it. Then I added all the spices and waited for the bananas to break down. Finally, I added a splash of vanilla and was done.
The jam took about 40 minutes start to finish, but my electric stovetop is not the best. You can probably make this in a lot less time than I did since my appliance is in need of replacing. Spread this jam on everything because is really is that good. You might want to make a double batch because it’s going to get eaten really quickly!
Bananas foster jam
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 ripe* bananas sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* Bananas should be spotted/freckled but not super mushy. If your bananas are mostly black on the outside, freeze these for banana bread or banana muffins. They won't work in this recipe.
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt the sugar and water together on medium-high heat without swirling. Allow the sugar water mixture to turn golden in color, about 10 minutes (if you are using an electric stove like mine it may take longer... mine took closer to 25 minutes!).
- Once the sugar has caramelized, take the pan off the stove and add in the bananas. Using a spatula, mash the bananas down so they are covered in the caramel. Return the saucepan to the stove and continue heating. Add in the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Continue stirring until the bananas start to break down and turn translucent.
- Finally, add the vanilla and stir well. The jam should be thick and appear spreadable. Turn the stove off and pour the jam into a container with a lid. Allow it to cool before transferring to the refrigerator to chill completely.