"Papayas should never be refrigerated." -Alice Walters

  Papayas, once you slice them open there a beautiful brilliant orange with hints of pink near the rind. Their little dark seeds make them look so exotic, and they smell so warm and sweet. The sweet smell of papaya is noticeable even before you slice into one. And even with all these positive attributes I still can't convince myself to eat much of them raw, and never warm. But I had been given about 1/2 a dozen of them and just hated to let them go to waste sitting in my kitchen.
  So after some thinking and online browsing I decided on Papaya Jam! It seemed like a perfect idea, and I have yet to meet a jam I didn't like. And the recipe I used is so simple and calls for no pectin so it has a softer jam/fruit preserve feel to it, which I like.

Here is what I used:
 6 cups  mashed Papaya
 6 cups  Sugar 
 8 Tbsp. Butter
 4 Tbsp. Lemon Juice


Mix the sugar and mashed papaya together in a large sauce pan. Put over low heat and cook down until sticky. This part will take the longest. So set aside a couple hours and don't rush it. You'll want to stir it often so the sugar doesn't burn.

This is how it will look after being added to the sauce pan. Mostly just like smashed up papaya.

 

Then it will cook down and get nice and sticky. And turn to a richer orange color.

After it's been all cooked down add in the butter and lemon juice and stir for about a minute until it is all mixed together well.

I then carefully spooned the jam into 3 self sealing pint sized jars. It might not always come out exactly 3, it depends on just how much it's been cooked down. You can put it into smaller 1/2 pint jam jars, or really any size you'd like. But once you pop the seal to use the jam it wont stay good as long as the sealed jars. So since I don't go through jam super fast (except pineapple jam!) I like to use the smaller size. Once the jars are filled and lids are on, flip them upside down for an hour or two until they have sealed. The little hollow spot in the center of the lid should be down.

I tried some on toast before sealing my last jar and I must say I will now eat way more papaya! This jam is so delicious! And after reading more about Papaya and all the good things it does for the body. Well it makes me want to eat even more. :)

ENJOY!

And tell me what you think of your own jam turn out. Or what are some of your favorite jam recipes? I am always looking for more!