Chia Jam
The more I dive into homesteading and creating more and more from scratch I am constantly reminded how truly easy these things are to make at home. There was absolutely a reason our grandmothers and great grandmothers did this all at home and didn’t have to buy more than the staple ingredients from the store or local farms each week. It’s because there is truly no need to be purchasing this from the store when it takes less than 30 minutes to make yourself (and it tastes better!)
I had a couple containers of fruit left from last week that were on their way out and I wanted to try a new way to utilize it. Why not jam? I thought. I looked at a whole bunch of recipes and mixed a few together and came up with one that is beyond easy and very delicious.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons chia seeds
3 tablespoons natural sweetener raw honey, maple syrup, or Agave
1-3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice freshly squeezed
1 lb strawberries fresh or frozen and thawed (raspberries, blueberries, rhubarb, or blackberries all work well too)
Instructions
In a pan stir together natural sweetener and lemon juice.
Wash and hull your fresh strawberries or let your frozen berries thaw.
Place fruit, sweetener, and citrus juice in a pan and simmer over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until fruit is soft.
Stir in chia seeds
Transfer into a blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached. I like mine slightly chunky still but you can also blend until smooth.
Fill in a jar and refrigerate until jam thickens (about 30 mins.)
I made two different kinds this round. Blu-barb and Strawberry Rhubarb. They are both amazing. This is also such an easy and thoughtful gift that you could make a huge batch of!
