Recipe: Chia Seed Strawberry Jam

A family friend dropped off four quarts of his organic strawberries yesterday. He gave them to me for free, but asked that I make a few jars of jam for him to share with his grandsons who are coming to visit in a few weeks. Seemed like a good deal to me.

This morning, Josie and I washed and hulled the berries. I scrounged through my cabinets and found one packet of pectin for freezer jam. We had enough berries for a batch of freezer jam, with a good 2-3 cups left over. I didn't want to run to the store for more pectin, and eating the berries plain would not be a problem, but while making breakfast for the girls, I remembered a recipe I read somewhere for jam made with chia seeds instead of pectin.

I dump chia seeds into our oatmeal, cookies, homemade granola bars, all kinds of things. They don't really have much of a flavor and gel-up when liquid is added. They're also very good for you (read here). The concept of chia vs. pectin sounded like it would work for me! So...here's what Josie and I came up with:

RECIPE: Chia Seed Strawberry Jam

Ingredients
2 cups of whole strawberries, cleaned and hulled
2 tablespoons of chia seeds
1–2 tablespoons of sweetener (maple syrup, stevia, sugar, honey)

Directions
Crush the berries. I threw them in the blender for 10 seconds – the girls prefer less chunky jam. Stir in the sweetener and chia seeds. I used a tablespoon of maple syrup, but depending on the sweetness of your berries, you may need more. Pour the jam into a clean jar and let the chia seeds soak up the liquid (45–60 minutes). Use within three weeks, or freeze for up to a year.

Notes: The chia seeds certainly add a little bit of texture to the jam, but I really think they blend in with the strawberry seeds nicely. Also, since this makes just one jar (and takes less than five minutes) it's easy to make on an as-needed basis.