It’s that wonderful time of year, the strawberry patch is bursting with aroma and sweet flavor. We’ve already harvested 10 lbs of ruby-red berries that are safely tucked away in the freezer for winter smoothies, strawberry ice cream or cheesecake/shortcake topping.
Last night Hubby and I harvested another 3.657 lbs of strawberries from the June bearing plants. I want to make a small batch of jam with this harvest, but am looking for a new “raw” jam recipe to preserve their great fresh off the plant flavour. So far, I have found 2 recipes on the internet that use chia seeds to thicken the fresh jam! What a great idea! Chia seeds are natural thickeners because of their ability to absorb water, they’re super for our digestive tract, and are a source of protein.
Below, I’ve posted the recipe that I’m going to make. I am going to use Agave as the sweetener but I saw other recipes that called for Xylitol powder to be used as the sweetening component. I’m looking forward to trying this fresh, uncooked strawberry jam on a piece of toasted Rhubarb bread, that I made for our farmstand yesterday 🙂
- 1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen and thawed)
- 1 tablespoon water (or less, depending on how “juicy” your berries are)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- liquid sweetener to taste – honey, maple syrup, stevia, etc. (optional)
- Mash strawberries using either a fork, potato masher, blender or food processor until desired consistency.
- Add water, chia seeds, and sweetener, if using, and mix very well until everything is incorporated.
- Transfer jam to a glass jar, cover, and place in fridge for at least 1 hour to set up.
- Enjoy as you would regular jam.
- Jam should last about 1 week in the fridge.