REFINED SUGAR FREE STRAWBERRY JAM
Who doesn’t like jam especially if it’s made from scratch? I love all berries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, black raspberries…you name it. Fresh Strawberries is the first sign to me that the warm weather is finally here and here to stay.
Besides jam, my favorite ways to use fresh strawberries are salads, smoothies, pies & crisps. I have always loved making strawberry jam, but never loved the fact that it had so much added sugar. Which lead me to hours of research, using pectin that required less sugar but still seemed like a lot of sugar to me and than I discovered the wondrous powers of chia seeds. Chia seeds absorbs the liquid, expands and thickens the jam, jelly or whatever consistency you are trying to reach. Traditionally sugar and pectin thicken the jam, but in this recipe chia seeds expand and thickens the jam which not only minimizes the refined sugar load but takes care of it altogether since only a small amount of honey or maple syrup is used to sweetened this jam.
Growing up, we used jam to eat with homemade bread and butter but now I know one can use it for much more such as toasted bread or crackers with spreadable cheese & crackers. Be sure to try it with this delicious strawberry jam as an appetizer, it is quite delicious. CHEERS TO A HAPPY & HEALTHY DAY!
NO REFINED SUGAR STRAWBERRY JAM
Ingredients
- 8 Cups Strawberry
- 3 TBSP Chia Seeds
- 1/2 Cup Honey More or less to taste
- Juice of one small lemon
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a food processor & blend. I don't like my jam completely pureed, therefore I just blend it till the strawberries are mostly small pieces.
- The chia seeds thicken the jam, but this takes time. Refrigerate the jam overnight before placing it in the freezer. The jam does stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Notes
