When he was small, my youngest son had a habit of filling his pockets with treasures he encountered in his daily adventures. I didn't always understand the value he saw in his chosen objects -- really, how many rocks and sticks could one boy keep? In his eyes, though, each one was beautiful and important. Life is just like that on a larger scale, isn't it? We gather up the precious bits of our experiences and save them all to learn from and enjoy later. Perhaps you'll find a little something here that you'd like to keep in your own pockets. Thanks for visiting.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Easy Bumbleberry Jam

It's a holiday in our province today, and a quiet summer Monday morning seemed like just the right time to make some jam with the baskets full of fresh local berries we had in our fridge. I've been curious to try making a jam thickened with chia seeds, versions of which I've been seeing all over the internet, for awhile now, and the bumbleberry kind that came out of my experimenting made me happy that I finally got around to it. This really tasty jam requires very few ingredients, is lightly sweetened, and is super simple to make: a perfect summer treat!

Easy Bumbleberry Jam

4 cups mixed fresh berries, washed 
 (I used a cup each of strawberries, red raspberries, black raspberries, and blueberries)
1 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tbsp ground chia seeds 

Place the berries in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse for a few seconds at a time until all of the berries break down. (If you don't have children like mine who are adamantly opposed to any recognizable pieces of fruit in their jam whatsoever, you can skip this step.)

Place the berries in a saucepan over medium heat, and sprinkle in the coconut sugar. Cook this mixture for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the ground chia seeds, a little at a time. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook the mixture for another 10 minutes or until it is thickened, stirring often.

Remove the jam from the heat and allow it to cool slightly.  Spoon the jam into glass jars with tight fitting lids and place them in the refrigerator to cool completely.

This jam is bursting with berry flavour and is delicious spread on toast or rice cakes with natural nut butter, spooned onto homemade biscuits, or stirred into plain, unsweetened yogourt or oatmeal. Will loved the sample I gave him and declared that he was going to eat this jam every single day from now on. Given its low added sugar content, I'm very happy to agree to that!


Are you looking for other delicious things to make with fresh berries? You might also enjoy this berry galette (which I made this weekend, too!) It's so nice to enjoy these wonderful summer foods while we can.
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2 comments:

  1. gfe--gluten free easilyAugust 10, 2015 at 9:55 PM

    Looks great, Lisa! I so love the name of this jam and the fact that your version includes so many different berries. :-) Your galette looks awesome, too!

    Shirley

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    1. LisaAugust 11, 2015 at 1:57 PM

      Thanks, Shirley. This bumbleberry jam has become an instant favourite at our house (because of both the berries and the name that is so much fun to say! ;) )

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