Quick and Easy Strawberry Jam -- With Chia seeds to make it Gel (low sugar and no pectin)

Making jams and jellies can take hours and hours of prep and cooking time, not to mention the equipment you will need: canning pots, jars, lids, sugar and quarts and quarts of berries. It can take a whole day out of your family life to just wash and squash, then cook and can. What if, in just a few minutes, you could whip up a batch of strawberry jam that is packed full of vitamins, minerals, omega-3’s, and protein?  Yes, protein.  Well, you can use any of the Freeze Dried Fruit, like Strawberry Slices, Blueberries, or Raspberries, all available through our site.  The best part of this recipe is that YOU can control the amount of sugar that you add so that the family isn’t over doing it on sweets. This recipe goes great with our Peanut Butter recipe made with Peanut Flour, also available on our site.  These recipes are great for the younger family members to get started learning how to make, use and enjoy home storage and prepping.

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Quick and Easy Strawberry Jam
With Chia seeds to make it Gel (low sugar and no pectin) Recipe

 
- 2 Cup Freeze Dried Strawberry Slices (You can also use THRIVE Blue Berries, or THRIVE Raspberries)
- 2/3 Cup Water
- 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbsp Cane Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds, ground as fine as possible in a spice grinder
 
Prepare the Freeze dried Fruit by crushing it with a rolling pin, mallet, or mortar and pestle, until it is small enough to be easily blended for an easy-to-spread strawberry jam, or small enough to be left for a chunky, fresh style jam. 

Place the crushed berries in a bowl or jar, and add the water and lemon juice.  Mix well with a fork and allow to sit for just a minute to rehydrate the fruits. 

Stir in sugar and chia seeds and mix well until sugar is dissolved.  For a pureed jam, once fruit is softened, add sugar and Chia seeds then puree with blender or hand blender.

Allow to sit for a few minutes to gel, or serve immediately. 

Quick and Easy Chia Seed Strawberry Jam goes great with a fresh baked loaf of bread. Refrigerate any leftovers.
 
Your strawberry jam may be a slightly different thickness than store bought jelly, and results may vary slightly due to humidity or elevation. For a thinner jam, add a little more water.  For thicker jam, you could add additional ground chia seeds, 1 tsp at a time, and mix well.  

RECIPE PDF