SIMPLE STRAWBERRY JAM.
In our neighborhood, there’s this grocery store called Berkeley Bowl. You either love it or you hate it — and for me, that place is like Christmas. I LOVE grabbing a salted caramel cappuccino with my friend Kayce and perusing the aisles on a Saturday morning. You can get EVERYTHING there. So many tomatoes. So many apples. Mushrooms I didn’t even know existed. They have an old school butcher section in the back and carry brands that are good for you. My favorite thing is that right next to the Chobani creamer, they also slang raw milk. But that’s not what this post is about.
In the back corner of Berkeley Bowl’s produce section, there is a shelf and 2 carts that are often full of “this needs to be eaten today” produce, oftentimes at a steep discount. And what do they usually have in that section? ORGANIC berries…. FOR anywhere from .69 to .99 cents per pint. Scrunchy living is about making the most of what you can, how you can, so I always stock up from that sale section and find ways to preserve the fruit so it doesn’t go bad. This 4 ingredient strawberry jam is one of my favorite ways to preserve the strawberries we find from that section!
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
4 cups strawberries (i used frozen)
4 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons Big Tree Farms unrefined, low glycemic sugar
1 lemon, freshly squeezed
Instructions:
Over medium-low heat, add your fruit into your pot. Add the lemon juice & let the fruit start to soften (if using fresh, you might need to add 1 tbsp of water - but just a touch! since I used frozen, I didn’t add water!). Let your fruit & lemon juice start to disintegrate & soften, mixing gently as it comes to a simmer. You can mash up the fruit even more, or leave it as is with larger chunks (my personal preference). As your pot is simmering & thickening, add in the chia seed & sugar. Fold in gently until fully combined & continue to let simmer until your jam is a thick consistency & any excess liquid has been absorbed. Once it’s thick, fill NEW glass jars (I use mason jars) almost to the brim, leaving just a bit of space for suction, and tighten the lid to your jars. Once that’s done, place in a large pot of water (fully submerged) and boil for 10 minutes.
Once the timer is up, set your jars to cool – you will know they are shelf stable when they don’t “pop” as you touch the top. When sealed properly, your jars should be shelf stable for about a year!
