Healthy Chia Seed Cherry Jam

I love jam, especially jam and peanut butter on toast. Yum! However, most store-bought jams are ladenned with sugar with at least 50% refined sugar, if not more. As such, I tend to avoid eating jam altogether.

Recently, Dorian and I went berry picking at Jay Berries in the Yarra Valley. Although the blueberry picking season was coming to an end, the blackberry picking season was just beginning and there were still ample of strawberries available for picking. And I can say that fresh berries are the best. The cost of the picked berries is the same as store-bought berries, but we ate heaps of berries while picking, so technically, the picked berries were cheaper.

On the way back from berry picking, we saw a sign selling cherries. Given that I love cherries more than berries, it was a no brainer to stop at this cherry farm. The cherry farm we were directed to was Seville Farm. However, luck was not on my side as it was the last day of the cherry season and hence, the only remaining cherries were seconds cherries. These cherries were a bit soft or overripe. However, I decided to buy a kilo of these cherries as they were only $4/kilo with a cherry pie or cherry jam in my mind to be made. With limited time on my hands, I decided to make a healthy version of chia seed cherry jam. I hope you enjoy this recipe 🙂

Makes a jar of 380g worth of jam

Ingredients

4 cups of pitted fresh cherries (you can use any berries if you prefer berries);
2-3 tbsp honey (you can use less or more depending on how sweet your cherries are);
2 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice (you can use more or less depending on how sour you prefer your jam); and
4 tbsp chia seeds;

Method

Place the pitted cherries, honey and lemon juice in a saucepan on medium heat. I did not add any water as there were plenty of cherry juice when the cherry started to break down;
Cherry jam in the making.
Allow the cherry mixture to cook until bubbles start and stir the mixture from time to time;
Mashing the cherries.
If you are like me and like your jam smooth rather than lumpy, then you can use a potato masher or fork to break down the cherries (you can also puree or blend the cherry mixture went cooked);
Once your cherry mixture reaches the consistency that you like, switch off the stove;
Add the chia seeds to the cherry mixture and stir thoroughly. The chia seed is used as a thickener and will thicken the cherry jam;
Chia seeds added to the cherry mixture.
Once the cherry mixture is cooled, you can transfer into a glass jar. Store in the fridge for up to a month;
Enjoy on toast, in oats, rice crackers or simply eat it with a spoon 🙂