There's nothing quite like fresh, sweet strawberries. They taste like summer! My kids can't get enough of them during the warmer months. And now that they are in season, it's a perfect time to buy lots of them and make some jam. You will find it fairly easy and painless and oh so much better than anything from the store. I always double or triple my recipes, because I figure if you're going to all the trouble to make something from scratch, you might as well make it worth your while. This recipe will leave you with extra to put in the freezer.
Quick Strawberry Chia Jam
{Prep time: 5 min, Total time: 35 min, yeilds 32 oz.}
2 lbs. {32 oz. or 4 cups} fresh Strawberries, chopped
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup Chia Seeds
Place the roughly chopped strawberries and the honey into a saucepan and cook over medium heat. After the strawberries have started to soften and release their juices {5 minutes}, add the chia seeds and stir. If you don't want to use chia seeds as a thickener, you can use a chopped, sweet apple instead for the natural pectin. Continue to cook the strawberries, stirring occasionally, until they are soft enough to mash with a potato masher {another 5-10 minutes}. After you have the berries mashed, turn the heat down to medium low and continue to simmer, stirring/mashing occasionally, until it thickens into a jam {about 15 more minutes}. Remove from the heat and allow the jam to cool. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
Once cool, spoon jam into 2 pint size mason jars {or 4 half-pints, depending on how much you will use at a time}. You can get plastic lids online or from Walmart--I think they're easier and more convenient then the metal ones for regular use. Stick one in the fridge {will keep for 1-2 weeks} and one in the freezer for later {will keep for a few months}.
The jam is especially tasty with some butter on a whole wheat biscuit. Mmmmm.... This recipe doesn't say to, but they come out much better if you use whole wheat pastry flour.
And enjoy! Your Saturday mornings will never be the same. ;)