Making Chia Seed Strawberry Jam Less Seedy

9 years ago

DD wants to make the following recipe but DSIL would be averse to the crunch of the chia seeds. She asked me what she could do. I know nothing about chia seeds. Could she run the finished jam through the food processor? OR strain it through cheese cloth before it fully sets up? OR (and this would be my advice) find a recipe that does what you want it to do with ingredients that you want to eat. Any ideas?

Quick and Healthy Homemade Strawberry Chia Seed Jam Recipe

Yields: about 8 ounces of jam

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups quartered frozen strawberries, (I like to freeze fresh, ripe strawberries when they're in season!)
1 - 3 tablespoons honey (or coconut nectar, maple syrup, agave nectar, etc. to make vegan)
2 1/2 tablespoons chia seeds

Step 1: Place frozen strawberries and 1 tablespoon of desired sweetener in a medium-sized pot over medium heat.

Step 2: As the strawberries start to thaw, mash them with a fork or the back of a spoon and bring the mixture to a simmer.

Step 3: Reduce heat to maintain the simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until the strawberries are fully broken down and starting to thicken.

Step 4 (optional): For a smooth jam (besides the crunch from the chia seeds), place the cooked strawberries in a blender and blend until smooth. If you want to keep the texture of the broken down strawberries, skip this step. Place the mixture back in the pot over medium-low heat.

Step 5: Taste the mixture and if needed, stir in more sweetener until it's to your liking.

Step 6: Add the chia seeds to the pot and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

Step 7: Remove from the heat and pour contents into a glass jar. Let cool on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Then place in the fridge until fully chilled. Seal the jar with a tight fitting lid after the jam is fully chilled.

Step 8: Serve chilled and keep sealed in the fridge for about 10 days.

Here is a link that might be useful: Strawberry Jam with Chia Seeds

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Comments (7)

grainlady_ks
9 years ago
You might try milling the amount of chia seeds called for in the recipe into chia flour FIRST, using a coffee/spice mill.

We like this recipe, which is a "raw" (uncooked) version of the same recipe.

STRAWBERRY CHIA SEED JAM
1 c. strawberries - fresh or frozen *
1 T. chia seeds (whole, or mill the tablespoon of chia seeds into chia flour first)
1 T. water
stevia to taste (or any other sweetener you like)

Mash berries with a fork. Mix in chia seeds, water, and stevia (2-3 drops). Cover mixture and let set 30-60 minutes. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

*I've also used reconstituted freeze-dried strawberries to make this jam recipe, and it works with other fruit, as well.

-Grainlady
bbstx
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks, GL, for the problem solution and for the recipe. I've passed it along to DD. Maybe she'll bring home some strawberry chia seed jam for Thanksgiving morning breakfast!
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I am close to someone with diverticulosis. He’s gone to the ER more than once. I also have some diverticula that sometimes acts up. Our gastroenterologist does not warn against eating things like seeds and roughage. Of course, no one would want to do this during a flare up. I have also read that newer thinking on this condition does not tend to agree with having patients avoid thinds like seeds. The man who I mentioned above, eats everything he cares to, AND regularly consumes a lot of roughage in the form of whole grains, rolled oats, frozen peas and carrots, lima beans, green beans, strawberries, raisins, blueberries, seeds like poppy, chia, fennel, and so on. He does not eat a lot of meat or white bread or pastries made with white flour. He can even enjoy popcorn (has those sharp husks). I suspect that he rarely has a flareup because he regularly consumes a LOT of roughage and fiber (soluble and insoluble, such as legumes and oats). I eat fiber, anytrhing I want, but less fiber than he. If I were to eat a lot of blueberries every day, after about day 4 or 5, my patches of diverticula would begin to get cranky, giving me pain. Then I just back off the blueberries. I have an aquaintance who won’t eat certain food because of the seeds or small husks, but then has no trouble eating other foods that seem like they ought to be equally problematic. She has several other cooexisting gut issues. Who knows.
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Blueberries don't have much natural pectin anyway. If the blueberries were very ripe also and some of the skins were removed, the commercial pectin alone might not have been sufficient for a firmer set. The older recipes for freezer jams called for gently (gently being the operative word) heating the mixture to 100 or 105 degrees. The newer freezer jam instructions don't call for that, but I still like to do it because it dissolves the sugar so the jam is less "gritty." (Just my preference.) I was thinking you could stir additional pectin into the existing mixture then gently heat to incorporate it more fully. During the cooling you should see a firmer set. However, if you've noticed your jam is setting now, I wouldn't bother. Heating has no effect on spoilage or food safety and you still have that fresh-fruity flavor of freezer jams. Basically with this method you're just warming. It's not even simmering. I would get that blueberry jam into the fridge or freezer. There's so much sugar in it that the risk of spoilage is fairly minimal but depending upon the weather, it could mold or it could start separating sitting out too long at room temperature. You might start seeing liquid (syneresis). ClearJel is a special cornstarch thickener, not a pectin. There are two types. One has to be cooked. The other is instant. The cooked type is used in sauces and canned pie fillings. It doesn't break down under heat. The instant kind is mixed with sugar or other dry ingredients and then is stirred into the liquid. I prefer it for pie fillings. You could mix a bit of ClearJel (It has LOTS of thickening power.) with a bit of sugar and then stir into your freezer jam. There are also jam recipes that call for ClearJel. Here's a link to some ClearJel information and ClearJel jam recipes. Some people prefer these because you have the option of canning or freezing with the same recipes. Using ClearJel I hope this helps. Happy preserving, Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Strawberry Freezer Jam Heated Method
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I don't know if you are averse to using pectin, but here is a recipe using Pamona's from the North American Raspberry and Blackberry Assn: Edited by Olychick: the recipe calls for 4 tsp pectin, but the directions call for 4 CUPS of pectin, obviously a typo.... 8 cups strained seedless black raspberry pulp 4 teaspoons calcium-water mixture prepared per Pomona's Pectin package 2 Tbsp lemon juice 2 cups sugar 4 teaspoons Pomona's Universal Pectin Directions: For Fruit Mixture, combine black raspberry pulp, calcium-water mixture, and lemon juice in a 6-quart or 8-quart stainless steel pot. In a separate container, combine 2 cups sugar and 4 cups Universal Pectin. Heat Fruit Mixture slowly to boil. Turn down heat, add Sugar-Pectin Mixture to Fruit Mixture, mix for 2 minutes to dissolve sugar. Turn up heat (a bit above medium on a gas stove) Bring to good boil, turn off heat. Fill jars to 1/4 inch from top, apply lids. Process in hot water bath canner: 10 minutes at sea level, 15 minutes at 5000 ft altitude. Shelf life one year. Note from Pete Tallman: Standard supermarket pectin formulas like Sure-Jell don't work with such low sugar percentages. This recipe was developed according to cooked jam recipes from instructions included in Pomona's Universal Pectin, which is available at many natural food stores. See www.pomonapectin.com for list of stores. See Pomona's Universal Pectin recipes for use with alternative sweeteners. Source: Peter Tallman, developer of new black raspberry variety "Niwot" Here is a link that might be useful: Seedless black raspberry jam This post was edited by olychick on Mon, Jul 7, 14 at 22:08
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sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
9 years ago
Might try soaking the chia seed first. I just soaked chia this morning.... Used the warm kettle water, not boiling, and in an hour my chia seeds were soft and not at all seedy. It softens and makes a great jelly-like consistency in under an hour.. I poured aprox 1/2 cup warm water over about two tbsp of chia.
I make a mixed grain just about every Sunday and soak the mixed grain and seeds that includes some chia. Never have a seedy grain salad. I soak for 6-8 hrs or over night.
(The chia is the dark glass third up from the bottom.)
bbstx
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks, sleeve. Having never eaten a chia seed in my life, I don't know why she thought it would be "seedy". I'm not a fan of beans or seeds or nuts. It's a texture thing with me. While I think I'm a pretty diverse eater, when I make lists like this, I sound pretty picky! :-/
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
9 years ago
I do like nuts and grains, but not seedy fruits.
Most nuts, grains, and seeds can be 'softened' with soaking and pureed. Nice flavor without the 'bite'.
My garden raspberries are not seedy but the blackberries are.
Chia and flax i sometimes grind in my spice grinder or soak, then puree in a blender. I use both in my brown bread and never have a 'seedy' texture as soaking does soften them...
sooz
9 years ago
I'm a fan of chia seeds, and use them in smoothies, and for a "snack" when mixed with unsweetened almond milk, about a cup of berries, some vanilla and a bit of stevia.

I've never made chia flour. I haven't tried to use them after softening in warm water until I read sleevendog's first post above, but I've got some softening right now. I'm interested to see if the warm water yields different results than using room temp or refrigerated almond milk.

The chia seeds mixed with almond milk always end up with a bit of crunch (not a lot, just enough to notice), and they stay that way even over 2 or 3 days time, but I don't mind it. Sometimes I can't quite tell if I'm having a chia seed or a blueberry seed or a strawberry seed getting stuck in my teeth!

Smiles,
Sooz
grainlady_ks
9 years ago
Chia has different applications whether it's wet, dry or milled into flour. It's a little like (emphasis on little) the difference between vanilla pudding and tapioca pudding when you leave chia seeds whole.

Soaked chia seeds makes for easier digestion; and once soaked are more than 90% moisture and soak up seven times their weight in moisture. I use a 1:9 ratio (or 1/4 c. chia seeds to 2-1/2 c. water), or any thickness you like, and store in the refrigerator and add it to baked goods, kefir/yogurt, as an extender in peanut butter or mayonnaise, add to pudding and cooked cereal, even added to butter where it will reduce the calories by 45% per total volume. Chia gel is a very good egg substitute -- for one whole egg use 2 T. of chia gel. Once chia seeds are added to a liquid you will see the viscous fibers on the outside (looks like a layer of gelatin around the seed).

Always add the dry seeds to water, not pour water on the seeds (or they will clump together), and mix quickly with a small whisk. Let stand 5-minutes and whisk again. This is also called "prepared chia gel". It's best to let it sit for 15-minutes before using the gel to allow the seeds to fully hydrate.

Another benefit of soaked chia seeds, they have a very high ORAC score. ORAC stands for oxygen radical absorbency capacity, or the antioxidant value of a food. The higher this score, the more free radical fighting power the food involved posses. They are higher on the ORAC score chart than unsweetened cocoa powder and Acai berry.

Chia seeds can also be sprouted and grown as micro greens. Added to beverages to aid in staying hydrated longer.

Sources for this information:
"The Magic of Chia" by James F. Scheer
"Chia Seed Remedies" by MySeeds Chia Test Kitchen

-Grainlady

Making Chia Seed Strawberry Jam Less Seedy

Comments (7)

grainlady_ks

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Making Chia Seed Strawberry Jam Less Seedy

Comments (7)

grainlady_ks

bbstxOriginal Author

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sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)

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sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)

sooz

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