Blackberry Jam — It's so easy!

This is Definitely My Jam! 

The other day I was at Costco buying all the household necessities when I spotted, of all things, a big box of blackberries. They looked so plump and delicious, I bought them and figured I'd decide what to do with them later. And what I decided on, was jam. Making jam is so easy, so fast and so worth it. WHY? It’s delicious. You can really taste the fruit. And unlike commercial jam, it’s not loaded with sugar. Typical jam (commercial or homemade) consists of equal parts sugar to fruit. Astonishing! And totally not necessary.

So why do they use it? Typically, sugar is used for several reasons: 

1.      Sugar is a binder; it puts the “jammy” into jam. This jam is thickened with chia seeds. Use whole seeds like I do in this recipe for thick, jammy jam, or ground chia seeds for looser, spoonable jam.

2.    Sugar is a preservative; that’s why jam lasts forever in your fridge, and fruit just a couple of days. (In fact that’s where jam started; as a way to preserve fruit.) My recipe includes fresh lemon juice, which not only brightens the flavor, it also allows the jam to keep for 3 to 4 weeks in the refrigerator.

3.      Sugar is addictive, which means you’ll keep wanting more, which means they’ll keep selling more. This jam is sweetened with monk fruit. Monk fruit is fructose-free, doesn’t spike your dopamine (where cravings come from) and doesn’t spike insulin, which makes this jam this keto and diabetic friendly. 

Just as important, it’s flavorful and delicious. Definitely my jam!

What you need:

3 cups blackberries

¼ cup monk fruit sweetener (or erythritol)

5 tablespoons chia seeds

4 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ tsp salt

What to do:

Put blackberries and lemon juice into a saucepan. 

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium

Simmer for 2-3 minutes

Add chia seeds, monk fruit and salt and stir

Smash the berry mixture with a fork or potato masher

Allow to sit and cool for 15-20 minutes

Put in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.

A note from Christy

I made these with blackberries because I had just purchased a big container of them at Costco that had no flavor, so I decided to turn them into jam.

Another great time to make jam is when berries are in season and they are abundant and cheap. Make a big batch and give it away to friends and freeze some for later.

Note that you can use any fresh berries in this recipe.

This jam is great on toast, in chia pudding, oatmeal, or in our thumbprint berry cookies.

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