Raw Lemon Raspberry & Chia Jam

I have never been much of a jam fan, but when I saw The Green Kitchen Stories recipe for raw raspberry & chiajam I became curious. So I tried it out and believe me: you need a jar of this goodness in your fridge. Stir it through your oats and yoghurt, spread it over toast and pancakes, yes yes the possibilities are endless.

For regular jam recipes, you heat the fruit on the stove with a lot of (refined) sugar. The substance thickens as the liquid evaporates et voila: jam. What I like about this recipe is that you get this real 'jam' like structure without heating your ingredients, this means you keep all the goodness of the fruit and sweetener (provided that you use good quality grade A maple syrup) such as various vitamins and minerals intact that would otherwise be lost.

The amount of sugar in form of maple syrup you need to add to your jam depends on the sweetness of your raspberries! Taste it and try it. Of course you can also use fresh raspberries but frozen ones are cheaper, and just as good for this recipe.

I added my own twist to TGKS's original recipe! I like to add a bit of extra flavour to this jam, using lemon (but you can also use vanilla). Try it out and see what works for you.

Enjoy!

Serves: 1 jar full

Time: Prep. time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 250 gr frozen raspberries
• 2 tablespoons chiaseed
• 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup
• zest of a 1/2 - 1 lemon (to taste) or 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

1. Get your raspberries out of the freezer, pop them in a bowl and wait until they defrost
2. Use a fork or spoon and mash them up
3. Add chiaseeds, maple syrup and your chosen flavour, either vanilla or lemon
4. Mix together and taste: add more maple syrup/lemon zest/vanilla extract to your liking
5. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until the chiaseeds have soaked up the juice and you have reached a jam-like substance
6. Pop your jam in an airtight jar and store in the fridge

You can keep your jam for about 1-2 months in the fridge!