A couple weeks back when I was dabbling in the kitchen with cupcakes, one of you lovely readers asked me for *SANE Strawberry Jam. I don’t know about you, but I love a spot of strawberry jam on a fresh, home-baked scone with a large dollop of clotted cream. LOVE. I grew up on those things. We definitely know how to do scones in England.
Scones with strawberry jam and cream make me think of summer, and long grass, and pretty Royal Doulton china, and sunshine, and cute wooden chairs with fat cushions sprawled on the lawn. They make me think of the city of Bath, and my friend Lou, and that time we had a cream tea and ended up with more clotted cream on our faces than there was left on the scones. I wish I could find the picture for you – it epitomizes joy. We laughed so hard that day, and I will never forget those wonderful jammy, creamy scones that we scoffed down. It’s amazing how powerful food can be on our brains – that joyous moment was a quarter of a century ago (wait…what??!!!) and yet the taste of strawberry jam takes me right back there in a heartbeat. I can feel the warm sunshine beaming down on us. I can smell the grass as we lolled on big, fat colorful cushions anchored to old, wobbly wooden chairs. I can hear Lou’s delicious giggle when the decadent treat smeared the tip of her nose as she bit into the soft, buttery scone covered with lashings of fresh strawberry jam and clotted cream.
I suppose I am doing this all backwards. I should really do the scones first, and then make you some strawberry jam to go on them. But here, have the strawberry jam first. It’ll keep.
Just remember, although this is *SANE (aka has no starch or sugar in), we still shouldn’t go mad with it. Although I used chia seeds as the thickener to give you an extra little dose of those beloved omega-3 fats, and xylitol to sweeten, there is not a lot of protein or fiber going on here. Spread it on *SANE scones or bread (coming soon!) or stir it into non-fat Greek yogurt or cottage cheese. Make it in the summer when the strawberries are fresh, plentiful, and cheap; and then eat it whenever you want to transport yourself back to your favorite strawberry-jam-moment.
- 1 lb / 450g fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup / 2 fl oz. water
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- 6 oz / 170g xylitol
- 1 oz / 28g chia seeds
- Place chopped strawberries, water and lemon juice in a pan over medium heat and cook for 20 minutes until the strawberries are completely soft.
- Grind the xylitol and chia seeds in a high-speed blender or coffee grinder until very fine.
- Add the ground xylitol and chia seeds in to the strawberries and stir well until completely mixed.
- Continue to cook for about 10 minutes until the jam is thickened.
- Remove from the heat and transfer into a jar of glass dish to cool.
- Once cold, put the lid on and store in the ‘fridge.
MatildaIt’s funny that you posted this cause I was just thinking of jam. I shall try this when I get back home from my weekend away,
I did make stewed peaches (with only 2 tsp of xylitol), and they smell and taste devine.
Now to get me some strawberries.
carrieOooooh, Matilda – stewed peaches sound fabulous! Enjoy the jam 🙂
DianeCan this be frozen? Strawberry season is coming up, and I’d love to make a bunch and freeze in small portions. Thanks for sharing all of these great recipes!
carrieYes, Diane you can freeze this. I keep mine in the ‘frdige, and also good to note that xylitol is brilliant at inhibiting mould growth, so this will last longer than regular jam made with sugar anyway.
ScottHi Carrie – This recipe is awesome, thanks! Do you think it would work with Raspberries and Blueberries as well? I’m just wondering if the amounts of Xlyitol,Chia seeds etc. would stay the same or if I would need to tinker with those based on the fruit used.
carrieHi Scott – I have a plan to tinker this for other fruits. I suspect it will not work exactly the same for the other berries. Thanks for the strawberry jam love 😀
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MendiI’m looking forward to trying this jam. In my ramblings in the woods, I have run across 2 wild peach trees and would like to tinker with using those to make a jam. Do you think it would work to use the same gelatin as you use in your Chocolate Orange Truffles recipe to make a SANE jam, possibly instead of the chia seeds, as I would assume the texture of even ground chia seeds may not work as well with a fruit other than berries?
DawnI was wondering if erythritol is a suitable substitute for xylitol or can it not be switched out? We have 4 dogs and i would hate it if they accidentally got a hold of some of the xylitol. Do you have any suggestions?