Magical Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam

Summer means copious amounts of fresh, provincial fruit. Living in Vancouver, truckloads of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, plums and whatever else is in season come in mainly from the Okanagan and Fraser valleys. Eating local fruit is exponentially better than the crates shipped in from some foreign land. Well, maybe just the southern States but that’s far enough away to be considered foreign when it comes to food. So to take advantage of the influx of delicious fruit in the produce section, I’ll buy enough to have some to eat fresh, freeze and cook with. Blueberry season is at its prime right now. Needless to say, I bought a five-pound flat of berries, and, although I know I’ll eat them all by the handful, I figured it was the time to try to make something new.

I’m a PB and J fanatic. It’s good as a flavour for ice cream, Nanaimo bars (yes, there is such thing as PB and J Nanaimo bars), and in its classic form as a toast topper. However, I don’t really like how much added sugar there can be in store-bought jam. Solution? Make my own.

This recipe comes from the Oh She Glows food blog, that I adore. That woman is amazing, as are her recipes. With only four ingredients and under 30 minutes to make a jar full of fresh jam, there’s no reason not to make it. The title of Magical Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam is not an exaggeration. It is magical.

Magical Blueberry Vanilla Chia Jam

Recipe courtesy of Oh She Glows
Yield: ~1 cup
Total time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh blueberries
• 3-4 tbsp pure maple syrup, to taste (or other liquid sweetener)
• 2 tbps chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium-sized non-stick pot, bring the blueberries and 3 tbsp of maple syrup to a low boil. Stir frequently, and reduce heat to low-medium to simmer for about five minutes. Lightly mash the blueberries with a potato masher or fork, leaving some for texture.
2. Stir in the chia seeds until thoroughly combined and cook the mixture down until it thickens to your desired consistency, or about 15 minutes. Stir frequently so it doesn’t stick to the pot.
3. Once the jam is thick, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Add more maple syrup to taste if desired. Enjoy on toast, English muffins, oatmeal, vegan overnight oats, oat bars, tarts, cookies, banana soft serve, smoothies and more. The jam should keep for at least a week in an air-tight container in the fridge.