Vanilla Bean Strawberry Jam

Strawberries, not sugar, is the star of this fresh strawberry jam–making it the perfect addition to your Mother’s Day breakfast.

I have a confession to make.  I cannot pass up a sale on strawberries.  Last summer, I had 4 boxes of peaches that I picked from a neighbor’s tree.  I was in the middle of canning them in syrup and making peach jam when I ran out of canning lids.  So, I made a quick trip to the store.  As I walked through the front door, there sat a huge stack of strawberry flats selling for $8 a flat.  That is $1 a pound, which I think is a fantastic deal.

I looked at the strawberries and they looked back at me.  I thought about all the peaches waiting for me at home.  I looked back at the strawberries.  I tried to walk away.  Honest, I did.  I think I got about 10 feet away before the cart turned back around and I loaded 3 flats of strawberries in my cart and headed to the checkout (after getting the canning lids of course).  🙂

Now, I’m so excited because it is strawberry season again, and I have a new recipe and a new excuse to buy flats of strawberries.  This strawberry jam was a big hit with the family.  In fact, they devoured 3 batches in two days.  (Luckily, I also stashed a few containers in the freezer.)

I love the chia seeds in the jam.  It thickens up the jam, without you needing to cook the berries. Consequently, your jam has the fresh-picked strawberry taste.  The chia seeds look similar to the strawberry seeds, so nobody really noticed (or complained).

There is just enough vanilla bean to give a subtle hint of complex flavor without overpowering the strawberries.  So, if you don’t have a vanilla bean, just leave it out.  But if you do have a vanilla bean, give it a try.  I think you will agree the taste is amazing.

For some of my batches, I used white sugar instead of honey.  I preferred the honey, but the sugar also worked well.

Because there isn’t tons of sugar in this jam to act as a preservative, I would use any jam stored the refrigerator within a week.  Any jam frozen in the freezer should last a few months, or until your family notices it in there.

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Vanilla Bean Strawberry Jam

Makes about 3 cups

1 lb strawberries

2 Tbsp chia seeds

2-4 Tbsp honey (depending on your preferences and the sweetness of the strawberries)

Vanilla bean

Wash strawberries and remove stems.  Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise.  Using just 1/4 of the vanilla bean, scrape the tiny black seeds from the inside of the pod using a knife and use the seeds in the jam.  Place all ingredients in a food processor with the blade attachment.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into a jar or freezer container.  Freeze or keep in fridge.  Wait one day for the jam to set-up (the chia seeds to swell) before using. Or use right away with the jam being a thinner sauce for a delicious strawberry topping.

Toss the rest of the vanilla bean into your sugar bowl for vanilla sugar.

Have a lovely Mother’s Day!