Blackberry Chia Jam

A gorgeous end-of-summer raw blackberry chia jam. Made in a few minutes with just 3 ingredients. 

Sweeten with a couple of soaked dates. Their rich, earthy sweetness is natural and gentle and adds more goodness to the jam.

This is a beautiful way to make bramble jam quickly with a few raw ingredients. Chia seeds replace pectin, traditionally used to thicken a jam.

If you're curious about raw foods I hope you'll find these posts helpful: raw food techniques, 10 ways to start with raw food and 6 healthy foods raw foodies love.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Cleaning wild-picked blackberries
• Basic Recipe Instructions
• Substitutions
• Equipment
• Top tip
• 📖 Recipe
• FAQ
• 💬 Comments

Ingredients

I love to make blackberry chia jam using fresh wild blackberries foraged from our local hedgerows and bramble bushes on warm sunny days.

Of course, you can also use blackberries from the market or your local supermarket.

• blackberries
• chia seeds
• dates

See recipe card for quantities.

Cleaning wild-picked blackberries

If you've picked your own blackberries, you'll need to clean them up before using them in any recipe.

Gentleness is key when handling them, as they break apart very quickly.

I like to soak mine in water with a splash of apple cider vinegar, although you can use a little salt instead if you wish. Or you may use just water; it's your preference.

CLEANING STEPS

Firstly, go through the bramble and pick out any leaves, pieces of stem, or anything you don't want. Be careful of any prickles.

Next, add the berries to a bowl of water with a splash of raw apple cider vinegar. Give them a gentle stir with one hand, then leave them to soak for 10 minutes.

This will start the cleaning process and allow any bugs/debris to float to the top or sink to the bottom of the bowl.

Now, give the blackberries another couple of stirs before picking up a handful at a time to sort through. Place the best berries in a sieve over the sink to drain and discard anything else.

Repeat the process above. I like to do the second soak without vinegar.

Finally, leave the blackberries to drain in a sieve over the sink, or tip them onto a plate covered with kitchen paper to dry off a little before using.

Basic Recipe Instructions

1. Add your ingredients to a food processor
2. Blend until smooth
3. Pour into a airtight container to store in the fridge

3. Add to a jar.

Substitutions

This recipe uses a couple of soaked dates to sweeten. Still, you could also use maple syrup or coconut sugar instead.

Play with the level of sweetness by adding just a small amount first, then giving the jam a taste test before adding any more.

Equipment

I use a food processor to make this recipe as it liquidises the fruit and produces a wonderfully smooth consistency.

If you prefer to, mash the berries with a fork to extract the juice, then sweeten with maple syrup before adding chia seeds.

Stir well to mix evenly and pour into a clean jar with a lid. Place in the refrigerator to set for a few hours or overnight before use.

Top tip

I find that chia seeds do a fabulous job of thickening everything into a jam.

However, I like to add a tablespoon of water per 100 grams of fruit so that it doesn't set too much.

Of course, the exact amount and consistency of chia seed jam produced may vary slightly depending on how juicy the fruit is.

📖 Recipe

FAQ