This delicious Rhubarb Strawberry Chia Jam is made without any refined sweeteners. Thickened with chia seeds and ringing it at only 15 calories per tablespoons, you can spread it thick toast, dollop it high on yogurt and ice cream, or even eat it by the spoonful. It's super easy to make so you can always have a batch on hand!
Heya, friends! This Rhubarb Strawberry Chia Jam marks the one year anniversary of these Throw Back Thursday posts. ♡♡♡ #tbt!!
If you haven't seen all the other Throw Back posts, you can check them out here. This little project started when I was going through some old posts and found some delish recipes that had some pretty horrible photos attached to them. There was only one photo with this original post and it was taken with my old iPhone 3g. Can you guess how awesome it is? I've hidden the picture of a few blurry stalks of rhubarb and a couple of strawberries at the bottom of the post. Make sure to check it out for a chuckle. 🙂
So you know when you get caught ladling jam into your mouth by the spoonful? What, wait … that hasn't happened to you? Oh, just you wait.
This Rhubarb Strawberry Chia Jam you see here ?? is the kind of thing that will turn your normally reasonable adult(ish) like self into a 5-year-old who sneaks spoonfuls of jam when nobody's looking.
Hint: when you get caught, pull out the yogurt and say you were going to dollop some on top but needed to taste test the jam first to make sure the flavors go together. You already know they do, but the cover will leave you sounding very refined. Or so I thought when I pulled that one out. He he he.
And a big THANK YOU to my handsome man's mom for bringing me a whole pile of rhubarb from her garden. Expect to see more rhubarb recipes popping up around here!
Original post date: September 30th, 2011
The other night I dreamt about strawberries and rhubarb. What I dreamt about more specifically was my granny's strawberry rhubarb pie. Sometimes I find these pies can be too tart or too sweet, but hers manages to balance the line between sweet and tart like a Cirque-du-Soliel tightrope walker; it is perfectly in balance. When I awoke, the taste of pie still on my tongue, I felt a slight pang of disappointment. Rhubarb season here in Vancouver has passed. I tried to put it out of my mind but as sometimes happens, this was no easy feat.
I'm sure you can see where this is going by now but had you asked me what I was to find at the Vancouver's Farmers Market the one thing I would not have guessed was rhubarb. But there it was in all its stringy, pale red glory. It wasn't the thick stalks of bright red rhubarb found in early spring; these were rather skinny little stalks with a slightly reddish hue. None the less they were rhubarb. The other thing that I did expect to find, but only because we've been lucky to have a long warm end of summer, is strawberries.
I've tried to replicate my granny's pie once a few years back, and although it turned out okay, it was nothing like hers. It's really all in the pastry, a secret she's sworn she'll take to her grave. One day I'll put my time in and experiment till I get it right, but not today.
?? UPDATE: I managed to hack and master her pie recipe! Make sure to check out her Strawberry Rhubarb Pie after you make this chia jam. Oh man, if she knew I'd figured it out AND was sharing it with you, she'd be rolling over in her grave, lol. ??
Today I wanted the mouth puckering tartness of rhubarb to be offset my the summery sweetness of fresh strawberries. I wanted something to spread on warm toast or dollop on thick plain yogurt. Today I wanted to pretend that summer had just begun.
I used chia seeds to thicken the jam instead of pectin, only because I didn't have any pectin on hand. Without pectin does it still qualify as a jam or should I be calling it something else, like a spread? Also, feel free to increase the amount of honey in the recipe based on your personal preference. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so I always err on the side of less.
If you make this Rhubarb Strawberry Chia Jam make sure you snap a pic and tag @theendlessmeal on Instagram so I can like and comment on your photos. I love seeing TEM recipes you create!
- 3 cups chopped rhubarb
- 3 cups chopped strawberries, packed
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- Add the rhubarb, strawberries, and honey to a medium sized pot over high heat and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for 5 minutes, or until the strawberries and rhubarb begin to break down. Help break up the chunks my mashing them with a fork or potato masher.
- Once the strawberries and rhubarb have broken down and are sauce-like, add the chia seeds to the pot. Reduce the heat to low and, stirring occasionally, cook the chia jam for 30 minutes.
- Let the chia jam cool slightly before pouring it into clean containers. The jam will last up to 2 weeks in your fridge.
The original photo of the Rhubarb Strawberry Chia Jam
If you’re interested in learning a few tricks that I did to improve my food photography, check out the posts:
♡ 10 Food Photography Tips for New Food Bloggers
♡ The 10 Best Food Photography Props to Improve Your Food Photography
♡ The Food Photography Equipment I Use
Kristen Stevens
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Kristen is the person working behind the scenes at The Endless Meal. She takes all the pics, creates all the recipes and eats all the leftovers. 
Turned out perfectly! I can’t wait to put some on my morning oats 🙂 I didn’t wait to try it with toast and Nutella and I can say that it was an excellent decision. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe! I’m going to try it with Nutella next time I make this, too. That sounds so good!
Made your jam today! Absolutely delicious can’t wait for tomorrow to have it on buckwheat pancakes.
❤Susan
I bet it would be amazing on buckwheat pancakes. Yum!!
Wow this looks so delicious to add onto breakfast foods! Yum!!
It totally is! I’ve been spooning it onto my yogurt every morning!
Hi,
Do you cover the fruit with water and bring to a boil? If so, afterwards drain?
Thank you for the recipe. Sounds great and I intend to try it.
Nope! The liquid that is released from the fruit as it cooks is more than enough. Hope you love it as much as I do!
How long do you leave jars in the oven?
Then you add the hot mixture in the jars? Lids, the rings? And the jars will seal themselves?
Hey Sofie,
I left the jars in the oven for 20 minutes and them poured the hot jam into the hot jars. Just set the lids and rings on right away and they will seal themselves. Just make sure you check them after 24 hours and if any haven’t sealed then do the hot water bath method and boil the unsealed jars in a pot of boiling water. How long you boil the jars for will depend on your elevation but here at sea level it’s around 5 minutes. More time for higher elevation.
Hope this helps and definitely let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi! Can you elaborate more on this jar in the over business? I’m not a regular jam maker so i’m not familiar with the do’s and dont’s.
Thanks!!
Hey Tina,
The jars are put in the oven to sterilize them. People sometimes boil them in a large pot of water instead, but I find the oven method much easier. When I do it, I find it is easiest to put all the jars on a baking sheet. Make sure you put the jar into the oven when the oven is cold. Putting them into the oven when the oven is hot can cause them to break.
Once they’ve been in the oven for 20 mins they will be sterilized and you can use them to can the jam. If you’re still cooking the jam when the jars are done, just leave them in the oven until you are ready for them. Make sure the jam is hot when you pour it into the jars. Putting cool jam into hot jars can break the jars.
Also, when you seal the jars, don’t close the lids tightly. Once you hear the pop of the lids closing (which can take up to 24 hours) you can close the lid tighter if you’d like.
Let me know if you have any other questions!