Tarahumara toast

One of my favorite books is Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. (One of my favorite songs is "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen. Coincidence?) In the book, McDougall describes the substantial nutritional benefits of chia seeds, which he researched after getting an incredible energy boost after downing some iskiate, or chia fresca, while on a long, hot climb in Mexico. Iskiate is "brewed up by dissolving chia seeds in water with a little sugar and a squirt of lime." McDougall says it was a "damn tasty devil drink," but I'm not convinced. So I've looked for other ways to use chia seeds. Grandma and Pop-pop like them in their smoothies, but that ruins the smoothies for me. Maybe I'd like it better if I let the smoothie sit for a while after I add the chia seeds so they can absorb some liquid and soften and swell, but ain't nobody got time for that in the morning.

Then I came across various recipes for jams made with chia seeds, which provide the thickening power instead of the pectin and loads of sugar used in regular jams. After the fruit is cooked, it has to cool anyway so that gives the chia seeds plenty of time to work their magic and thicken the jam, without making me late for work. I combined a few recipes and worked out this one, which I think is pretty good despite using only a tablespoon or two of sweetener.

Berry Chia Jam

Adapted from the kitchn

You can make this with lots of different kinds of fruits and berries. Just remove any stems, skin, pits, and seeds, as needed, then chop any large fruit into small pieces.

1 pound fresh or frozen (defrosted) berries (see note) (Trader Joe's Fancy Berry Medley of frozen blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries works well)
3 tablespoons honey (63 grams), maple syrup, agave nectar, or sugar (37 grams), more to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, more to taste
a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons (30 grams) chia seeds, more if needed

     1. Place the berries, sweetener, lemon juice, and salt in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until the berries burst and the mixture becomes syrupy, 10 to 15 minutes. Gently mash any unpopped berries against the side of the pan with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat.
    2. Taste and adjust with more sweetener and/or lemon juice as needed. Stir in the chia seeds, making sure they are distributed evenly and not clumping together. Let stand 5 minutes until thickened some. The jam will continue to thicken as it cools, but it won’t be as firm as a regular jam. If you’d like a thicker consistency, you can stir in more chia seeds, 1 teaspoon at a time, after 5 minutes. If you’re not a big fan of seeds in your jam, you can puree the mixture with an immersion blender to make it more like jelly.
    3. Once the jam has cooled to room temperature, transfer it to a 2-cup jar or other storage container. It will keep in the fridge for no more than 2 weeks. Makes ~1½ cups.