It's berry season! Like me, you may have ideas of jams, preserves, and pies (oh my!) but what to do when the plants are still small and only produce a few handfuls of berries? Harvests are often light in the first year or two after planting new berry bushes in the garden, as they are focusing their energy on establishing their roots and acclimating to their new home.
This year, I saw many fruits on the Gooseberries around the nursery. As I started to pick and munch a few, I thought I saw enough to put together a pie. I rounded up a jar and started collecting more than I was eating, but quickly realized that there weren’t quite as many as I had thought there would be. The way I saw it, I had two options: I could either take a seat and enjoy the berries I had found, or I could figure out a small recipe to use the meager ½ cup I had managed to collect.
Because my initial plan had been to make something to share, I decided to work out a way to stretch this precious number of berries as far as I could. I remembered another project I was working on- a gluten free sourdough loaf that would be ready to bake in a few hours- and decided that I could make enough ‘jam’ to pair with the bread.
I thought back to a time when I lived in a cabin with a tiny kitchen with no pantry or storage space, but I was surrounded by the most delicious blackberries. That summer I worked out a recipe for me to be able to whip up small batches of what I called “Fast Jam” to last for a week or so before I made more, and even tucked some away in the freezer to enjoy in the winter. It was a win- win as I didn’t have to make large batches or spread out across my entire (tiny) kitchen for canning. I decided it was time to dig this fast and simple recipe out of my memory and apply it to the gooseberries.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup berries
- 1 tbsp water
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1-2 tbsp honey
In a small saucepan, heat the berries and water just enough for the berries to burst. Use a potato masher or a muddler to crush the berries, releasing their juice. Remove from heat and add all other ingredients, stirring well. Allow the mixture to sit for ten minutes, then stir again. The fast jam will continue to thicken as the chia seeds expand in the liquid mixture. You can add more honey as needed to reach your desired level of sweetness. Let the mixture sit for another 10 minutes, stir well, and transfer to a small jam jar. This fast jam can be eaten immediately, refrigerated up to a week, or kept in the freezer for 3 months.
Word got around quickly to friends in the community that I was whipping up a jam to go on the bread everyone had been excited to try, and by the time they were both ready to serve, hungry mouths were all around. Both the bread and the fast jam were such a hit that we were barely able to snap a photo before it was all gone! I thought back to just hours before when I considered sitting down and eating the berries alone in the garden. I was grateful to have instead chosen to share the tiny harvest in company.
This recipe works well for a wide variety of berries and stone fruits, and can be easily scaled to accommodate your harvest size.