But my fall readiness – or lack thereof – was not supposed to be my point here. What is my point? This jam is my point! Gingered Pear-Plum Chia Seed Jam is perfect for this strange little time of limbo between summer and fall.

Summer = plums. Fall = pears. And together, they are glorious, so I guess I can get on board this moody weather train and embrace the chill that’s pervaded the fronts and backs of our otherwise hot days. Especially if I get to eat this jam at the same time.

It started with some overly ripe pears and yet another pound of plums in our weekly CSA box.

A little ginger, some maple syrup, a buncha chia seeds, and voila!

Okay, so let’s talk a bit about chia seed jam, shall we? Have you gone there yet? I have, and do, and I’m not sure I’ll go back. These crazy nutrient-rich gems soak up to 10 times their weight in liquid, so they are perfect for things like healthy puddings and jams. No need for added pectin, no need for granulated sugar. This jam recipe relies heavily on the sweetness of the fruit itself (the juiciest ripe pears help there), and then a little all-natural sweetener like pure maple syrup or honey. And not even that much.

I did the math, and if each jar of jam has 15 servings, each serving only has about a half a teaspoon of maple syrup. For real!

This recipe makes enough for two sizable jars – one for your fridge, one for your freezer, say. If you want to preserve a bunch of summer-slash-fall bounty, just double, triple, quadruple, hundredize (?!) the recipe for gobs of healthy freezer jam to remind you of the summer/fall limbo time – and how blissful it actually really was – all winter long. (Note that I would not recommend canning this jam traditionally, such as hot water bath canning, because I don’t know enough about how chia seeds affect the pH level of the jam, which is crucial for safe canning.)

Oh, and if you’re new to chia seeds, you should be able to find them in most well-stocked grocery stores. I’ve found the best prices at Trader Joe’s, but when I’m not feeling a trip to the grocery store, I just order these chia seeds off of Amazon and they’re in my hot little hands before I know it.

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