3-Ingredient Christmas Plum Chia Jam Recipe

Plums have long been a symbol of Christmas, with plum pudding — also known as Christmas pudding or figgy pudding (which is not a pudding in the American sense, but a dense British fruit cake) — traditionally served at Christmastime. The dish has roots in Medieval English sausages, for which fruits, spices, and fats were added to meats to preserve them. It morphed into a sweet dish in the late 1500s when dried fruit was more abundant and the pudding cloth replaced animal intestine cases. The term plum referred to any dried fruit (plums were only used if available), as you can see in recipes for traditional plum pudding that call for dried currants, sultanas, and raisins.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico found inspiration in traditional Christmas plum pudding when creating a three-ingredient Christmas plum jam that does use actual plums (in their dried form). With only three ingredients, each ingredient counts, and prunes are so sweet that no sugar is needed. Orange pairs well with plums to flavor the jam. With only one ingredient left, sugar and pectin can't fit, so Bottalico uses chia seeds as ingredient number three.

Chia seeds soak up moisture and thicken the jam to the perfect spreadable consistency. They're also a health superfood, packed with fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. If you haven't tried chia seed jam before, this holiday recipe is a perfect way to start. Chia seed jam requires no canning, is easy to make, contains no added sugar, and is just delicious.

As the title says, you only need three ingredients to make this recipe, plus water, which we consider a free ingredient. Gather prunes, a large orange, and chia seeds, and you'll be good to go.

Roughly chop the prunes.

Place the prunes in a bowl and cover them with warm water. Set aside to soak for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, grate the orange peel until you have ½ teaspoon of orange zest.

Peel the orange and chop the segments from half of the orange. Reserve the other half for another use.

Drain the prunes and place them in a small saucepan with the orange zest, chopped orange segments, and ½ cup water.

Bring the mixture to a boil and then immediately lower to a simmer. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until thickened, mashing with a fork at the end to break up large pieces.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chia seeds.

Transfer the mixture to a jar and set it aside, uncovered, until cool and thickened, at least 2 hours.

Serve as desired. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.

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One way to customize plum chia jam is to use fresh plums. Plums may or may not be in season at Christmas time, depending on which hemisphere you live in, but there's nothing stopping you from making this jam in the summer, too. You can follow the same recipe when using fresh plums, but omit the soaking step.

If you don't have a fresh orange, you can flavor the prunes with orange liqueur, or use the orange liqueur in addition to the fresh orange segments and zest for extra orange flavor. You could also opt to use an apple instead of an orange in the jam. Use a sweeter variety of apple. There is a time and place for Granny Smiths, and this is not it. To add additional flavor to the jam, cook the fruit with a cinnamon stick, or add ground cinnamon if you don't have a stick. Remove the stick before transferring the jam to a jar.

Like plums, cranberries are also associated with Christmas. Dried cranberries are popular in cocktails during the holidays, but you can use them to make jam, too, instead of using prunes. Fresh or frozen cranberries are also excellent. Using orange for sweetness is enough for some people, but cranberries are much tarter than prunes, so you can add honey to the fruit if desired.

A simple chia seed jam can be made with just two ingredients — fresh or frozen fruit and chia seeds. If you use fresh fruit, make sure it's ripe. Frozen fruit is a good option because it already has a softer and moister consistency once defrosted. To make the jam, place the fruit in a saucepan. Heat it on medium and mash it with a fork once soft. Let it simmer for a few minutes until stewed, and then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chia seeds. Transfer the jam to jars and let it cool and thicken.

Berries work very well, but most fruits are delicious when made into chia seed jam. Since basic chia seed jam doesn't require sugar, riper fruit will be sweeter. Frozen or dried fruit is a great option for the wintertime. Besides prunes, you can make this jam with other dried fruits like apricots, cranberries, cherries, and apples. And with their naturally jammy texture, dried figs can be made into an excellent jam.

Just as this recipe pairs the flavors of plum and orange, you can use flavor combinations in your jam like apple and cinnamon, cranberry and orange, cherry and vanilla, and strawberry and coconut. The beauty of chia jam is that it's naturally sweetened with fruit, but if some flavors are too tart for your taste, add a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup to sweeten it naturally.

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