Preserving the Bounty of Summer
If you’re anything like me, one of your favorite parts of summer is all the fresh fruit that lines the aisles of the farmers market and local fruit stands. No matter where you live, summer brings out a burst of bright colorful fruit that tastes as delicious as it looks. I love eating more berries and stone fruit than I can count when summer rolls around and, to me, there is also something peaceful and amazing about processing all of that fresh fruit into delicious jam.
Jam is a great way to preserve the bounty of summer, but it is also a great way to use delicious fresh fruit. Let’s be honest, all of us sometimes buy fruit with the intention of eating it quickly, but then all of the sudden it is going soft in the back of our fridge. So, why not add some cannabis to your homemade jam to create a delicious treat that is full of medicinal benefits?
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Today, I am sharing two delicious jam recipes with you, one that is traditional and one that is a low sugar spin on the classic jam. Both recipes can be used to make jam with a variety of different fruits, so you can have all of the different flavors of summer in the form of delicious of cannabis infused jam. Stone fruits and berries are both a great option, and they can be mixed and matched to create delicious combinations. Both recipes are infused with cannabis through the use of Canna-honey, which adds sweetness and medication.
Canna-Honey – the Sweet Foundation
Canna-Honey is the sugary foundation for your jam and is infused with your choice of cannabis.
- 1 oz cannabis of your choice
- 5 lbs honey
- cheesecloth and cooking twine
- crock pot
Bundle the cannabis in the cheesecloth and tie off with cooking twine. Place cannabis cheesecloth in the crockpot and cover with honey. Cook on low for five hours, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool for 24 hours and remove the cannabis and squeeze it to extract all of the excess honey. Stir and pour into jars.
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Classic Canna-Jam
- 3 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 4 cups fresh fruit of your choice
- 1/4 cup canna-honey
Combine lemon juice and sugar after low heat, stir until all of the sugar is dissolved. Add fruit and cook for 20 minutes. Add mixture to a jar, or multiple jars, and stir in canna-honey.
The next recipe is great if you are looking for a slightly healthier option when it comes to jam. Sugar is what helps jam gain its texture, so with less sugar jam does not have the same texture. In this next recipe, we have replaced the sugar with chia seeds, which absorb some liquid and create the jam-like texture. This recipe is great with fruits that are naturally sweet and do not need the assistance of large amounts of sugar. Chia seeds also provide a nutritional boost to this jam, and it is great served like traditional jam on toast, or mixed in to oatmeal or yogurt!
Chia Canna-Jam
- 4 cups fresh fruit of your choice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup canna-honey
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
Cook down fruit in a pan over low/medium heat, add a splash of water if needed to help cook down the fruit. As the fruit starts to breakdown, assist it by breaking up the fruit with a fork or spoon. Take jam off the heat and stir in chia seeds, lemon juice, and canna-honey. The jam will be loose at first, but once it is cooled in the refrigerator it will continue to jell as the seeds absorb some liquid.
Both of these jams can be customized to your taste. Feel free to add different kinds of citrus in the form of juice and/or zest or mix and match fruits. If you are craving canna-jam outside of the summer season, you can also use frozen berries to create jam – simply add more cooking time to the process to breakdown the fruit. Canna-jam is an easy way to add a delicious, nutritious, and medicinal boost to your morning.
If you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our Cannabis 101 post. HelloMD can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it’s 100% online, private and efficient.