Salted Honey Cantaloupe Jam (Made with Chia Seeds)

Do you ever see a recipe and it calls to you and then you obsess about it until you finally make it? I saw a recipe for Salted Honey Cantaloupe Jam in Bon Appétit and something about it--the salt, the honey, using cantaloupe in a jam... (or maybe a mix of all of the above), got firmly stuck in my mind. When I found local cantaloupe on sale and picked a really sweet one, I knew I had to make it. I did change it a bit--namely using chia seeds, as I prefer adding them to jam instead of pectin and allowing them to swell up and do their gelling--or in this case, their jamming magic. Without the pectin and with a super-sweet cantaloupe, I saw no need for the cup of sugar and omitted it, just using the half-cup of honey, keeping the lemon for brightness and adding a touch of vanilla extract for balance. The result was a unique sweet and salty combination that tastes like summer.

Bon Appetit says, "This salty, sweet cantaloupe jam will put your go-to strawberry jam to shame."

 Salted Honey Cantaloupe Jam
Adapted from Clare Safitz via BonAppetit.com
(Makes about 2 1/2 Cups)

4 cups coarsely chopped cantaloupe
1 cup sugar (I omitted)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon powdered pectin (I used 3 heaping Tbsp white chia seeds)

Bring cantaloupe and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan, mashing lightly with a potato masher; add sugar and lemon juice and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, until mixture is thick, 15–20 minutes. Stir in honey, salt, and pectin and boil vigorously, stirring, 2 minutes. Let cool. Transfer jam to a glass jar, cover, and chill.
 (Deb's Note: Since I was using chia and I am lazy, I did this a little differently--bringing my cantaloupe, water, and lemon juice to a boil, reducing to a simmer and cooking for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then mashing it with a potato masher but leaving some small chunks. I then stirred in the honey and salt and brought to a boil again, then reduced the heat to low, added the vanilla and the chia seeds, stirring to distribute evenly. I cooked it on low for another 4-5 minutes, then removed from the heat and allowed it to cool completely before putting the jam in jars and chilling it. Chia jam will thicken even more as it cools and sets and in the fridge. Jam will keep a month or more in a tightly closed jar in fridge)

Make Ahead Tip: Jam can be made 1 month ahead. Keep chilled.

Notes/Results: This jam is pretty unique as looking at it, you expect it to be sweet, but then when you taste it, you get a pop of salty goodness along with the sweet cantaloupe flavor. I did not miss the extra sugar--finding it plenty sweet enough, but you should taste your cantaloupe and add a little more honey or natural sweetener if needed or desired. I have only tasted it on the spoon so far, but I am thinking it is going to pair well on top of yogurt or with peanut, almond, or cashew butter in a sandwich. Was it worth the obsession? I like unusual flavor and sweet/salty combos so I really like it. I would guess that if you are a cantaloupe/melon fan and like sweet and salty combinations, you will like this jam. But, if that's not your jam (hah!), do try a chia seed jam with any other fruit. If you need recipes and inspiration, I have four other chia seed jams--blackberry, cinnamon-peach, plum, and strawberry-plum to get you started. It truly is the easiest, healthiest (chia seeds are full of fiber, protein and Omega-3 fatty acids), way to make jam. Next up for me, I swear I am going to try pineapple and mango chia seed jams one of these days!

 
Because its fun to make chia jam and since I usually just link up book reviews, I'm linking up this recipe to the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.