This is a fantastic way to make fruit butter in any blender (though a high-speed machine will give you the smoothest consistency). Don’t be put off by the straining. It only takes a few minutes and is totally worth it. In this recipe, resist the temptation to tweak the ingredients. The strained butter is quite mild and not too sweet. It’s fabulous with ice cream, spread on baked goods, or straight out of the jar (or strainer) with a spoon, which is my preference. The pungency of the ginger winds up mostly in the juice after straining; don’t miss using it to make Asian Arugula. Or, in homemade ginger ale simply mix one part juice to one part sparkling water and sweeten to taste.
Ingredients
How to Make It
- Soak the dates in 2½ cups (600 ml) of water for 2 hours. Place the soaked dates and their liquid into your blender and add the pears, apples, lime juice, and ginger.
- Blast on high for 2 to 3 minutes, until well pureed. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, stirring to remove as much liquid from the pulp as possible; reserve the liquid and store in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Scoop the fruit butter out of the strainer and use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. all-but-instant raw All-but-instant raw raspberry jam
- This all-but-instant raw jam is a welcome alternative to traditional varieties. Chia-thickened, it tastes pretty close to conventional jams without the cooking time. Use this basic recipe with any fruit, from berries to apricots to figs. The key to the look and texture is putting half of the fruit in the blender at the end and pulsing on low speed. Blend on high and you’ll get pudding! Any way you eat it with toast, crackers, pancakes, or crepes this is blender magic. Make: 2 cups (500 g)
Ingredient:
- ¼ cup (60 ml) coconut water
- ½ cup (85 g) firmly packed chopped pitted dates
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 cups (320 g) fresh raspberries (frozen don’t work well)
- Natural liquid sweetener
- Pour the coconut water into your blender and add the dates. Blast on high for 30 to 60 seconds, until the dates have broken up. Scrape down the sides of the container, then add the chia seeds and one-half of the raspberries. Pulse on low a few times, just to break up the berries. Add the remaining raspberries and pulse a few times on low to get a thick, chunky consistency. If the jam is too tart, stir in liquid sweetener to taste. Go easy, or the jam will get runny.
- Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes the chia seeds will thicken the jam and the flavors will develop. The jam will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.