Apricot Jam
Vacation jam... because it's almost here!!!
A slightly tart apricot jam that preserves much of the fresh fruit aroma. It has an intense, vibrant orange color that will remind us in winter of this wonderful summer sun. This is a softer jam with fragrant pieces of apricots. It's ideal for breakfast with butter, mixed with yogurt, or for filling crepes.
Ingredients
3 kg apricots
1.25 kg sugar
1 lemon
Makes: 2 jars of 680ml + 3 jars of 370ml
How to prepare apricot jam
- Use ripe, slightly soft, very fragrant apricots. Wash the apricots and drain well. Split them in half and remove the pits. You'll be left with a little over 2.5 kg of apricots.
- Use the widest pot/pan you have (30-35 cm), otherwise the cooking times would need to be longer than indicated. This way, the shorter the cooking time (due to the larger evaporation surface), the better the apricot pieces will keep their shape. Cover the apricot halves with sugar and let macerate for 1 hour at room temperature. The sugar won't melt completely, but it will get moist from the juice released by the apricots.
- Put them on to cook over low heat together with the lemon juice. The apricots will release their juice, the sugar will slowly melt, and in about 20 minutes the apricots will be covered in syrup. Try to stir as little and as gently as possible, only 2-3 times if needed to mix in the sugar from the top. When the whole mixture starts to boil, leave it on heat for 1 more minute.
- Strain the apricots from the released juice. Let them drain for 10 minutes to collect as much juice as possible.
- Put the strained juice back on the heat and bring to a boil. Boil over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, skimming off the thick foam that forms on top. Don't stir the syrup. At the end, you'll see that no more foam forms.
- Add the apricots to the boiled syrup. Cook for another 20 minutes from when it starts to bubble, over medium-low heat. When done, you'll see that the apricot pieces have become translucent and their color has intensified. The syrup on them won't be very thick yet - it will thicken more after cooling.
- Pour the hot apricot jam into hot sterilized jars (20 minutes in the oven at 200°C), wipe the rim of the jar if it got dirty, put on the lids and tighten well. Turn the jars upside down (standing on their lids) and leave for 10 minutes to create a vacuum. Place the still-hot inverted jars in a blanket and let them cool overnight (dry steam method).
- Store in a cool place, in a cellar or pantry.
