How to Make Homemade Apricot Jam - Easily!

[Kitchen Witch]

How to Make Homemade Apricot Jam - Easily!

Making and canning your own Apricot, Peach, Plum or Nectarine jam is so easy. Here's how to do it, in 12 simple steps. I'll discuss apricots below, but you can substitute peaches, plums or nectarines! Any variations will be spelled out in the directions inside the pectin.



Ingredients and Equipment

* Fruit: Apricots, Peaches, Plums or Nectarines - 5 pints (which is: 10 cups, or 2.25 liters, about 3.5 lbs, almost 1.75 kg) fresh.
* Lemon juice - either fresh squeezed or bottled. 1/4 cup.
* Water - 1/2 cup
* Sugar - About 4.5 cups of dry, granulated (table) sugar. It is possible to make low-sugar, fruit juice-sweetened, or Splenda-sweetened fig jam; I'll point out the differences below.
* Pectin
* Jar funnel
* Jar grabber

* At least 2 large pots; I prefer 16 to 20 quart Teflon lined pots for easy cleanup.
* Large spoons and ladles
* 1 Canner
* Ball jars
* Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gum binder that seals them against the top of the jar. They may only be used once.
* Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars. They may be reused many times.

Optional stuff:

* Food Mill - useful if you want to remove seeds (from blackfruit) or make applesauce.
* Lid lifter

Apricot (and/or peach, plum or nectarine) Jam-making Directions

This example shows you how to make jam from stone fruits! The yield from this recipe is about 10 eight-ounce jars (which is the same as 5 pints).


Step 1 - Pick the Apricots! (or buy them already picked)

It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better quality ones!


As mentioned in the Ingredients section; you may use frozen Apricots (those without syrup or added sugar); which is especially useful if you want to make some jam in December to give away at Christmas!



Step 2 - How much fruit?

Jam can ONLY be made in rather small batches - about 6 cups at a time - like the directions on the pectin say, DO NOT increase the recipes or the jam won't "set" (jell, thicken). It takes about 8 cups of raw, unprepared Apricots per batch. For triple berry jam, I use 4 cups of mushed (slightly crushed) Apricots, 1 cup of raspfruit and 1 cup of blackfruit.



Step 3 - Wash the jars and lids

Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars, the water bath processing will sterilize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sterilize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used.

NOTE: If unsterilized jars are used, the product should be processed for 5 more minutes. However, since this additional processing can result in a poor set (runny jam), it?s better to sterilized the jars.

Put the lids into a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.



Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot jam.



Lids: put the lids into a pan of boiling water for at least several minutes; to soften up the gummed surface and clean the lids. I just leave them in there, with the heat onm very low, until I need them!

Step 4 -Wash the fruit and sort!

I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the fruit in a colander of plain cold water.

Then you need to pick out and and remove any bits of stems, leaves and soft or mushy fruit. It is easiest to do this in a large bowl of water and gently run your hands through the fruit as they float. With your fingers slightly apart, you will easily feel any soft or mushy fruit get caught in your fingers.



Then just drain off the water!



Step 6 - Peeling the Apricots

Peaches, plums and nectarines should be peeld, as their skins are thick or fuzzy. Apricots have such thin skins, you really don't need to peel them.

For those you want to peel, here's a great trick that works with many fruits and vegetables with skins (like tomatoes): just dip the fruit in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds. Remove from the water using a slotted spoon and put into a large bowl or pot of cold water and ice. The skins will easily slide off now!


Step 7 - Cut up the apricots

Cut out any brown spots and mushy areas. Cut the apricots in half, or quarters or slices, as you prefer! Remove pits!



Step 8 - Prevent the fruit from darkening!

Now, to keep the fruit from turning brown, when you get a bowlful, sprinkle 1/4 cup lemon juice or Fruit-Fresh (which is just citric acid, vitamin C, perfectly natural). Then stir the apricots to make sure all the surfaces have been coated.


Step 6 - Measure out the sweetener

Depending upon which type of jam you're making (sugar, no-sugar, Splenda, mix of sugar and Splenda or fruit juice) you will need to use a different amount of sugar and type of pectin. The precise measurements are found in directions inside each and every box of pectin sold (every brand, Ball, Kerr, Mrs. Wages, etc. has directions inside).

Type of jam

Type of pectin to buy
Sweetener
regular regular 7 cups of sugar
low sugar low-sugar or no-sugar 4.5 cups of sugar
lower sugar low-sugar or no-sugar 2 cups sugar and 2 cups of Splenda
no sugar no-sugar 4 cups of Splenda
natural no-sugar 3 cups fruit juice (grape, peach, apple or mixed)
Step 7 - Mix the dry pectin with about 1/4 cup of sugar or other sweetener

Keep this separate from the rest of the sugar.

Notes about pectin: I usually add about 20% more pectin (just open another pack and add a little) or else the jam is runnier than I like. With a little practice, you'll find out exactly how much pectin to get the thickness you like.



Is your jam too runny? Pectin enables you to turn out perfectly set jam every time. Made from natural apples, there are also low-sugar pectins that allow you to reduce the sugar you add by almost half!

Step 8 - Mix the Apricots with the pectin and cook to a full boil

Stir the pectin into the Apricots and put the mix in a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir often enough to prevent burning). It should take about 5 to 10 minutes to get it to a full boil (the kind that can not be stirred away).

Step 9 - Add the remaining sugar and bring to a boil

When the berry-pectin mix has reached a full boil, add the rest of the sugar (about 4 cups of sugar per 6 cup batch of Apricots) and then bring it back to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.


Step 10 - Testing for "jell" (thickness)

I keep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a half spoonful of the mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If it thickens up to the consistency I like, then I know the jam is ready. If not, I mix in a little more pectin (about 1/s to 1/2 of another package) and bring it to a boil again for 1 minute.


Step 10 - Fill the jars and put the lid and rings on

Fill them to within 1/4 inch of the top, wipe any spilled jam off the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. Then put them into the boiling water canner!

This is where the jar tongs and lid lifter come in really handy!

Step 11 - Process the jars in the boiling water bath

Keep the jars covered with at least 1 inch of water. Keep the water boiling. In general, boil them for 5 minutes. I say "in general" because you have to process (boil) them longer at higher altitudes than sea level, or if you use larger jars, or if you did not sterilize the jars and lids right before using them. The directions inside every box of pectin will tell you exactly. The directions on the pectin tend to be pretty conservative. Clemson University says you only need to process them for 5 minutes. I usually hedge my bets and start pulling them out after 7 minutes, and the last jars were probably in for 10. I rarely have a jar spoil, so it must work.

Note: Some people don't even boil the jars; they just ladle it hot into hot jars, put the lids and rings on and invert them, but putting the jars in the boiling water bath REALLY helps to reduce spoilage! To me, it makes little sense to put all the working into making the jam and then not to process the jars to be sure they don't spoil!


Step 12 - Remove and cool the jars - Done!

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can then remove the rings if you like.

Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last up to 12 months. But after about 6 to 8 months, they get darker in color and start to get runny. They still are safe to eat, but the flavor and texture aren't as good. So eat them in the first 6 months after you prepare them!



Answers to Common Questions

* Why should cooked jelly be made in small batches?
If a larger quantity of juice is used, it will be necessary to boil it longer thus causing loss of flavor, darkening of jelly, and toughening of jelly. It really doesn't work.
* Can I use frozen fruit instead of fresh?
Yep! Raspfruit can be particularly hard to find fresh and are expensive! Frozen fruit work just fine, and measure the same. Just be sure to get the loose, frozen whole fruit; not those that have been mushed up or frozen in a sugar syrup!
* Should jelly be boiled slowly or rapidly?
It should be boiled rapidly since long, slow boiling destroys the pectin in the fruit juice.
* What do I do if there's mold on my jellied fruit product?
Discard jams and jellies with mold on them. The mold could be producing a mycotoxin (poisonous substance that can make you sick). USDA and microbiologists recommend against scooping out the mold and using the ramaining jam or jelly.
* Why did my jellied fruit product ferment, and what do I do?
Jellied fruit products may ferment because of yeast growth. This can occur if the product is improperly processed and sealed, or if the sugar content is low. Fermented fruit products have a disagreeable taste. Discard them.