How to Make Absolutely Fabulous Low Sugar Apricot Jam

My apricot jam recipe is similar to my peach jam recipe. Apricots have a slightly different quality to them than peaches, in that they are best if they are nearly over-ripe! Peaches can be a bit firm, but you want apricots to be very soft, extremely ripe. Apricots tend to not be as sweet if they are not extremely ripe. So, if you bought some nice apricots, let them ripen a bit longer than usual before you make jam from them! This recipe will turn out some lovely apricot jam for you.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 6 cup measuring cup
• 6 top full cups worth of (about 12 – 14 or so apricots depending on size) fresh apricots, pitted and cut into chunks, and tightly packed all the way to the top of the measuring cup.
• 3 cups of sugar
• 1 package of dry pectin, any brand of low/no sugar type
• 1 Tablespoon of butter or margarine
• 5 Mason jars (2 cup capacity)
• 1 Mason jar (1 cup capacity)
• Large saucepot, preferably a Dutch oven type
• Large plastic or wooden spoon for stirring (never metal)
• Large, sharp knife for cutting your fruit
• Soup ladle

Steps To Fabulous Jam

1. Carefully rinse off your apricots in cold water, then remove the pits and discard. Cut up the apricot fruit (skin on) into chunks that are about ½ to ¾ in. in size. You don’t want to cut them too small, because you want some of those nice hearty chunks of fruit to remain intact in your jam! Heat your oven to about 200 degrees, and place your clean mason jars on the oven racks and just leave them while you are preparing your fruit.

2. Place your 6 cups worth of cut up apricot chunks into your Dutch oven pot on top of your stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the three cups of sugar to your fruit and start stirring slowly and steadily, be consistent in your stirring, this is one of the secrets to amazing jam, trust me. As you slowly and methodically stir these fruit, the apricot chunks and the sugar will start breaking down into a beautiful, light golden-orange colored mixture that will make your kitchen smell wonderful! Keep stirring! Don't even stop for a minute.

3. Once the fruit and sugar mixture starts to bubble, add the 1 Tablespoon of butter or margarine (this is your 'secret weapon) and keep that stirring going. Once the mixture gets to the rolling boil, where the mixture keeps bubbling regardless of whether you are stirring or not at this point, quickly add the entire contents of the pectin powder packet. Keep stirring for one more, full minute after you have added and dissolved the pectin powder. Turn off the heat.

4. Get your jars out of the oven one at a time, and ladle the hot liquid jam into the jars. You may get five full 2 cup jars out of a batch, or a little less depending on how your apricots panned out in the mixture. Immediately seal the jars with lids and rings, and place them on your counter top. Do not touch these jars for at least 24 hours, don't check the set, nothing. Just leave them alone, this is important! After 24 hours, you can pick them up and see if they set. Once the 24 hours is up, you can then use your jam and place in refrigerator.

Tips & Warnings

• I say "Mason Jars" but you can use any glass jar that has a lid.
• The key here is to not 'bother' those jars of jam until 24 hours have passed.
• Don't leave out the butter or margarine, it really stops the jam from foaming.
• However, if you find your jam foams still, just scrape that off with your spoon, and don't use it, throw it out. Butter will really help the foam though.
• This wonderful jam lasts over a year in your refrigerator
• To reprocess in case of improper set, you essentially wait 24 hours, and if the jam isn't set, you have to empty it all from that batch back into your pot, and start from step two all over again. (Which means you will have to add 3 cups of sugar, 1 Tablespoon of butter, and 1 package of pectin to your already processed batch.)
• Remember that not all fruit behaves the same after it is cooked and set. Each jam recipe I create will tell you what the consistency should be for that particular fruit. For this peach jam, the set will be firm if procedure was followed correctly!
• Wash your utensils immediately afterward if you don't want a sticky mess later on!

[deeb]

on 8/9/2008 I tired your receipe for "How to Make Absolutely Fabulous Low Sugar Apricot Jam". This was my very first attempt on making jam and it turned out pretty good. Except, that some of the jars I didn't fill quite all the way to the top. So at the top of the jars the jam looks a little brown. But, smells and taste alright. Should I have put in some fruit protector? I saw it at Walmart, in a powder form. Dee email: [e-mail]