Perfect Apricot Jam

…without pectin.

 Mmmmmm….toast and jam makes me really happy.

I had to take a break from packing and painting and weed killing because some things…like apricots, just won’t wait. At the risk of losing them all, I decided to just drop everything and make some jam in my cute little kitchen.

I wasn’t positive that I even had everything that I needed because I’m still living in one house while working on the other, and I don’t have my kitchen totally set up yet.

As it turns out, I found what I needed. I also found a very simple recipe without pectin, that–short of burning the whole pot to a crisp–promised to be pretty much fool-proof. My kind of recipe.

So, you start with 8 cups of washed, pitted, and chopped apricots. 

 Mush them around a bit with a potato masher. You don’t have to go crazy with this part–just smash them enough that you release a fair amount of the natural juices.

Add 1/4 cup of lemon juice. I used bottled juice–but if you have fresh lemons, you can use them. Either way should be fine.

Now add 6 cups of sugar to a nice, deep sauce pan. Stir in the apricots and mix it well.

Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Once the mixture reaches a rolling boil, continue cooking for about 30-40 minutes. Keep checking on it and stirring so that it doesn’t stick to the pan and scorch.

When it starts getting really foamy, I always add about a teaspoon and a half of butter–which usually calms it all down. You don’t have to do that–it’s just what I do.

Now I should have a lovely picture of pouring the beautiful jam into the jars, but since I was alone in the house, taking pictures of that process seemed like a good way to land in the emergency room.  SO…

you’ll have to believe me when I tell you that I poured the jam in the hot, clean jars and processed them in the boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

Here’s my proof. That and…

this.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Perfect Apricot Jam--Without Pectin

 

Print

: Launi

: 5 pints

Ingredients

• 8 cups chopped apricots
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 6 cups sugar
• 5 pint jars, lids and rings

Instructions

1. Mash the apricots lightly.
2. Add lemon juice and sugar.
3. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.
4. Once it reaches a rolling boil, continue boiling for about 30-40 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and pour into clean, hot jars.
6. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.
7. Let set for a few hours until cans seal
8. :]

3.5.3251