Apricot Jam

I'm on a jamming spree! I seem to be slightly infatuated with jam making at the moment, I think its because several batches have come out so nice I just want to niceness to continue!


I made some Blackberry jam the other day, it was lovely if a bit seedy...

This recipe is adapted from David Lebovitz's recipe which you can find here.

I didn't want to use as much sugar as he did, plus I was a little short of the amount of apricots needed, but it worked out fine, and it looks like golden nectar!

Apricot Jam

(adapted from David Lebovitz)

Ingredients

 1kg Apricots, stoned and chopped into small pieces

125ml water

4 1/2 cups (approx. 900g) granulated sugar

Vanilla bean paste (optional)

Method

1. Put the apricots in a heavy based pan with the water and cook on a low to medium heat until tender.

2. Once the apricots are cooked all the way through add the sugar and cook, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. As the mixture thickens stir to make sure the sugar isn't burning on the base of the pan.

3. Once the jam looks thick enough (if you want to use a sugar thermometer the jam should be at about 220 F, 104 C) pour it into your sterilised jars* and let cool. Once cooled it can be stored for up to a year.

*I'm sure I've mentioned this before but if you don't know how to sterilise your jars, I find the easiest way is to pour boiling water over the jars and let them steam and sterilise in the hot water. Once the water has cooled a bit you can put the lids in the water too (they would melt if they are plastic if you pour the boiled water on the lids).