Apricot jam
Apricots have such a short season that it feels like a real imperative to preserve their flavour during summer and the house will smell divine doing so. Tangy, sparkling and fragrant, to me, apricot jam is one of the tastes of France. To have some on hand has the power to transport me to a warm summer’s afternoon in the Loire Valley when really, I’m scoffing it on a slice of toast on a wet and grey November morning in Yorkshire. The trick is storing it away in a place I forget about it so that I don’t eat it all during the summer.
My recipe below is derived and modified from an original by Pam the Jam.
PORTION SIZE
Makes 2x medium jars (about 400-500ml)INGREDIENTS
500g underripe or just ripe apricots
275g sugar (granulated or preserving)
4g powdered pection
12ml lemon juice (about half a lemon’s worth)
A drop or two of grapeseed oil (if needed)
Ratios
100% fruit, 55% sugar
approx 2g pectin per 150g sugar
Many recipes suggest a 1:1 ratio of fruit to sugar but this blanket statement is useless and I find this far far too sweet. For apricots, roughly 55% sugar to fruit, I find, makes a jam that tastes much more of the fruit than the sugar.
You can use the above ratios to tailor your portion to however much fruit you have available to preserve.
METHOD
Rinse the apricots, destone them and cut them into quarters.
NOTE! It is often considered more ‘traditional’ that the apricots are halved so that they retain a bit of size and chunk after cooking, but I prefer a more spreadable jam where the fruit has been much softened in the process of cooking, hence my instruction to quarter the fruit.
Place the apricots in the jam pot (not too large – jam reduces, which, if it’s too shallow in the pan, makes it hard to get an accurate temperature and can encourage burning). Weigh the sugar, pectin and lemon juice straight into the pan with the apricots, mix to distribute. Cover and let macerate overnight for the juices to draw.
************** WAIT OVERNIGHT ***************
First, preheat the oven to 110°C and set out a clean cotton tea towel/dish towel (not terry cloth) on the counter and put a small saucer in the fridge or freezer. Wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water and rinse but don’t dry them. Place the jars onto a baking tray and into the oven for the duration of the jam cooking - If you are using jars with rubber seals, be sure to remove these before placing in the oven and if you have separate lids, place them in a bowl of boiling water.
NOTE! When adding food to the jars, it is necessary that both the food and jars are at the same temperature so that the jars don’t crack, and the jam doesn’t heat up any more when it goes into the jar.
Place the pan with the jam on the stove over medium heat and allow it to come to a boil — it might look very foamy at this point – don’t worry about it.
Allow to boil for 15-20 minutes until set, stirring occasionally. Use a thermometer for the best control over the progress – jam sets between 104°C and 105°C. It will be a rich orange once ready, and the sound changes from a wet ‘pop’ to more of a ‘burble’. This fruit doesn’t set quite so readily, so for a spreadable jam, I prefer to take it up to 105°C.
Remove from the heat as soon as it hits 105°C anywhere in the pan and lightly stir in the same direction to remove any foam, adding a drop or two of oil if it doesn’t dispel easily.
Now comes the crucial moment. While the jam is still extremely hot — in other words, right away — ladle it into the clean pots, leaving a margin of about half an inch (2 cm) between the top of the jam and the top of the jar. Immediately place the lids on the jars. Quickly wipe off the jars with a sponge to remove any jam on the sides. And now, using your tea towel to protect your hands from the heat, screw the lids on as tightly as possible.
LET COOL FOR SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE TRYING!
USES
Dollop onto rice pudding or porridge
Spread onto toast after butter
Swirl through a cheesecake
Smear onto warm scones or hotcakes
In thumbprint cookies
As a filling for Victoria Sponge Cake
In a nut butter and jam sandwich