Apricot jam

On the basis of apricots or dried apricots, jam (confiture) is prepared, not jam. But the name “apricot jam” is so rooted in the language that it does not go out of use, despite the confusion. Jam is one of the varieties of concentrated fruit preserves. ^[1]. Its composition, in addition to such traditional components as fruits and sugar, includes gelling agents. The structure of fruits is partially preserved, or they turn into a thick, pliable mass, which can even be divided into parts with a knife. The dense consistency makes the product versatile: it can be added to the dough as a filling or spread on bread or rolls for breakfast.

What you need to know about apricot jam, how to cook a classic version of sweets at home, and what is this thick fruit mass good for health?

General product characteristics

Why exactly apricot jam, and not jam or marmalade? Confiture and jam – varieties of canned fruit. Jam is prepared on the basis of berries and fruits, from which the bones are removed and the peel is removed. The difference between jam lies in the structure of the fruit. During heat treatment, they are well boiled and acquire a uniform consistency. The fruits do not need to be ground or passed through a meat grinder to achieve a uniform structure.

Is it possible to make jam from dried apricots or fresh apricots? Yes, but its structure will still not look like a classic jam. Even if you take only sugar, apricots and a little water, the structure of the finished sweet will be dense and jelly-like. Why? Apricots contain pectin. ^[2]. It is a plant polysaccharide that protects plants from environmental influences. It is used in the food industry along with gelatin, so the structure of the finished product will be similar to confiture.

Confiture is a jelly-like food product in which crushed fruits or berries are evenly distributed. Sometimes fruits are placed whole or in slices in the finished mass in order to diversify the taste and aesthetic presentation. Jam is made with sugar and gelling agents. Most often, gelatin, gelfix, agar-agar or pectin are used.

Interesting: confiture can be prepared from vegetables. Before gelling, the raw materials must be blanched.

The consistency of jam can be varied – from thickened and pliable to dense pieces of fruit in syrup. For cooking, high-quality, and, most importantly, fully ripened fruits are used. Overripe fruits with clear signs of spoilage are unsuitable for dessert. But crumpled or too small fruits can be safely sent to confiture. They will turn into a homogeneous mass, in which defects will become invisible.

Apricot jam is boiled in voluminous basins. The fruits are pre-washed, crushed or sent whole in a basin and poured with a thick syrup for jam based on granulated sugar. The fruit and sugar mass is put on a slow fire, gradually increasing the intensity. The contents are stirred with a slotted spoon or a regular spoon so that the jam boils evenly and does not stick to the container. If the cook wants to achieve an integral structure of the fruit, then the mixture is not stirred, but shaken. During cooking, white foam accumulates on the surface of the jam, it is removed as needed.

Confiture is boiled until boiling and another 20-30 minutes after. Prolonged cooking reduces the quality of the finished product: its color becomes neutral or too dark, the smell weakens, and the taste becomes bitter.

How to check the readiness of confiture? Drop the fruit mixture onto a plate. If the drop thickens in a few seconds, remove the basin from the stove, if not, continue cooking.

When ready, the dense mass is poured into glass or clay vessels of 0,5-2 liters. The container is corked (covered with parchment and tied with twine) only after the confiture has cooled. A dense crust forms on the surface of the cooled mass. It acts as a kind of protective barrier from the external environment. Before use, it is usually removed to get to the delicate elastic mass. The average shelf life of the product is 3-4 months. If you want to make blanks for the winter, then just roll up the jars with metal lids. The shelf life of sweets will increase to 1 year.

Chemical composition ^{[3] [4]}

Useful properties of jam

Most of the nutrients in apricot are resistant to heat treatment. The product is rich in vitamins and minerals that:

• regulate the functionality of the intestine;
• start detoxification to remove toxins from the body;
• stabilize the work of the heart and blood vessels, additionally protect the body from possible diseases;
• strengthen the immune system;
• relieve cough / colds;
• reduce body temperature;
• improve vision and additionally moisturize the retina;
• fight asthma;
• prevent anemia and atherosclerosis ^{[5] [6] [7]}.

Possible harm and contraindications to use

The product is contraindicated in case of individual intolerance, diabetes and obesity. The only ingredient in jam that can harm the body is sugar. ^[8].

Fact: This white, crystallized carbohydrate is 8 times more addictive than cocaine.

Every day, billions of people are slowly killing themselves by consuming tons of sugar. Scientists have recognized that dependence on sweets and starchy foods is a biological disorder. It is controlled by hormones and neurotransmitters that work at the expense of carbohydrates and sugar. The body is used to receiving large doses of carbohydrate and simply refuses to work without it.

How to get rid of it and how much sugar you can eat ^[9]? First, remember that every product contains sugar. Even salty or sour snacks contain glucose. Avoid eating industrial ready-to-eat breakfasts/snacks/lunches and only eat foods that are fresh or need to be cooked. Balance the diet, eat a variety of daily fruits, dark chocolate, quality grains and meat. Don’t worry about your daily sugar requirement. You will make up for it from “healthy” foods. This glucose will not come in its pure form, it will be supplemented with vitamins and nutrients, which will improve the condition of the body.

At first, the body will resist. He is used to getting dopamine and stimulating pleasure centers effortlessly. You will have to show tremendous endurance to teach the body to enjoy ordinary food. ^[10].

Is it really necessary to abandon confiture forever? No. If you cannot imagine your life without apricot jam, then do not rush to throw away all your stocks. You can eat several tablespoons of sweets daily. The main thing is that this meal should be 10-15% of the total diet. The remaining 85-90% should consist only of high-quality and healthy food products.

Application in folk medicine

Previously, apricot jam was not only eaten, but also applied externally. It has been used as a natural remedy for skin diseases. He saved not only from the usual abrasions and cuts, he was applied even with psoriasis. The success of such therapy is critically small. Conversely, fruit acids can further irritate the skin and exacerbate inflammation.

Previously, it was believed that jam with seed kernels developed resistance to radiation in the body. Heat treatment affected the nuclei and contributed to the release of a number of useful substances. Modern research proves the benefits of apricot kernels, but radiation resistance has not been confirmed. ^[11]

Increased servings of tasty medication were given when:

• diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
• problems with the hematopoietic system;
• pregnancy and lactation;
• blurred vision;
• acne and other skin lesions;
• reduced immunity or high risk of infection;
• jaundice;
• psycho-emotional disorders;
• low hemoglobin in the blood ^{[12] [13]}.

Jam with bones is of particular benefit. They contain the poisonous substance amygdalin, which supposedly fights cancer. Research is underway on this ^{[14] [15]}. The use of grains has a beneficial effect on the condition of the respiratory tract. Adherents of oriental medicine still eat the bones to cure bronchitis, asthma and coughs.

Important. If you have health problems, use a specially compiled list of medicines and seek qualified medical help. Use all the benefits of modern medicine, and leave apricot jam for bronchitis or psoriasis in the past.

Cooking application

Confiture performs 2 gastronomic functions at once – an independent sweetness and a component for more complex dishes. He has proven himself in products that are subjected to heat treatment. Apricot jam is added to open and closed pies, puff pastries, pancakes (as a filling) and frozen convenience foods.

Jams are considered thermostable. They do not melt and do not flow out of the dough under the influence of high temperatures. Their taste, texture and quality do not change after freezing/thawing/heating. Due to these characteristics, the product is often used for desserts, glazed curds, curd masses, yoghurts and ice cream.

There are many manufacturers and varieties of apricot confiture on the market. They differ in combination of flavors, structure and trade name. The most popular combination is apricot with orange or lemon. The zest of citrus fruits is replete with pectin, so in this variation, jam is very similar to jelly.

Confiture without sugar is also in high demand. The product is prepared on the basis of water, fruits and fruit juice. The juice is released during heating, thickens and is in no way inferior to syrup in taste and consistency.

Important: preservatives, thickeners, flavors and flavor enhancers can be added to industrial products. All these “achievements” of the food industry can harm a person and his eating habits. Do you want to be completely sure of the quality of the products? Make jam in your own kitchen. Use one of the step-by-step recipes, add your favorite ingredients (like apples, raspberries or walnuts) and spend 1-2 hours preparing a healthy dessert for the whole family.

Recipe number XXUMX: “Five minutes”

Comment to the recipe: this is the easiest and fastest way to prepare seedless jam. Confiture is made from peeled apricot slices. Fruits undergo triple boiling in syrup, as a result of which a dense transparent mass is formed.

For the “five minutes” we need:

• apricots – 1,5 kilograms;
• granulated sugar – 1,5 kilograms;
• water – 0,5 liters (if necessary).

Preparation

Rinse the apricots thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the fruit in half and carefully remove the seeds. An enamel pot with low walls and a wide bottom is perfect for cooking. Arrange the fruit in layers, sprinkling each layer with sugar. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 4-24 hours until the granulated sugar is completely dissolved.

Pour the finished mass with cold boiled water if you want to get confiture with whole fruits. If you want to achieve a dense jelly-like texture, cook without water and immediately place the container on medium heat. You need to cook fruits in 3 sets of 5 minutes after boiling. The interval between boiling should be 3 hours. Shake the container occasionally, rather than stirring its contents, to collect the foam and preserve the integrity of the fruit.

Pour the finished hot jam into dry glass jars, roll up the lids, let cool to room temperature and send to the pantry / cellar / refrigerator.

Tip: you can make five-minute jam in a slow cooker. Use the “baking” or “stewing” mode and stick to time intervals.

Recipe number XXUMX: “royal”

The royal or royal recipe is considered the most delicious variation of confiture. The dish is made from whole apricots, sugar and a small amount of water. At the exit, we get a dense amber jam with a characteristic flavor and aroma of bitter almonds.

We need:

• apricots – 2,5 kilograms;
• sugar – 1 kilogram;
• water (the amount depends on the desired structure of the dessert).

Preparation

Use only fully ripe apricots. They should be soft, but not friable. Wash thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels. Remove the bones (you can use special kitchen equipment). Be careful to keep the integrity of each fruit. Take the kernels out of the pits and put them back inside the apricots.

Make syrup from water and sugar. Pierce each fruit with a wooden toothpick in several places, dip in boiling syrup and cook for 5 minutes at the lowest temperature. Do not mix the contents of the container, remove the foam as needed.

As soon as the mass thickens and the shade of the fruit becomes translucent, remove the pan from the heat. Ready jam should be infused for 10-12 hours. Put the cooled confiture into glass jars and cork.

Important: do not forget to thoroughly wash and sterilize the container for jam. Washed jars can be heated on the stove or steam sterilized. Rinse the lids and dry them with paper towels. Microwave sterilization is not recommended due to the low efficiency of the method.

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