Apricot jam: 17 delicious recipes

Summer is the time not only for outdoor activities, but also for the active production of all kinds of supplies for the winter, primarily in the form of delicious jam. And apricot jam, among others, is not at all in last place. Even those few who have never stood under a living apricot tree know and remember the taste of apricot jam. But you will be surprised when you find out what a variety of recipes for its manufacture exist in the world. In this article, an attempt was made to display all the most delicious apricot jam recipes, including those with various additives.

Conservation Tips

To make the jam not only tasty, but also well stored, consider the following recommendations:

• For jam, you can take fruits of different sizes, but they must be healthy, dense and intact.
• It is best to cook jam in a copper basin, but in the absence of such, stainless steel dishes are also suitable, preferably with a thick bottom. In enameled pans, jam often burns.
• Jars for storing jam must be washed well, preferably using soda, and not ordinary detergents, and sterilized in any way available to you (in boiling water, in an oven, in a convection oven, in a microwave oven) and dried. Jam should not be poured into wet jarsas moisture can cause mold and product deterioration.

• If you want the apricots or their slices to remain whole, then cook the jam in several stages at intervals. In this case, sugar gradually replaces the water in the fruit and the pulp thickens.
• Mixing the jam should be very careful, it is better to shake the bowl periodically.
• The readiness of jam can be determined by applying a thin stream of it on a plate – the stream should not be interrupted and spread on a plate.
• Jam will not be able to sugar if a small amount of lemon juice or citric acid is added to it at the end of cooking.
• When rolling jam with tin lids, it is laid out hot in jars.
• But traditionally they wait for the jam to cool and only then lay it in a storage dish – in this case, you can use nylon lids or parchment paper.

Pitted Apricot Jam Recipes

Of course, recipes for making apricot jam with pits removed are the most diverse. This happens for various reasons:

• due to the traditional fear of being poisoned by certain substances that can be contained and accumulated in apricot kernels,
• due to the fact that pieces of apricots are better soaked in syrup than whole fruits,
• finally, it is the halves and even slices of apricots that are ideally combined with various berries, fruits and other additives.

If someone still does not know how to cook pitted apricot jam, then from this chapter he will receive comprehensive information about the whole variety of ways to make such jam.

Thick jam recipe – a classic version

This recipe is both the easiest and fastest in terms of total cooking time. Although the result is a classic apricot jam – thick and viscous, which can be spread on bread and used as a filling for pies.

This recipe does not use any additional ingredients at all, except for apricots and sugar, even water is redundant.

Take 1 kg of pitted apricots and 1 kg of sugar. Prepare a wide bowl or saucepan and start laying out the apricots in layers, carefully sprinkling them with sugar. Everything should be completely covered with sugar on top. Leave the fruit to settle in this form in a cool place for 12 hours. It is convenient to do this in the evening so that they stand like that all night.

In the morning you will see that the apricots have given a lot of juice. It’s time to put them on heating and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. After the jam boils on a fairly high heat for about 5-10 minutes, the fire is reduced and the apricot mixture is evaporated for another 40-50 minutes, constantly stirring it and removing the resulting foam. Jam is considered ready if:

• Foam gradually ceases to form;
• The syrup and the apricots themselves become transparent;
• If you place a drop of syrup on a saucer, it does not spread, but keeps its shape.

Now the jam is cooled and already cold laid out in sterile containers. You can close it with both nylon lids and parchment paper, pulling it together with an elastic band.

Jam from apricot slices “Amber”

This recipe is also considered a classic, but despite the fact that it takes quite a lot of time, the result is so amazing that it’s worth it. However, it doesn’t take much time to actually make it, rather, you need to be patient in order to withstand constant communication with a beautiful and tasty delicacy and not eat it.

2 kg of fully ripe, juicy apricots are washed in cold water, dried and cut into halves. The bones are removed and slices suitable for your taste are cut from the halves. In a large wide saucepan, apricot slices are sprinkled with sugar and left to soak for 10-12 hours.

After this time, the apricots filled with juice are put on fire and brought almost to a boil, but again set aside. After complete cooling, the apricots are carefully removed with a slotted spoon into a separate container, and the remaining syrup is brought to a boil again and boiled for about 5 minutes. After that, apricots are again placed in it, and again the jam is set to cool. Such an operation is performed as many times as possible, but not less than three. As a result, when the cooled syrup thickens so much that a drop of syrup placed between the index finger and thumb will stretch into a strong thread, the apricots are no longer removed from the syrup. And the jam, together with the fruits, is brought to a boil for the last time and boiled for about 5 minutes. At this point, half a teaspoon of citric acid or the juice of one lemon is added to it.

Jam is laid out in jars in a completely cooled state.

Pitted apricot jam “Five minutes”

In the modern world, where there is often not enough time even for the most necessary things, jam cooking has been somewhat modified. True, the name does not reflect the cooking time in the most accurate way – it will still take a little more than five minutes. Nevertheless, interest in jam – a five-minute apricot is growing more and more.

There are two main ways to make jam – five minutes from apricots.

1 way

For 1 kg of pitted apricots, about 500 g of sugar is taken. First, syrup is prepared – literally 200 g of water is poured into the pan and all the sugar prescribed by the recipe is gradually dissolved in it on slow heating. Then the syrup is brought to a boil and halves of apricots are placed in it. The whole mixture is again brought to 100 degrees and boiled for exactly five minutes, however, with continuous stirring over moderate heat. At the end, the resulting jam is laid out in sterile jars and rolled up with metal lids.

2 way

This method allows you to better preserve the color, aroma and taste of apricots, and also helps to preserve large amounts of nutrients. Well-washed apricots are cut into halves, pitted, and sprinkled with the required amount of sugar. The container with apricots is set aside for 3-4 hours. After the juice appears in the apricots, the container with them is placed on the stove and the jam is brought almost to a boil with constant stirring so that the sugar does not burn. Immediately after the appearance of the first bubbles, the jam is removed from the heat and set aside until it cools completely.

Then again heated to a boil and again set aside to cool at room conditions. For the third time, the jam is already boiled from the moment the foam appears for exactly five minutes.

When hot, five-minute apricot jam is laid out in heated sterile jars, rolled up and stored in a cool place.

Recipe for apricot jam with kernels

It turns out to be very tasty to cook apricot jam, if you do not throw away the seeds from it, but after removing the nucleoli from them, mix them with fruits when heated. The kernels give the jam a peculiar almond flavor and a slightly noticeable aftertaste.

For 1 kg of fruit, 1 kg of granulated sugar, 200 g of water and 150 g of apricot kernels are taken.

Apricots are poured with boiling syrup, boiled for 2-3 minutes and left to soak overnight or 12 hours. The next day, the jam is brought to a boil again, the nucleoli are added to it and it is boiled down until the fruit becomes transparent.

royal jam

This recipe is so popular that it also has several varieties, both in manufacturing methods and in various additives. The main highlight of the royal apricot jam (or royal, as it is sometimes called) is that the apricot pit is removed imperceptibly and changes into some kind of nut or nucleolus from the pit itself. As a result, the apricots are seemingly whole, but with a delicious edible filling inside. A variety of additives are not superfluous, which give royal jam a special noble aroma and taste.

But first things first. For royal jam, it is advisable to choose the largest and highest quality apricots – but they should not be overripe, but should retain density and elasticity. To extract the bone, you can make a small incision along the groove of the fetus. Or you can use a wooden stick or the handle of a wooden spoon, which you gently pierce through each apricot, thereby removing the stone.

To extract the contents from the seeds, you can pour boiling water over them for five minutes, and then they easily break into two parts, retaining the shape of the nucleolus. Usually apricot kernels are sweet with an almond flavor, but varieties with bitter kernels are also found, so be sure to test them before using them.

Now, in the middle of each apricot, kernels extracted from the seeds or almonds are inserted.

The next step is preparing the filling for apricots. It is necessary to mix 0,5 liters of water with 1 kg of sugar and 100 ml of dark rum, cognac or amaretto liqueur. The mixture is put on fire, brought to a boil and a cinnamon stick and two star anise are added to it. The syrup with all the additives is boiled for 5-7 minutes and then cooled. After cooling, fill them with stuffed apricots and leave to soak for 12 hours.

The next day, the future royal jam is placed on a very weak fire, covered with a lid and brought to a boil.

As soon as the jam boils, remove it from the heat and set to cool again for 12 hours. This process is repeated three times. On the third day, the jam is brought to a boil for the last time, a cinnamon stick and anise stars are removed from it and it is poured hot into jars.

Apricot jam with lemon

Lemon gives apricot jam some sourness, and it is very good to add a little cognac to this jam to get an exquisite aroma.

For 1 kg of apricots, as usual, 1 kg of sugar is taken, as well as 2 lemons completely ground together with the peel (but pitted) and 100 ml of cognac.

Apricots are covered with sugar, grated lemons and cognac are added to them immediately. In this form, they are aged for 12 hours, after which they are put on heating and boiled either immediately until cooked (transparency of the syrup), or at intervals of three passes, each time bringing to a boil, boiling the fruit for 5 minutes and cooling them.

Apricot jam with orange

Oranges form a very good combination with apricots and are used whole with the skin on. You only need to remove the seeds after you grate a whole orange, as they can add a bitter taste to the jam.

The rest of the cooking process is simple. 1 kg of pitted apricots is poured with 1 kg of sugar, infused overnight. Then the jam is brought to a boil and at this moment the orange mass rubbed through a grater from one large orange is added to it. The jam is boiled over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, then cooled and put on fire again. This time it is boiled down to the transparency of the fruit, with constant stirring.

With gooseberries and bananas

This version of jam will surprise anyone with its unusualness, although sour gooseberries are surprisingly suitable for sweet apricots and bananas.

You need to prepare:

• 1 kg apricots;
• 3 kg of gooseberries;
• 2-3 pieces of bananas;
• 2,5 kg of sugar.

Apricots should be washed, pitted and cut into large cubes.

Gooseberries are freed from tails and twigs, and most of it is ground with a blender or mixer. Approximately 0,5 kg of berries can be left for beauty.

Bananas are peeled and also cut into cubes.

All fruits with berries are laid out in a saucepan, covered with sugar and the saucepan is placed on a low fire. After boiling, the fruit mixture is boiled for 15 minutes and cooled. Foam must be removed. Jam should stand for about 12 hours in a cold place. After that, it is heated again and boiled again, stirring, for about 15-20 minutes. In sterile jars, the jam is laid out hot, and it is better to store it in a cool place.

With strawberry

Strawberries belong to berries with dense but tender pulp, so they will perfectly combine with each other in jam.

Naturally, berries and fruits must be thoroughly washed and cleaned of everything superfluous – strawberries from twigs, apricots from pits. Apricots are best cut into quarters, so they are better suited in size to strawberries.

For such a combined jam, it is best to take 1 kg of strawberries and apricots. Sugar in this case, you need to add about 1,6 -1,8 kg. A good addition to the jam is the zest, grated from one lemon and a small bag of vanilla.

Strawberries with apricots are covered with sugar, infused for several hours until the juice is released and heated to a boil. After 5 minutes of boiling, the jam is removed from the heat and left to infuse for 3-4 hours. Then vanillin and lemon zest are added to it, everything is mixed and boiled again for about 10 minutes. After that, the jam is again removed from the fire and left overnight. In the morning, the jam is finally boiled for another 4-5 minutes and hot packaged in jars and rolled up.

With raspberries

In almost the same way, you can cook apricot jam with raspberries. Only the proportions of the ingredients are somewhat different – for 1 kg of raspberries, 0,5 kg of pitted apricots are taken, and, accordingly, 1,5 kg of sugar. In addition, for a better combination with raspberries, it is recommended to cut apricots into smaller pieces.

The resulting cooled jam will look more like confiture, since both raspberries and apricots contain a significant amount of natural thickener – pectin.

With coconut

Another recipe for a very original apricot jam with a unique aroma and taste. In addition, it is prepared quite simply and quickly.

Prepare:

• 1,5 kg apricots;
• 200 ml of water;
• 0,5 kg of sugar;
• Half a lemon or half a teaspoon of citric acid;
• Vanilla pod or half a teaspoon of vanilla sugar;
• 4 tablespoons fresh or dry coconut flakes;
• 1 teaspoon curry powder.

Cut apricots after pitting into small pieces. Boil syrup from water, sugar, vanillin, lemon juice and pour apricots over them. On a very low heat, bring the jam to a boil and, stirring constantly, boil for 5-7 minutes. Add the coconut flakes and curry seasoning to the apricots, bring to a full boil again and place hot in glass jars.

In the multivariate

A slow cooker can significantly make life easier for housewives, since a full-fledged apricot jam is prepared in it in just a couple of hours. For 1 kg of apricots, 0,5 kg of sugar and the juice of one lemon are taken.

Pitted apricots, cut into halves, put in a multicooker bowl, pour over lemon juice and cover with sugar. Then let the fruit brew and let the juice open with the lid open. After the appearance of juice in the apricots, set the time to 1 hour, close the lid and set the multicooker to work in the “Extinguishing” mode. As a result, you get a jam of a rather liquid consistency. It can already be laid out in banks and rolled up.

Sugarless

Cooking sugar-free apricot jam is not difficult at all, but this dessert is useful for people who, for health reasons, cannot afford to consume sugar.

1 kg of ripe sweet apricots is pitted, poured with a glass of water and placed in a saucepan over a small fire. Fruits are boiled for at least 20 minutes until softened. Then they are laid out in sterile jars, filled with hot juice and twisted. You can heat apricots only until boiling and juice is released, and then put into jars and sterilized for 10-15 minutes.

With stevia

If the use of sugar is contraindicated, but you want to try real sweet apricot jam, then you can use a vegetable sugar substitute – stevia leaves.

For 1 kg of apricots, take half a glass of stevia leaves or a similar amount of the preparation from it and 200 ml of water. The rest of the manufacturing process is similar to that described above. Syrup is brewed from stevia with water, which is poured over apricot halves, and infused with three boiling boils.

Green apricot jam

In recent years, it has become fashionable to prepare preparations from unripe fruits and vegetables. For lovers of such experiments, the following recipe is offered.

To make jam from 1 kg of green apricots, you will also need 1 kg of sugar, half a lemon, a bag of vanilla sugar and 2,5 cups of water.

In unripe apricots, the stone has not yet had time to finally form, therefore, for a good impregnation of the fruit with syrup, they must be pierced through with an awl or a long needle in several places. Then they need to be thoroughly blanched in a colander, dipped in boiling water several times and kept in it for one minute. Then dry the apricots.

From the other components according to the recipe, boil the syrup and, after boiling, put the apricots into it. Boil the jam for about an hour, stirring constantly until the syrup is thick and clear at the same time.

Pour hot into sterile jars and close with screw caps.   

Dried apricot jam

If you have a lot of dried apricots and you want to find the best use for them, then try making jam from them. It’s quite easy.

For 500 g of dried apricots, you need to take the same amount of sugar and 800 ml of water. The addition of zest from one orange will improve the taste and aroma.

First, dried apricots should be washed well with cold water. Then they are filled with the amount of water according to the recipe and left for 5-6 hours. On the water in which the dried apricots were soaked, you need to boil the syrup. While it boils, cut the soaked dried apricots into small pieces. Place pieces of dried apricot into boiling syrup and cook for 10-15 minutes. At the same time, with the help of a special grater, the top layer is removed from the orange – the zest, cut and added to the boiling jam.

It is necessary to boil for about 5 minutes more and the delicacy of dried apricots is ready.

Bone Jam Recipes

Most often, pitted apricot jam refers to recipes in which the pits are carefully removed from the fruit and apricot kernels or other nuts are placed instead.

But you can also make jam from absolutely whole fruits, but it is recommended to eat it in the first season, otherwise toxic substances may accumulate in the bones.

Traditional

Small apricots, such as zherdel or even wild, are best suited for this recipe. Despite their small size, they are very sweet and fragrant. You will need 1200 g of apricots, 1,5 kg of sugar and 300 ml of water.

After washing, apricots are pricked in several places with a wooden toothpick. At the same time, a syrup is prepared, which, after boiling, is poured over prepared apricots. In this form, they are infused for at least 12 hours, then brought to a boil and placed again in a cool place. For the third time, the jam is cooked until ready, which is determined by the transparency of the syrup. This may take 40 to 60 minutes. Jam during the cooking process is sometimes recommended to shake along with the fruits. In jars, the finished jam is laid out already cooled down.

with cherry

Similarly, jam is prepared from whole apricots with whole cherries. If you are not too lazy to defend the jam between cooking for several hours and do such repetitions for at least 5-6, then as a result you will get a delicious jam with fruits that have almost completely retained their shape. In this case, the last boil should not last more than 10 minutes.   

Conclusion

Apricot jam can be cooked in a variety of ways and anyone can choose a recipe to their liking.