Thick apricot jam

Apricot jam recipes for the winter are very diverse and many people prefer it to jam because of its uniform consistency and versatility.

Secrets of making jams and marmalades

Many people love sweets made from berries and fruits with sugar, but not everyone understands the difference between the same jam, marmalade, marmalade or marmalade. It is often said that this is the same dish, the only difference is in which country it originates from. For example, jam is a primordially product, confiture comes from France, jam originates from England, more precisely, from Scotland, and jam comes from Poland.

But these dishes differ in their density, and often in manufacturing technology.

Jam, unlike jam, has a rather dense (jelly-like) consistency. It is traditionally boiled for a longer time. Unlike jam according to the classic recipe, the fruits for making jam are not specially crushed. They turn into a homogeneous mass during the heat treatment. But confiture most of all resembles jam, being in fact its variety. For the manufacture of confiture, special jelly-forming additives are always used. Jam can be prepared with or without them – in a natural way. Accordingly, you can get either a thick confiture, or a watery one, more like jam.

Depending on the recipe for apricot jam for the winter, you choose the degree of ripeness of the fruit. If you are harvesting in the traditional way, without the use of gelling additives, then it is better to take either fully ripened fruits, or even greenish ones. It is they who are famous for their high content of pectin, due to which the finished product solidifies.

There is very little pectin in overripe fruits, but they are distinguished by increased sweetness, and they are best used for recipes with the addition of pectin or gelatin.

In classic recipes, apricots are not crushed, but the pits are always removed from them. If the hard shell is broken, the nucleoli can be removed. In some varieties, they are devoid of bitterness. After removing the brown rind, the sweetish kernels can be added to the jam at the last stage of its manufacture. This will give the dish an interesting almond flavor.

In many modern recipes, housewives prefer to grind apricot fruits almost immediately before starting jam cooking, using a meat grinder or blender. This is much easier than grinding the product after heat treatment.

Many housewives prefer apricot jam for the winter to all other preparations from these sunny fruits, since it is versatile in use. It is very convenient to smear on bread or crispy toast. Jam will make an excellent layer for cakes and cakes, and finally, it is ideal as a ready-made filling for pies and other pastries.

A simple apricot jam recipe

According to this recipe, you do not need to prepare anything in advance except for the actual apricots and sugar. Just a small amount of butter will come in handy.

Preparing ingredients and utensils

In a traditional recipe, the amount of sugar should be equal in volume to washed and pitted apricots. If you are using sweet and fully ripe fruits, then the amount of sugar can be slightly reduced. For example, for 1 kg of stoned apricots, take about 750-800 g of sand.

Fruits are thoroughly washed before cooking, then they must be dried on a paper or linen towel. You don’t need water to make apricot jam. Even excess liquid from the fruit must be removed in order to obtain the desired consistency of the finished dish.

Apricots are cut into halves and pitted. It is important to choose an enameled pan or a stainless steel pan with a thick bottom for cooking jam. Its shape is also important – wide with low sides, so that it is convenient to mix the dish during cooking.

Cooking process in detail

The process of making jam according to the classic recipe can take you about a day, because first the apricots must be allowed to stand with sugar.

So, take a pan, grease its bottom with a small amount of butter to avoid subsequently burning the jam. Then spread the halves of the apricots in layers, sprinkling them with sugar.

Cover the bowl with a towel and leave overnight. This procedure will help the apricots keep their shape better during the jam making process.

The next day, the sugar will completely dissolve, and the fruits will release a lot of juice. Pour off the excess immediately, because with a large amount of liquid, the workpiece may not thicken as it should. Fruit should be only lightly covered in juice.

Put the pot of apricots on the heat. If the sugar did not have time to completely dissolve overnight, then the fire should first be small.

After the sugar is completely dissolved, the fire can be increased to maximum. Cook the jam, stirring constantly, for about 15-20 minutes. In the process of boiling, it is imperative to remove the resulting foam from the fruit.

The final stage

To test the jam for readiness, place several saucers in the freezer in advance. Now you can get one saucer and put a little jam on it. If the drop does not spread and some hard surface forms on it, then we can say that the dish is ready.

If these signs are not observed, continue to cook the jam for another 5-10 minutes, then repeat the test. Repeat until you reach the desired consistency.

Jam can be decomposed into sterilized jars of a small volume (0,5 l) while still hot and immediately tighten the lids.

Recipe for apricot jam with citric acid

There is a slightly different, faster way to make apricot jam for the winter.

You will need:

• 1 kg apricots, pitted;
• 1 kg of sugar;
• 1 g citric acid or 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Wash the apricots, remove the pits and chop with a blender or meat grinder. Add sugar and citric acid and mix again. Place the saucepan with the apricot puree on the heat, bring to a boil and cook for about 20-30 minutes. You should not move away from the jam that is being prepared for a long time, it is better to stir it regularly with a wooden spatula so that it does not stick to the bottom.

After the apricot mixture thickens slightly, remove it from the heat, pack in dry sterilized jars, close with metal lids and store.

Jam from apricots and oranges without cooking

This recipe will attract fans of healthy food, since the fruits are not cooked at all during the cooking process, which means that absolutely all useful substances and vitamins are preserved in them.

Prepare:

• 2 kg apricots;
• 2,5 kg of sugar;
• 2 orange;
• 1 lemon.

Wash fruits well under running water and dry. Cut the oranges and lemon into quarters and remove all the seeds from them.

Then grind them with a blender. It is enough to cut the apricots into halves and also remove the seeds. After that, they are also crushed with a blender.

Gradually, the fruit mass combines with sugar. Everything is thoroughly mixed again. The resulting jam settles for several hours at room temperature until the sugar is completely dissolved.

After that, it is packaged in small, pre-sterilized glass jars. A tablespoon of sugar is poured into each container to prevent spoilage.

It is necessary to store such a workpiece in the refrigerator.

How to cook jam from apricots with apples

Apricots go great with apples, as the latter add some sourness to the finished dish. They also provide the right amount of pectin for a good setting.

Take 1 kg of apricots, wash and pit. 3-4 apples also wash well, separate from the core and cut into 6-8 slices. Prepare a wide pan with a thick bottom, preferably not enameled, but not aluminum either.

Place apricots in a saucepan, add sugar and put on a small fire. After the fruits boil and let the juice go, add chopped apples to them.

Cook over medium heat for 30-40 minutes, constantly stirring the future jam and removing foam. Then take the pot off the stove and let it cool down a bit.

Take a blender and carefully grind the boiled fruit mixture, after which the jam can be decomposed into sterile jars and rolled up. The taste of the workpiece is very delicate and it is stored well even at room conditions.

Thick apricot jam

If you are a little attracted by the long-term boiling of apricots, then try making them with the addition of one of the types of thickener. The technology for making jam according to these recipes changes little. But in the process, one of the gelling agents is added, which reduces the boiling time of the product and preserves the taste, aroma and beneficial properties of natural apricots.

Apricot jam with gelatin

This jam recipe is one of the most popular. You will need an equal amount of apricots and sugar (1 kg each) and 40 g of gelatin.

The fruits, as usual, are pitted, sprinkled with sugar and left for several hours to extract the juice. After that, they are crushed with a blender and placed on fire, so that after boiling, the apricot mass will boil for about 30 minutes.

At the same time, gelatin is poured with a small amount of warm water and left to swell.

After 30 minutes, the heating is removed. Swollen gelatin is added to the apricots, the mixture is thoroughly mixed and poured into sterile jars.

Apricot jam recipe with pectin

Pectin may be part of the gelling sugar, or may be sold separately. It is a natural vegetable thickener without foreign aromas and does not change the color of the workpiece.

The proportions for making apricot jam are the same as in the previous recipe – 1 kg of sugar and a bag of pectin are taken for 1 kg of fruit.

The manufacturing technology is also very similar. After the mixture of apricots and sugar has been cooked for 10-15 minutes, you need to prepare the pectin. A standard sachet usually contains 10 g of powder. Mix its contents with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar.

Add this mixture to simmering apricot jam.

Boil apricot jam with pectin for no more than 5 minutes. Then put it in sterile jars, twist and send for storage.

Apricot jam with gelfix

According to this recipe, apricot jam is prepared using a similar technology, since gelfix, as well as its many counterparts such as jamfix, quittin, contain the same pectin with sugar and often with citric acid. Therefore, it must be added in the same proportions and in the same sequence as pectin. Usually one standard bag of gelfix is ​​used 1:1 in relation to 1 kg of apricots and 1 kg of sugar.

Armenian recipe for apricot jam

The Armenian way of making jam from apricots differs from the traditional one in only two points:

• apricots, after removing the seeds, are not crushed, but cut into 4 slices;
• sugar is introduced sequentially, in uniform parts during the cooking process itself.

For 1 kg of apricots, about 900 g of granulated sugar is used.

First, about 1/3 of the total amount of sugar prescribed by the recipe is added to the fruit slices. Apricots are brought to a boil. After 10-15 minutes, the second third of sugar is added to the fruit mass. Apricots are boiled for another 20-30 minutes, and the rest of the sugar is added to them. After that, the workpiece can be boiled for another 5-10 minutes and laid out hot in jars.

Apricot jam in a slow cooker

Although it is not difficult to prepare apricot jam in a slow cooker, it is not recommended to leave the process to its own devices and go about your business. The dish can just “run away”. For the same reason, it is better to fill the multicooker bowl with apricots and sugar no more than half and do not close the lid.

For 500 g of fruit, take 0,5 kg of sugar, it is advisable to add 1 tsp. lemon juice.

The first stage is no different from traditional technology. Apricots are washed, separated from the pits, placed in a multicooker bowl and covered with sugar.

Then the “Baking” mode is turned on for 60 minutes and the process begins. The lid must be open – the jam will need to be stirred from time to time. Five minutes before the end of the process, add lemon juice and mix. When the slow cooker turns off, the jam is laid out in sterile jars.

The secrets of making apricot jam in a bread machine

A bread maker can also make life a lot easier for the hostess, especially if you do not need to make jam in large quantities.

You don’t need any special preparations either, but you can experiment with adding different ingredients without spending much effort. After all, most of the work, especially mixing, the bread machine will do for you. The finished portion turns out to be small and it’s not a pity if the taste of a batch does not quite suit you.

To get started, you can try using the following recipe. Take 1 kg of sugar and apricots, 1 lemon and a piece of ginger about 5 cm long.

Grind fruits, along with other ingredients, using a meat grinder or blender, place in the bowl of the bread machine, set the Jam or Jam program, click on Start.

An hour and a half later, after the end of the operation of the device, simply open the lid, pack the finished product into jars, and this process can be considered complete.

Other Apricot Jam Options

In the process of making jam, do not be afraid to experiment – after all, apricots are wonderfully combined with many other fruits and berries: raspberries, blackberries, currants, gooseberries, not to mention citrus fruits.

For lovers of spices, it will be tempting to add cinnamon and vanilla. A mixture of cloves, star anise, ginger and bay leaf will help create a unique taste of the finished dish, which can also be used as a sauce for meat and fish dishes.

A variety of nuts go well with apricots, and the addition of rum or cognac will make the taste of jam more intense and extend its shelf life.

Conclusion

A variety of recipes for apricot jam for the winter will allow any housewife to choose the right one for herself and preserve a piece of sunny summer for the cold season.