Homemade Apricot Jam

A few weeks ago while  visiting at my Mom’s house, I noticed a lovely bowl of apricots on her kitchen counter. “Wherever did you get those!” is what I asked her. I had been on the hunt for apricots to make jam with for several weeks previously. And when I say hunt, I mean it man.  I’d called a couple of whole sale produce companies and  inquired at some farmers markets…all with no luck.  The only thing I could find were shrimpy little apricots at my grocery store for $2.99 a pound. That would be some darn expensive jam, right! Never the less, apricot jam is what I was after. Please understand, MyHandsomeHusband has a thing for Apricot jam. He loves it above any other jam and since I love him above any other, I make the jam. You know what they say about “the way to a mans heart…”

Anyhow, my Mom explained that the apricots came from her neighbors tree who seemed to have more than enough and could possible be anxious to get rid of a bag or two. Can you believe my good fortune! I tore open my wallet for some cash and went a runnin’, big paper bags in tow. My kids and I picked apricots in 103 degree weather and looked like a dirty bunch of vagabonds when we arrived home with our treasure.

I made the jam the next day.

The previously mentioned handsome man of my dreams was highly impressed.

We may or may not have smooched for a whole 2 1/2 minutes.

Now… let me show you how it’s done.

Apricot Jam, man.

Not smooching.

This is not that kind of website, as I’m sure you have noticed. 🙂

***Note: This recipe makes 5 pints of jam. If you have a lot of apricots and want to make more than 5 pints, you may! However, I would not recommend doubling the recipe. It works best to make one batch at a time, washing out your pot between each one. Also, I purchased all of my canning supplies from Walmart.***

Homemade Apricot Jam
PRINT RECIPE

Time: 1 hour
Yield: 5 pints
Recipe from MCP Fruit Pectin

5 pint-sized jars
New Lids
Rings
Blender or Food Processor
Wather Bath Canner
Wide Mouthed Funnel
3 1/2 pounds apricots
1/2 C lemon juice
8 C sugar
1 (2 ounce) box pectin (I like MCP)
1 t butter

1. Grab your jars and wash them in hot soapy water, or in your dishwasher.

You also want to wash your rings. These can be reused from year to year.

Lids, however need to be brand new. If you reuse old lids they won’t seal and your jam will go bad, quickly.

You want to take 5 new lids and drop them into some hot water and put them on the stove. When your jam is almost done cooking you will bring this water to a boil and let it boil hard for 1 minute. Since your hands will be busy stirring the jam while it cooks you want to get the lids ready to boil before you start cooking.

2. Wash your beautiful apricots. They are the most sweet and flavorful when they are soft and don’t have any green to their skins.

Carefully slice them in half and remove the pit.

Place the juicy fruit in a blender or food processor.

Blend them up, you will need 5 cups total. Pour the mixture into a large, heavy pot.

3. Measure 8 cups of sugar into a bowl.

4. Grab your pectin and sprinkle it over the top of the blended apricots. Stir it in.

5. Add 1 teaspoon butter…

and 1/2 cup lemon juice to the pot.
6. Turn the stove to medium high heat and allow the mixture to come to a boil, while you stir it.

7. Add the sugar a bit at a time, and stir it all in making sure it dissolves well.

8. Turn up the heat a bit and bring it to a rolling boil, while stirring constantly. Let it boil 1 minute. If it starts to get wildly boiling out of control, turn the heat off. It will still boil sufficiently with the heat off.
9. Turn your sauce pan full of water and lids to high and let them boil for 1 minute.

10. Remove the jam from the heat. Place a wide-mouthed funnel on top of each jar and pour the hot jam into it. Be so careful! It’s really hot. 🙂

11. Take a damp paper towel and wipe the top of the jar, making sure each one is clean and free from the jam. This will help ensure you get a nice seal.

12. Take a knife and carefully remove a hot lid from the sauce pan. Place one on each jar…

and then screw a lid around it.

13. Fill your water bath canner  with warm water, add your jars to the rack and then lower it down into the water. Put the lid on and bring the water to a boil. I left them there in the boiling water for 25 minutes.
14. Carefully remove the jars from the canner and let them cool on your counter.

15. The jars will make a popping noise when the lids have sealed. Love that sound. 🙂 You can also test the lids by pressing the center of the lid. If it is stable then the lids have sealed. If there is a bit of give to it, it hasn’t sealed and I recommend keeping that particular jar in the refrigerator.
16. Store your jam in a dark cool place. Once you open a container, keep it in the fridge.

Enjoy!