Apricot Jam

Its hot here in Seattle and as much as I would like it about 10 degrees cooler I know my garden needs it and fall is around the corner. So I will not complain. With sun comes stone fruits. My favorite time of year. I still had about 2lbs of apricots left from the box I split with my friend so I decided to make some jam. I got up early before it got warm - sticky jam and a hot house is my kind of nightmare. 

When I was growing up we ate a lot of jam. My mom was an expert PB&J maker. I also love toast and peanut butter and jam on crackers as a snack. Strawberry and raspberry were my favorites as a child. I thought my mom was so weird putting apricot jam on her peanut butter and toast. Weird chunky globs and a more tart than sweet taste. How could that be good. Well times have changed. Some years ago I found that I loved apricot jam. Not sure of the exact moment that happened - but now that tart flavor and hunks of cooked apricots drive me wild. In Paris this breakfast place we went to a few times had the best jam and I think I polished off the whole bread basket myself smeared with their apricot jam. 

I had great success with my strawberry jam this year. I decided to go the route of not adding commercial pectin. The recipes call for more sugar but have a cooked down quality that I love. I went the same route with the apricot and it came out great as well. 

Mr Ramon and I stopped for coffee on his way to work and I picked up a croissant from one of my favorite pastry places Ba Bar. Karen is magical and does things to laminate dough I only dream of. I could not wait to get home and smear this buttery, crispy croissant with my jam. 

Apricot Jam 

• 2 pounds fresh apricots 
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cut the apricots in half and remove the pits. Chop them to your desired size. I like good sized chunks of fruit so I cut them in about 1/2 inch pieces. 

Place the apricots in a very large stockpot, and add the water. Cover the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until the apricots are tender and cooked through. I smash some of the cooking apricots to add more texture to my jam. 

Add the sugar to the apricots and cook, uncovered, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Continue to stir frequently to make sure the jam isn’t burning on the bottom.

A lot of people use the chilled plate test. I go right for the candy thermometer. I like to be precise that way. Jam is ready when it hits 220 degrees. 

Once done, stir in the lemon juice and  ladle the jam into clean jars. This jam will store for 6 months in the fridge. Alternatively you can preserve this jam in clean sterilized jars and process in a water bath for 5 minutes to produce a product that lasts for 1 year on the pantry shelves. If you need support in this process you can go to the Ball canning site. 

Enjoy!