Apricot Jam
Apricot Jam is a low-sugar cooked jam made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener.
Servings 5 cups
Ingredients
- 4 cups mashed apricots about 2 1/2 pounds
- 4 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
- ¼ cup lemon juice or 1 teaspoon citric acid
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin mixed with sweetener
Instructions
- Before you begin, prepare calcium water.To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
- Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Wash lids and bands and set aside.
- Wash, pit and chop fruit. Puree in a food processor so that the skins are chopped up well. **To soften firm fruit, bring to a boil with 1/2 cup water, simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Measure 4 cups pureed fruit into sauce pan.
- Bring fruit to a boil, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer about 30 minutes or less, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
- Add calcium water and lemon juice or citric acid, and mix well.
- Measure sugar into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sugar. Set aside.
- Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-sugar mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
- Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with (marmalade/jam/jelly), leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
- Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, bring the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
- Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then, remove jars from canner. Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Then, confirm that jars have sealed, then store properly. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.
Why do we need to boil the fruit for 30 minutes?! That way longer than any other recipe I’ve seen.
Hi! I love Pomona’s Universal Pectin and have made amazing honey-sweetened peach and raspberry jams with it in the past. I have several pounds of fresh apricots right now, so I came here for a recipe for apricot jam! I see in your replies to other folks’ comments that to use honey in place of sugar, to use half the amount of sugar called for. But I don’t see any amount specified for sugar in this recipe, neither in the ingredients list nor the instructions. What is the recommended amount (or range) of sugar suggested for this recipe? Thanks!
This recipe says 1 cup of sugar in the ingredients list on the left. So, 1/2 cup of honey if you prefer.
Can I safely can this recipe in 16oz jars?
Can I swap honey for the sugar? What would the ratio be? Thanks for your help!
You sure can! It will measure half the amount of sugar.
Thanks! Can’t wait to try this!
Can I add more sugar if I feel it needs it? I also would like to add a couple teaspoons of freshly grated ginger.
You sure can! Just make sure it is added after the called for amount of pectin/sugar is dissolved. You can safely add up to 1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger.
Hello, it is OK to use Apriums (an Apricot – Plum hybrid) in this recipe? Also, what about adding liqueurs or alcohol? Thank you.
Yes, you sure can! You may use up to 1/4 cup of alcohol/liquor.
Can’t get fresh Apricots in our area. Could we use dried Apricots?
Hello Ed,
Yes, you can use dried apricots if you’d like. The best way to do that is to reconstitute the apricots first, then follow the recipe in your instruction sheet for making apricot jam. If you have commercially dried fruit that has added sweetener, you may need to adjust the amount of sugar you use in your jam recipe. To reconstitute apricots, add some water and your apricots to a bowl and let it sit in the fridge for up to eight hours or so to let the water reabsorb into the fruit.
Happy Jamming!
The ball book calls for the skins to be removed. What is the difference with skins off or on?
Just preference 😊
Can I use frozen lemon juice from my own lemons?
We do recommend using bottled lemon juice because it has a predictable pH level that ensures your jams and jellies will be preserved safely.
How many jars will this make & what size?
This recipe says that it will make about 5 cups. We suggest using 4oz or 8oz jars. Happy jamming!
can you add habaneros to this apricot jam? any modifications? And how much peppers should I use
Hello Frances,
We would suggest your use our Cherry Habanero Lime recipe and substitute the cherries for apricots! You can omit the lime zest if you wish and replace the lime juice with either lemon juice or vinegar if you would like.
Happy jamming!
Hello
Can I double triple or more the recipe?
Ty!
You sure can!
Is it ok to add a bit of fresh ginger to this apricot jam recipe?
You sure can! We would suggest 2 teaspoons of freshly ground ginger per 4 cups of mashed fruit. Happy jamming!
Can you substitute honey for the sugar? Thank you!!!
Absolutely! It will measure half the amount of the called for sugar (if it calls for 1 cup of sugar, you will use 1/2 cup of honey/agave/maple syrup).
Happy jamming!
Could I add some small chopped pieces of maraschino cherries to this apricot jam recipe? Would it need to be modified? Thanks!
Hello Trish,
That sounds delicious! We would recommend adding 2 tbsp additional lemon juice just to be safe.
Happy jamming!
Can you make this using de-hydrated apricots by heating them in hot water for a while first?
Dried fruit can work in our recipes, the fruit just needs to be reconstituted.
Place dried fruit in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to sit for 15-20 minutes until plump then strain and use (you may wish to reserve the “juice” so that you can add it to your jam mixture if it appears to need more liquid…as we want it to behave as much like fresh fruit as possible).
Happy jamming!
Kindly,
Shelby
Thank you so much, I am trying it tomorrow and will let you know!
I made this and it worked perfectly! I did have to simmer the dried apricots a couple hours to get them to soften, but then I did 3/4 apricots and 1/4 mangoes and added 1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and chipotle! Magnifico, thanks Pomona’s Pectin and the Create Your Own Recipe page!
Can I use frozen apricots for this recipe?
Yes! You can use frozen fruit for the cooked recipes. It’s best to use unsweetened frozen fruit. Defrost, but don’t drain, frozen fruit before using. Generally you use the liquid from the frozen fruit along with the fruit unless you notice that there is an excessive amount of liquid, in which case, you would ladle off some of the excess liquid before measuring your mashed fruit. If you are going to juice the fruit for jelly, then you would use all of the liquid.
Happy jamming!
Kindly,
Shelby
How will this do halved?
You can half any of our recipes! 😊
How long can you store the calcium water in frig ?
The calcium water can be stored in the fridge for several months (will just need to be tossed if it has any floating bits or smell or color). It can also be stored in the freezer and will keep indefinitely, and will just need to be thawed before use. We also highly recommend labeling your jar of calcium water, as it seems to be the first item tossed when cleaning the fridge/freezer .
Can you make this and keep it in the freezer? I’d like to avoid canning as it’s so hot right now. Thanks!
Hello Janet!
You sure can! Just allow the jars to come to room temperature before placing in the freezer. 😊
Tried this and it’s amazing! It actually tastes like apricots, not just like sugar!
I’m interested in trying this as apricot habanero jam … might it be safe to add up to one habanero per recipe? Thanks!
That sounds delicious! You sure can, we would suggest de-seeding it first. We would also suggest increasing the lemon juice to 1/3 cup.
Happy jamming!
Why does it say to simmer the fruit puree for 30 min or less? How would I know if it needs less time?
Also 30 min sounds like a long time to simmer…
How long do we have to cook the apricots before the bits of plum skin are no longer visible? Inquiring minds want to know….
Trying Pamonas for the first time, looking forward to a lower sugar jam.
Haha, thank you for catching that type-o Sandra, we have now fixed it!
Happy jamming, and if you find a way to turn apricots into plums, we’d love to try them!