How To Make Apricot and Lemon Jam

Homemade Jam Recipes

Ingredients: Apricot and Lemon Jam Recipe

1 lb / 500 grams of dried apricots
6 lb / 2,700 grams of white sugar (always use granulated)
95 fl oz / 2,800 ml of tap water
4 lemons

Method - What To Do

Soak all of the dried apricots in half of the water and cover, leaving to plump up overnight, or possibly for a full 24 hours (no longer is necessary). After the apricots have been fully soaked, drain the water into a saucepan and then pour in the remainder of the water, keeping the soaked apricots separate, in a dish.

Scrub the lemons well, roll to soften and then squeeze all of the juice into the saucepan. Save the pips and place these into a muslin bag, to add extra pectin in this jam mixture. Slice the remaining lemon rind into very small pieces and add these to the apricots, along with the muslin bag of lemon pips. Gently simmer this mixture for one and a half hours (90 minutes), occasionally stirring as required, to ensure that everything cooks evenly and nothing sticks on the bottom of the pan.

Remove the pan from the heat and take out the muslin bag, squeezing this bag into the mixture so that none of the extract is lost. Add in the soaked apricots and the sugar, and stir until all of the sugar is fully dissolved. When no sugar crystals remain, return the apricot and lemon jam to the cooker and allow the mixture to reach a rolling boil for around 20 minutes or slightly longer, until setting point arrives.

It is simple to test for the setting point by spooning a small amount of the apricot and lemon mixture onto a plate (chilled by placing it into a freezer ten minutes earlier). Leave this jam for a minute and then run your finger through the centre. If a skin has started to form, wrinkles will be caused by this action, clearly indicating that it is ready to set itself as a jam. Otherwise, simmer for another five minutes and test once more. Carry on doing this until you can be sure that you have reached your setting point.

Let the saucepan to cool itself down for 15 minutes, to allow the fruit to be more evenly spread within the finished set mixture, rather than floating to the top or sinking to the bottom. Any foam that has gathered on the top can be skimmed off before pouring or spooning the mixture into your prepared glass jars (sterilised earlier).

Apricot and Lemon Jam Recipe - More Jam Recipes.