Apricot Jam

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8-quart (7.5-liter) wide heavy stainless-steel preserving pan
• •Long-handled heatproof spoon or flat-ended preserving spatula
• •Candy thermometer and two small saucers
• •Eight 8-ounce (240-milliliter) canning jars with new two-piece lids
• •Boiling-water canner with rack, jar lifter, and wide-mouth funnel

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the jars

   Put two small saucers in the freezer for testing the set. Wash eight 8-ounce canning jars, their rings, and the canning tools. Stand the jars on the rack in the canner, cover them with water, and keep them hot at a gentle simmer. Prepare new lids according to their manufacturer's directions. Hot jars resist cracking when the jam goes in, while the cold saucers let you judge the nappe without trusting the clock.

   Keep the jars hot but not violently boiling while the jam cooks. A cold jar can crack under boiling preserve, and there is no pleasure in fishing glass from apricots.
2. 2

   Prepare fruit and almonds

   Rinse the apricots, halve them along their natural seams, and remove the stones. Weigh the fruit after pitting so the book's ratio remains exact: three parts sugar to four parts fruit by weight. Discard the stones rather than cracking them. Split the commercially blanched sweet almonds lengthwise and hold them aside; they replace the original amandons safely and still enter at the book's appointed moment.

3. 3

   Boil the clear syrup

   Combine the sugar and water in the wide preserving pan. Set it over medium heat and stir until every grain dissolves, then bring the clear syrup to a steady boil and cook it for 3 minutes, skimming away any grey foam. If crystals form around the sides, brush them down with a pastry brush dipped in hot water and return the pan to gentler heat until the syrup clears.

4. 4

   Cook the apricots

   Add the apricots to the boiling syrup and return the pan to a moderate, steady boil. Stir continuously with broad strokes that travel across the entire pan floor, folding gently at first so some pieces remain visible. Skim as needed. As the fruit releases its juice, the mixture will loosen before it begins to concentrate; this is exactly right. Cook for roughly 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the fruit and the width of the pan, and begin testing after 15 minutes rather than waiting for a promised time.

5. 5

   Catch the nappe

   Use the nappe test from The Cooking, Potting, and Sealing of Jams (No. 2955). Lift the spoon frequently: at first the jam runs off in quick separate drops, but at nappe it gathers along the lower edge and falls slowly in broad, heavy drops that nearly form a sheet. A thermometer should read about 220°F (104 to 105°C) at sea level, or roughly 8°F (4°C) above the boiling point of water in your kitchen. A spoonful on a frozen saucer should wrinkle lightly when pushed and leave a clean track. Remove the pan at the first agreement of these signs. Near the finish, stir without pause and scrape every inch of the floor. If you smell the first hint of scorching, immediately pour the unstuck jam into a clean pan without scraping the dark layer, then taste it. Ça se rattrape if you moved before the burnt flavor spread.

   Do not chase a firm set while the jam is boiling. Confiture d'abricots thickens considerably in the jar, and an extra few minutes can turn its soft spoonable body into apricot caramel.
6. 6

   Fold in almonds

   Take the pan completely off the heat and fold in the split blanched almonds. Let the jam settle for 7 to 8 minutes, as the source directs, then skim any remaining foam and stir once from the bottom. This brief rest distributes the fruit and almonds through the syrup instead of leaving them crowded at the top, but do not wait longer because the jam must remain hot for potting.

7. 7

   Pot and seal

   Remove one hot jar at a time and ladle in the hot jam, leaving ¼ inch (6 mm) of headspace. Release trapped bubbles, wipe each rim clean, apply the lid, and tighten the ring only to fingertip tightness. Lower the jars onto the canner rack with at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of boiling water above them. Process for 10 minutes once the water returns to a full boil, increasing the processing time according to current official guidance for your altitude. Turn off the heat, wait 5 minutes, then lift the jars upright and leave them untouched for 12 to 24 hours. Check every seal before storage; refrigerate any jar whose lid flexes when pressed.

Chef Tips

• •Use fruit that smells unmistakably of apricot before you cut it. A little softness is welcome, but discard bruised or fermented patches. This preserve has nowhere to hide pale, hard fruit.
• •Do not double the batch. A deeper pan evaporates too slowly, keeping the fruit over the heat until its color dulls and its perfume cooks away. Make two batches and keep the ratio exact.
• •The commercial blanched almonds are an intentional safety change. Do not substitute kernels cracked from the apricot stones, even when they smell pleasantly of marzipan; scent cannot tell you whether a kernel is safe.
• •If the cooled jam is looser than you wanted, open the jars within 24 hours, return the jam to a clean pan, and boil it back to nappe. Refill clean hot jars with new lids and process them again. Ça se rattrape.
• •Serve the confiture d'abricots on buttered tartines, spoon it into crêpes, or warm it gently as a glaze for an apricot tart. Its acidity likes butter, and we don't apologize for butter.

Advance Preparation

• •The jars, tools, cold saucers, and split almonds can be readied earlier the same day. Halve the apricots just before cooking so their cut surfaces retain their color and perfume.
• •Let the sealed jars stand undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours before checking the set. Properly sealed jars keep for up to twelve months in a cool, dark cupboard; refrigerate after opening and use within three weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 20g)