One Jar of Apricot Easy Jam

Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 10 min (plus several hours resting time)
One Jar of Apricot Easy Jam

One Jar of Apricot Easy Jam

Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 10 min (plus several hours resting time)

About this Recipe

Making jam doesn’t require a ton of fruit or standing over a stove and constantly checking the temperature. If you have a handful of apricots, a little sugar, and a lemon, you’ve got the makings of casual jam. No canning is necessary, because it’s one jar; maybe it will last you through a baguette and a few bowlfuls of yogurt. This is a low-sugar recipe with no added pectin. Lemon juice — more than a jammer might expect to add — makes it bright and helps it set. The process is easy, but it is a slow method (though with very little active cooking time), bringing out the natural pectin and resulting in a lush, rustic texture. Over the course of a day, you alternately macerate and cook the fruit. Let the fruit macerate with the sugar and lemon juice for a few hours, bring the mixture to a boil, cool, cover, macerate (walk the dog, or read a book); repeat; and repeat.

The Benefits

Apricots are full of flavonoids, which help take care of your blood vessels and have anti-inflammatory properties. The potassium in this stone fruit supports good blood pressure as well as your heart. And with their high water content, apricots help keep you — and your skin — hydrated. Vitamins E and C, both antioxidants, in apricots are also a salve to your skin.

Ingredients

1/2 pint
  • 2/3 lb (100 g) pitted apricots, torn into large chunks
  • 2 Tbsp (60 g) sugar
  • 2 Tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice

Directions

  1. Step 1
    Put the apricots, sugar, and lemon juice in a small nonreactive saucepan. Stir and let macerate, covered, for a few hours. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once the mixture reaches a boil, immediately remove from the heat. Let cool. Cover and let the mixture macerate for a few hours.
  2. Step 2
    Bring to a boil again over high heat; use a wooden spoon to break up the apricots — leave them as chunky as you like. Remove from the heat. Let cool; then cover and let the mixture macerate for a few hours.
  3. Step 3
    Bring to a boil one final time. The texture should be thickened and jammy, likely with small chunks of apricot suspended in an otherwise fairly homogenous texture. Transfer to a sterile jar and cool. Keep it covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Photo by Jeni Afuso