Apricot and Vanilla Jam

I love making jam; the whole process takes me back to my childhood summers, and I remember my mum stirring fruit in a big preserving pot, the smell of caramelised sugar permeating the whole house. I like looking at the simmering, bubbling mixture of fruit and sugar, with its bright colour and intoxicating smell, eager to see it turn into delicious jam.

During the grey, gloomy winter months, opening a jar of jam always cheers me up, the taste and smell reminding me that it’s going to be sunny again.

Apricot is one of my favourite fruit, and a jar of apricot jam is a real treat, with its sunny colour and delightful taste; yesterday I found some particularly tasty apricots at my local supermarket, so I decided to make some jam.

Apricots have a low acidic content; acid is essential for clear, bright, well-set preserves, so some lemon juice is often added to low-acid fruit jams. When I got home, I realised I’d just ran out of lemons – typical – so I used fresh orange juice, and I must say that I like it even more – it gives the jam a softer, sweeter taste that I prefer, but feel free to use lemon juice instead.

I am crazy about vanilla, so I also added a vanilla bean; apricot & vanilla is a great combination, but this jam tastes great even without vanilla, in case you don’t have a vanilla bean handy.

When making jam, choose fruit that’s as fresh as possible and slightly under-ripe; over-ripe fruit contains less pectin and acid and makes a poor quality jam.

Most recipes for jam I came across use a high proportion of sugar – 100 gr sugar for 100 gr fruit, sometimes even more; this make the jam keep for a long period – even several years. However, I don’t like overly sweet jams, so I used a relatively low amount of sugar – 60 gr of sugar for every 100 gr of fruit. This way, the jam will still keep for 10-12 months (sealed), but once opened needs to be stored in the fridge and consumed within 2-3 weeks.

Apricot and vanilla jam

1 kg apricots, halved &  stoned

600 gr sugar

100 ml freshly squeezed orange juice

1 vanilla bean

Wash the apricots, dry them, then halve and stone them. Cut each half apricot into quarters, pour all the pieces in a preserving pan and add 150 ml of freshly squeezed orange juice. Bring to a simmer and cook gently, uncovered, until the fruit is tender and the skins soft – it took me about 20 minutes. Once you add the sugar, the skins will not soften further, despite how long you cook them, so make sure they are soft enough. This pre-cooking phase also helps draw out the pectin.

If you have a food mill, take the fruit off the heat and purée the softened fruit; if, like me, you don’t have a food mill, just use an immersion food blender and give the fruit a few whizzes until it’s reduced in tiny pieces, but not completely puréed. If you like your jam chunkier, just skip this step.

Slice vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds using the back of a knife; return the pan to the heat, add vanilla bean seeds, stir lightly, then add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

Bring to boiling point and boil until the jam reaches setting point. To check if setting point has been reached, place a preserving thermometer into the jam; when it reads 104.5° C (220° F), setting point is reached. If you don’t have a thermometer, drop a little jam on to a cold saucer (put one in the freezer when you start making jam); let the jam cool for one minute, then gently push it with your fingertip. If it crinkles, setting point has been reached. It took me about 45 minutes to reach setting point, but I have a very old induction cooker that doesn’t keep a constant high temperature, so watch your jam after 30 minutes, just in case.

Remove from the heat, stir, and pour into clean, sterilised jars. Seal with the lid, turn the jars upside down, cover with a couple of tea towels and let rest for 12 hours. Cooling slowly will create the vacuum sealing necessary to preserve  jam. Store in a cool, dry place and use within 10-12 months. Once opened, keep in the fridge and use within 2-3 weeks.

Tagged as: apricot, beautiful food, jam, recipe, vanilla