Apricot jams have always marked the beginning of the summer for me. Since childhood, my siblings and I have helped mom make it - cleaning fruit (tedious), stirring the huge pot (important), and best of all, licking utensils without scalding our tongues (the real reward!).
Ingredients:
* apricots
* sugar (3/4 of the weight of the apricots)
* pectin (follow instructions on package)
* jars and lids (I use mason jars with lids and bands. I reuse the jars and bands over the years, but replace the lids after one use for safety.)
Note: My mom actually used a 1:1 ratio fruit to sugar. I lowered it to 1:3/4 but you can't really decrease it more as you are going to end up with compote instead of a jam.
1) Make the jam.
Pitt and clean apricots.
Cook fruits on medium heat till they melt and release their juices.
Optionally, blend fruits till they have the consistency you like (I personally don't like having big pieces of fruits when I spread the jam on my bread).
Add sugar and pectin. Bring jam to boil.
Check the gelatinousness of the jam by spooning some out of the pot and letting it cool for at least 10 minutes, then see if it has the consistency you desire. Add more pectin if you want the jam to be thicker.
2) Can the jam.
Sterilize jars and lids with boiling water.
Fill jars with the jam.
Place lid and band on jar.
Turn jar upside down.
Let cool.
Label and store in pantry.