Traditional Apricot Jam Recipe discovery from the UK
I found this lovely simple recipe for apricot jam within the pages of a very old cook book. I love discovering other peoples recipes from long ago, it feels like making a secret connection with a stranger, someone I’m never likely to meet, most probably they passed on years ago, possessions donated – including this battered recipe book to the crowded, dusty shelves of a local charity thrift shop. I feel a little sad that it’s been discarded, the beautiful handwriting of someone’s favorite apricot jam recipe – it’s worth keeping and worth sharing.
Here are some other wonderful traditional ways to make apricot jam and useful variations of the standard recipe.
APPLE AND APRICOT JAM
1 lb. dried apricots
5 1b. cooking apples
3 lemons, juice of 3, rind of 1
4 pints water
5 lb. sugar
After thorough washing, put apricots to soak in 3 pints of water. Leave 2 days, then cook them in the soaking water.
Prepare the apples by peeling, coring, and slicing, and place in a saucepan with remaining 1 pint of water. Turn the cooked apricots into pan with the lemon juice and 1 rind (grated), add sugar, and dissolve. Stir while coming to the boil, and continue to stir for another 5 minutes; then allow the preserve to boil rapidly for 12 minutes. Test, and when ready pot up cover at once.
Great care must be taken to see that the preserve does not burn or catch to bottom of pan.
APRICOT (FRESH FRUIT) JAM
4 lb. fresh apricots
4 lb. sugar
3/4 pint water
Wash or wipe the fruit, halve, and remove stones. Break about 2 dozen of the stones, and save the kernels. Cover them with boiling water, and, after taking off skins, add the halved white kernels to the apricots in the pan. Bring up to simmering and keep it simmering steadily until reduced and the apricots are quite tender. Draw away from the heat while sugar is stirred and dissolved, then allow to boil up. and continue to boil quickly until a set is obtained. Pot up and cover.
APRICOT JAM MADE FROM PULP
3 1/2 lb. apricot pulp
3 1/2 lb. sugar
Rind and juice of 2 lemons
Weigh pulp, add the sugar, the grated rinds, and juice of the lemons. Allow to stand in an earthenware basin for 1 hour. Bring to the boil and boil hard for 25 minutes. Test on a plate, remove pan from stove, stir jam for 5 minutes, then pot and cover immediately.
This pulp jam is best made in small quantities at a time, and is then much easier to manage than if large quantitis are made.
DRIED APRICOT JAM
1 1/2 lb. apricots (dried)
5 lb. sugar
4 1/2 pints water
20 almonds (blanched and split)
juice of 2 lemons
Rinse the fruit throwh three lots of tepid water; drain, then leave it soaking for 2 days, covered with the 4 1/2 pints of water.
Grease a preserving pan with a small nut of butter before putting in the apricots, the water they were soaked in, and strained lemon juice. Boil for 40 minuites, freqently stirring. Add the sugar, and when dissolved put in the almonds, and continue to stir until the jam is ready to set when tested. Pot up and cover.
The almonds may be omitted, but they give the flavour and appearance of jam made with fresh apricots.
APRICOT AND PINEAPPLE JAM
2 1/2 lb. dried apricots
6 lb. sugar
I large tin of pineapple
Water
Wash the apricots, then allow them to soak for 48 hours in the water keeping the liquid; cut up the apricots and pineapple into small pieces. Place in pan with liquid from soaking apricots and from the pineapple tin, bring to the boil, stir in and dissolve sugar, return pan to stove, boil quickly, stirring frequently for 30 to 35 minutes. Add a few split
almonds, if liked, with the sugar. Pot up and cover at once.
DRIED APRICOTS AND RHUBARB JAM
4 lb. rhubarb
2 lb. dried apricots
3 lemons
5 lb. sugar
Wash apricots, then cover with water and allow them to soak for 36 hours.
Wash, dry, and cut rhubarb into small pieces, put in basin; sprinkle over it 1 lb. of the sugar. Now place the apricots and water in which they were soaked and the rhubarb into preserving pan. Wash lemons, cut them in quarters, add, and simmer for 1 hour. Add the remainder of the sugar, bring to the boil again, boil for 30, minutes longer. Remove pieces of lemon, and pot up and seal.