WoodsGoingNativeIndiana

Apricot Preserves

I was not ready the day that the apricots were ripe. I pitted the apricots and cut them up. I saved them in an ice-cream bucket until I was ready to do the canning. (I would not do this for very long. It was 6 days before I canned).

(NOTE: Make sure you have at least 2 consecutive days to do this.

Without pectin you are boiling water out of your preserves to get a jam consistency.)

Ingredients

Cut fruit into a mix of halves and quarters to get a nice, thick jam with lovely large pieces of preserved fruit, which you’ll especially appreciate come winter.

6 pounds apricots
4 cups sugar (2 pounds)
1 lemon - optional (2-3 Tablespoons of lemon juice)

How to Make Apricot Preserves

1. Cut apricots in halves and quarters and place in a non-reactive bowl. 5 pounds of fruit after pitting. Pour sugar over apricots and give a gentle stir. Don’t worry if things aren’t completely blended. Place the pot over the stove uncovered and bring to a light boil, stirring to prevent scorching. Make sure if you see a light boil to stir because the whole pot may not be boiling, just the center. If it stops boiling after you stir it, continue boiling.

2. Once the whole pot is at a light boil, simmer for 10 minutes and turn off the heat. Let the pot stand uncovered until it is just warm to the touch or reaches room temp.

3. As soon as it cools, repeat step 2. You will bring it to a light boil a total of 5 times. This is why it takes 2 days to make. It’s really easy though. Definitely not rocket science to bring a pot to a boil and give it a few stirs. You can go to work and come home then return it to a boil; there’s no “set” time that you need to be re-boiling it. If 2 days doesn’t work for you, by all means, take 3 days. Preserves have plenty of sugar so they won’t spoil at room temp if you leave it on the counter overnight. If you want the preserves to have an even thicker consistency, you can boil it 6 times if you wish.

(Note: the fifth time you boil, bring it to a boil over a little lower heat and stir a few extra times to prevent scorching. Also, it thickens more as it cools.)

5. The last time you bring it to a boil you will want to transfer it to sterilized jars while it’s boiling hot.

To sterilize the jars:

To sterilize your clean jars: wash them and let them dry in the oven at 215 for about 20 min or until completely dry. Boil the lids 5 min.

2. Transfer your boiling hot preserves to the jars using a glass measuring cup and a funnel (least messy method) leaving about 1/2″ space.

3. Screw the lids on enough to keep a tight seal in place but don’t over-tighten them since air bubbles need to escape.

4. Place packed cans into the canning pot and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes. Remove from the pot with a jar lifter and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid – it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate, preserve and enjoy within 3 months.

Current Canning Guidelines:

You can get up to date on the most recent canning guidelines here.

Peach Preserves

Ingredients

11 lbs peaches, rinsed
4 cups white sugar
Juice of 1 medium lemon (2-3 Tablespoons)

How to Make Peach Preserves / Peach Jam:

Blanch the peaches:

1. Fill 2/3 of a large soup pot with water. Bring to a boil. Add peaches for 30 -45 seconds, then remove with slotted spoon. Remove peaches immediately and place in a large bowl of cold water. This process is known as blanching the peaches and makes removal of the fuzzy skins really easy.

2. Peel the skin (most of them peeled easily by hand, but there were a stubborn few that required a knife), cut the peaches into quarters and remove pits.

Cooking the Preserves:

1. Place all peeled peaches in a large soup pot and squeeze in juice of 1 lemon. Drizzle well with 2 cups sugar, toss and drizzle again with the remaining 1.5-2 cups so the sugar reaches all the peaches. Here’s where you need to use your judgment.

If your peaches are very sweet, you may only need 3 1/2 cups of sugar total. You can add more sugar to taste while it's cooking, so don’t panic at this step. You’ll do great!

2. Let peaches sit at room temp with the sugar for about 30 min -1 hour, or until sugar is dissolved.

3. Place the pot over the stove uncovered and bring to a light boil, stirring to prevent scorching. Make sure if you see a light boil to stir because the whole pot may not be boiling, just the center. If it stops boiling after you stir it, continue boiling. Once the whole pot is at a light boil, simmer for 10 minutes and turn off the heat. Let the pot stand uncovered until it is just warm to the touch or reaches room temp.

4. As soon as it cools, repeat step 3. You will bring it to a light boil a total of 5 times. This is why it takes 2 days to make. It’s really easy though. Definitely not rocket science to bring a pot to a boil and give it a few stirs :D.You can go to work and come home then return it to a boil; there’s no “set” time that you need to be reboiling it. If 2 days doesn’t work for you, by all means, take 3 days. Preserves have plenty of sugar so they won’t spoil at room temp if you leave it on the counter overnight. If you want the preserves to have an even thicker consistency, you can boil it 6 times if you wish.