These apricot preserves are made with 3 ingredients and are so flavorful, better than anything you'd get from the store. The perfect breakfast side for bread, pancakes, waffles, and more!
4poundsapricotsrinsed, cut in halves or quarters, pit removed
1poundgranulated sugar
3/4cupfreshly squeezed lemon juiceAbout 4 large lemons
Instructions
Place the pitted and halved or quartered apricots in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Let it sit covered for 30 minutes or in a fridge overnight (Note 3) or cook immediately.
Transfer the apricots to a large or medium-sized pot. A non-stick pot will work well here. Bring the fruit to a boil on high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for about one hour, stirring from time to time.
For chunkier preserves, leave them as is. For more broken down preserves, mash the fruit using a potato masher. Let the fruits cook until they look jammy. This takes about 1 hour.
Let the preserves cool for about 5 minutes then proceed with canning following your canning jar instructions. Here is a great tutorial to follow for canning.
Serve over toast, muffins, pancakes, and more.
Notes
1. Apricots: Weigh the apricots first before removing the pits. The weight is different when the pits are inside.2. Washingapricots: Add one part of vinegar to 3 parts of water in a large bowl. Add the apricots to the bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. Rub the apricots together in the water to remove any dirt/sand. Remove the apricots from the bowl and discard the water, Add more water to the bowl add back the apricots and rub together to rinse. Remove the apricots from the water and rinse them one more time.3. Make-Ahead: Letting the apricots rest with the sugar and lemon juice is a great make-ahead tip. This also lets the fruit macerate, creating a syrup.4. Nutritional information is per jar of jam.