Apricot Amaretto Jam
I haven’t made apricot jam for years even though I love fresh apricots when they are in season. When it comes to jams though, I am generally a berry kind of girl and prefer strawberry, raspberry or a mixed berry jam. When I spied the most gorgeous fresh apricots at our local street market this past week though, I knew I had to use them for jam.
The apricots were bright orange with just a touch of blush and I thought they would make a really pretty colored jam. This jam turned out so well, that I was sorry I hadn’t doubled, or even tripled the recipe but I will certainly make it again before the fresh apricot season ends.
The amaretto adds a really nice flavor without being at all overpowering. Apricots are great for jam as they require so little preparation. Since their skins are so thin, you simply need to cut them in half, remove the stone, and coarsely chop. The skin melts into the jam and you won’t even see it. I used a short water bath method for my jam, and used lemon juice as my necessary citric acid component. If available to you though, you can use a product like Fruit Fresh.
Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele
Apricot Amaretto Jam
The addition of Amaretto liqueur adds a depth of flavor to basic apricot jam.
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Pitted And Chopped Apricots (Skins Left On)
- 3 Cups Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 4 - 5 Tablespoons Amaretto Liqueur
Instructions
- Combine the apricots, sugar and lemon juice in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat stirring often until the sugar melts.
- Once the sugar has melted, bring the mixture up to a boil and cook uncovered stirring often.
- After 5 minutes the mixture will seem very watery but just continue to cook the mixture at a slow boil.
- As it cooks, skim off any foam that comes to the top.
- After another 15 minutes or so the mixture should thicken up.
- The mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Remove from the heat and stir in your amaretto.
- Sterilize your jars and lids and while still hot fill with the jam leaving about a 1/2 inch headspace.
- Place lids onto the jars and boil in a water bath with jars covered by 3 inches of water for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let sit an additional 5 minutes before removing from the water bath.
- Place the jars on counter and let sit untouched for 6 hours before storing.
- Refrigerate after opening.