Apricot Amaretto Jam

By MJH

Ingredients

• 4 cups peeled, crushed apricots (about 3 pounds)
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup amaretto liqueur

Preparation

Step 1

Sterilize your jars and put 5 teaspoons on a plate in the freezer, to test your jam for doneness later.

Blanch the apricots by submerging them in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Quickly transfer them to a big bowl of ice water.

Pop the apricots out of their skins and remove the pits, putting the fruit into a big glass or ceramic bowl for mashing.

Crush apricots, e.g. with food processor but do not liquefy the fruit.

Add the sugar and lemon juice to the fruit in the bowl — or combine all the ingredients right in your jam pan, whichever you prefer.

Cover and let sit at room temperature for twenty minutes or so.

Heat the mixture using a medium-low setting, stirring gently until the sugar is fully dissolved.

Turn the heat to medium high and cook until your jam reaches the setting point.

Apricots like super-high heat. Even on medium-high, they foam up like crazy and cook quite quickly.

Stir apricot jam frequently and skim pale foam from the top of the mixture while cooking.

The jam cooks in about 10-12 minutes.

Gently stir in the amaretto liqueur.

Ladle the hot jam into your sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space.

Process the correct amount of time for fruit preserves at your elevation.