The Best Apricot Jam Without Pectin
Last Updated on August 14, 2023 by Jacqueline Rafidi
This is the BEST apricot jam without pectin.
If you follow along with all my garden updates on Instagram, you’ve seen that our apricot tree has BLESSED us this year with tons (I’m talking hundreds) of fresh apricots! Not only were we eating them every single day, we also gave away bags and bags of them to neighbors and friends. Considering we only had about 10 apricots last year, I’d say this apricot season has done very well! We had tons of fruit left, so we knew we needed to make some homemade jam! If you’re picking up fresh apricots from your local grocery store or farmers market, just make sure they’re in season – mid summer!
The Best Apricot Jam without Pectin
There are tons of jam recipes, but I love this one so much. Its got 3 simple ingredients, no pectin, and it comes out perfect every time. The step-by-step instructions are below. I didn’t want to put fruit pectin in this because I wanted to control the texture and amount of sugar in the jam. If you have fruit pectin and would like to use it, go for it! Add it where you normally would in this recipe.
To start, wash your fresh apricots well, remove the pit and quarter them or cut them as small as you like. It’s really important to use ripe apricots here. The more ripe and sweet they are, the less sugar you’ll ultimately need to use. Add all the cut up fresh fruit to a large pot and place it on medium heat. Add about 1/4 cup of white sugar at a time to the chopped apricots and stir gently. As the sugar dissolves, add another 1/4 cup and continue stirring.
You can really use as much sugar here as you want. It’s up to your own taste buds! I tend to prefer a jam with some tartness which is the perfect balance to me, but add a little bit at a time and taste as you go. I also find that home grown fruit tends to be sweeter than store bought to begin with, so you may need to add more sugar based on the sweetness of the fruit.
If you need to bring the stove to medium-high heat to get the pot to a light rolling boil, this would be the time to do that! As you go, scoop off any air bubbles or foam that rise to the top and place it in a heat safe bowl. Save this! You can lay it out on parchment paper and put it in the oven at low heat to make your own fruit leather! Once you’ve finished adding the sugar, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. This is the perfect way to keep the hot jam from crystalizing. I think it also creates a nice, balanced flavor.
Now, you can stop here and you have a delicious homemade apricot jam recipe! This is a very classic recipe and a traditional way to make it. Once it cools, just store it in the fridge and it should last you a couple months! But if you’d like to can the jam and give it more of a shelf life, you’ll want to follow these next steps:
1. Use sterilized jars! This part is so so important in the freshness of the food that you can. It must be placed in boiling water for at least a minute before you fill them.
2. Pour in the hot jam leaving a 1/4 inch of headspace on top, wipe off anything that touches the top of the rims of the jars, cover it with the lid until just finger tight and place it in the hot water for at least 10 minutes. Carefully remove the jar and let come to room temp. The top of the jar should be sealed very well once it’s removed.
3. Let it come to room temperature then store the jars of jam in a cool place
This recipe leaves you with the best jam jars ever! You can spoon some of the apricot jam over ice cream – if you add pieces of graham crackers, it’ll have an apricot cobbler vibe! Add it to a pbj, add some dollops to thumbprint cookies for a little taste of summer at any point of the year (hello holiday baking!). Or use it in my Apricot mabroosheh recipe! We planted a raspberry bush this year in the garden, maybe next year I’ll be sharing a raspberry jam! Or even strawberry jam? My mind is going in so many directions now. I hope you enjoy this easy apricot jam recipe!
More like this
Mabroosheh
Fig jam burgers
Fig jam chicken
When you make this recipe for the best apricot jam without pectin, comment down below and rate this recipe to let me know your thoughts! Also, share a picture or tag me on Instagram @thebitewithjackie, I love seeing your remakes!
The Best Apricot Jam without Pectin
Ingredients
- 4 lb fresh apricots washed well, pits removed and quartered
- 2 cups sugar more or less based on taste
- 2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- Sterilized jars for canning method if using
Instructions
- Add the cleaned, pitted and quartered apricots to a pot over medium heat. Slowly incorporate the sugar in small amounts at a time – I usually add ¼ cup at a time. Stir gently and as the sugar dissolves, add an additional ¼ cup.
- The mixture should begin to bubble. Scoop out the foam that rises to the top and place it in a heat safe bowl. Save this – you can add it to a parchment lined baking sheet on very low heat and make your own fruit leather – also known as Qamar al-deen.
- Continue stirring until all the sugar is dissolved. Taste and see if the sweetness is to your liking. If you feel it needs more sugar, add ¼ cup at a time, let it dissolve and give it another taste. Lastly, add the fresh squeeze of lemon juice and stir to combine. After about 30-40 minutes, it should be the consistency of a typical jam. Remove from heat.
- If you want to leave it as a refrigerator jam, place it in a heat proof container, let it cool with the lid off. Once it’s at room temp, place it in the fridge and it should last 2-3 months.
- To can the jam, add the hot jam to the sterilized jars leaving ¼ inch of headspace at the top, remove any air bubbles and wipe the rims of the jar clean. Cover them and place in boiling water to process for at least 10 minutes making sure the boiling water is covering the jars by a couple inches. Use tongs to carefully remove the jars from the water, once they’re cool to the touch, you can place them in a room temperature place where they’ll stay shelf stable. Feel the button on top the lid of the jar – it should be down which indicates that it was canned properly.
- Enjoy over ice cream, on a pbj, in jam bars like my mabroosheh, on a burger, on a grilled chicken sandwich and more!
