Neighbor gave me access to his big old apricot yesterday. He said when he moved into the house about 50 years ago he brought two cuttings with him from his old place, one this 'cot and the other a prune. He stuck the cuttings in the ground, watered them, and they took. Still harvesting off of them both. Whereas I buy an expensive tree, plant and obsess over it, harvest two or three crops at best, and watch it die.
Anyhow I made apricot jam today: five cups of semi-ripe cots, a shredded apple, a shot of lemon juice, and three cups of sugar. I cooked two batches inside and then put them in a full immersion water bath for half an hour outside. Pics:
REALLY made the difference! And the camp stove was right outside the back door, which opens into the kitchen. (And I needed to use that stove- it’s been stored outside and was rusting up.)
Happy nailed it, Mam. Apples disappear into the other fruit, don’t compete with the flavor or texture, practically guarantee a good set without adding commercial pectin, and let you stretch your precious fruit a little in the process. Slightly underripe apples have more pectin than riper ones. I cook up four or five cups at a time and shred one smallish apple in a batch. I use them with peach, plum, and raspberry jam.
If anyone is interested, i do have a peach jam recipe without any added pectin. It take several days. It’s a process of heating up the jelly and allowing it to cool multiple times.
This multiple boiling/cooling cycle is how I make my apricot jam. However, I find that it’s difficult to boil for 4th and 5th time without scorching. In my experience three times is enough.
