this week I made some incredible summer apricot-rose jam! read on for recipe and some photos.


apricot-rose jam
original recipe from blue chair jam book
5 1/4 pounds pitted apricots
2 1/4 pounds white cane sugar
3 oz. strained fresh lemon juice
3 splashes of rose water
-yields 9 8oz jars, shelf life 6-8 mo.-

day 1
in a glass container, combine apricots with sugar and lemon juice.
press a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface- smooth to minimize air bubbles- cover with a lid and let macerate overnight in the refrigerator


day 2
take the apricot mixture and transfer to a nonreactive flat pan (I used even a stock pot but an 11 qt. copper preserving pan is ideal). Bring the mixture to a boil, stir frequently with a rubber spatula for 4 minutes. 


-rachel saunders' testing method: take a few spoons and place them on a dish in the freezer to test the jam for doneness later-


-take your very clean jars and lids and place them in the oven at 250 degrees for a minimum of 30 minutes to sterilize them-


remove from heat and with a large spoon skim any foam off the surface of the mixture. return the jam to a boil and decrease the high slightly- cook until jam thickens for about 30 minutes- stir steadily all the while.


when jam has thickened, transfer a small amount to one of the frozen spoons and place into freezer for about 3 minutes. take it out of the freezer and see if it's jammy, if the jam runs slowly down the spoon when held vertically. if not, cook it a little longer.


take jam off the heat completely, skim off any foam on top and discard. add about 3 splashes of rose water, stir well and taste. 


pour the jam into the jars just about to the top and wipe the edges with a damp cloth. screw the lids on until they are snug and replace full jars with lids into the over for 15 minutes. remove from the oven and let cool overnight on a cooling rack- you may hear the lids popping as the mixture cools. you should feel an indentation on the top of the lids to ensure they have been canned properly.