Apricot Almond Cinnamon Jam Food

APRICOT-NOYAUX JAM

Steps:

• The night before you plan to make the jam, pit and quarter the apricots, reserving pits. Trim away any soft or moldy bits. Place fruit in a large bowl or pot, toss with 2 1/2 cups sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt to macerate, cover with parchment or lid and refrigerate. Place pits on a plate in a single layer, and freeze.
• The following day, bring fruit to room temperature before beginning jam-making process.
• Lay a kitchen towel across a cutting board. Place frozen apricot pits on the towel in a single layer. Cover with a second towel, and use a hammer to gently crack each pit open, then remove kernels - the noyaux - from each pit (it's fine if they break into pieces). Discard shells, and place kernels in a jelly bag or tie in a cheesecloth pouch, and secure with kitchen twine.
• Place fruit, liquid and pouch in 6-quart or larger Dutch oven, or similar wide pot, and set over high heat. Set a colander inside a large heatproof bowl, and set aside. Stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, bring the jam to a boil, then carefully pour everything into the colander to strain the fruit, and return the syrup and kernel pouch to the pot. Set fruit aside.
• Stirring constantly over high heat, bring syrup to 225 degrees, or until the rapid boil slows, the bubbles grow large and the syrup thickens, about 15 minutes.
• Return fruit to pot, and allow jam to return to 225 degrees, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. If the temperature gets stuck around 220, the syrup seems to stop thickening or the jam tastes too tart, add up to 1 cup of sugar to balance. Add a pinch of salt if needed to adjust seasoning. The hot jam should taste uncomfortably sweet - once it cools, its flavor will mellow. After about 20 minutes, once most of the fruit breaks down and the jam reaches a slow, thick boil, add the juice of 1 lemon. Taste and adjust sugar, salt and lemon juice as needed - the jam should be mouth-smackingly sweet and tart. Add 1/4 cup noyau extract, if using. Remove pot from heat.
• Remove pouch, and set aside. When it's cool enough to handle, squeeze as much liquid (and noyau essence) from the bag, and stir into jam. Divide jam into 4 half-pint jars, and heat-process to seal, or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 weeks. Rinse off noyaux, and use to make extract.

APRICOT JAM

Steps:

• Mix apricots and lemon juice in a large pot; add sugar. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook and stir until apricot mixture thickens, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary.
• Meanwhile, prepare jars, lids, and rings by cleaning and sterilizing in dishwasher or boiling water bath. Leave lids in simmering water until ready to seal jars.
• Ladle hot jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving about 1/4 inch of space on top. Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with lids and screw on rings.
• Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil, then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2-inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot, and process for 15 minutes.
• Remove the jars from the stockpot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Once cool, press the top of each lid with a finger, ensuring that the seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all). Store in a cool, dark area.

APRICOT JAM BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
• Beat butter and caster sugar together in a bowl until smooth; beat in egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract.
• Whisk flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until a smooth dough forms.
• Press 1/2 of the dough into the prepared baking dish. Spread apricot jam evenly over the dough. Drop remaining dough in small spoonfuls evenly over the jam.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting into squares and serving.

APRICOT AMARETTO JAM

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, combine apricots and lemon juice. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and pectin; stir into apricot mixture. If desired, add butter. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in remaining sugar. Return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute., Remove from heat; stir in amaretto. Cool jam in Dutch oven for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle hot mixture into eight hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight. , Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

APRICOT ALMOND CINNAMON JAM

Steps:

• Pit, do not peel ripe apricots. Finely chop or pulse in food processor.
• In a large saucepan stir together prepared fruit and Certo Crystals.
• Bring to a boil over high heat.
• Add all the sugar, almond extract, cinnamon and butter.
• Return to a hard boil for 1 minute.
• Remove from heat. Stir and skim any foam to prevent floating fruit. Pour into warm sterilized jars to 1/4 inch from rim. Cover with lids and screw rings on tightly.
• Notes: I process my jam in a boiling water bath, for 5 minutes, to ensure the seals. One year I didn't and had to throw out a lot of jam because the seals failed.
• To sterilize I wash and rinse jars, lids and rings. I put the jars and rings on a cake pan in a 225°F oven before I start. I simmer the lids in water.
• Times are a estimate; it took about 1/2 hour from start to finish.

APRICOT ORANGE ALMOND JAM

Steps:

• Chop the apricots coarsly and put into a large bowl. Sprinkle-on the grated zest of the oranges and the cinnamon.
• Squeeze the juice of the oranges, measure and add enough water to make 6-cups total. Pour the liquid over the fruit, gently combine, and set out overnight in a cool place (not in the fridge).
• The next day, simmer the apricots in a heavy pan until fruit is nicely tender; 1 to 2 hours. Use a potato masher to crush fruit if desired. I like the apricots in larger chunks so I don't mash them.
• Add the sugar to the pan together with juice of the lemons and the almonds.
• Cook 'til sugar is melted, then fast-boil to a setting stage. (drip some on a plate, if a skin forms on top when cooled it's ready).
• Ladle into sterile jars, seal, and process in 10-min. water bath.