As you may know, I have a longtime obsession with jams and jellies and am always looking for new, interesting, spreadable combinations. A resource that I always go to (and one of the most interesting cookbooks I own) is Mes Confitures, by Christine Ferber. Throughout the book, Ms. Ferber not only shares her secrets to making foolproof artisanal jams and jellies, but the combinations are completely irresistible.
This Apricot and Honey Jam is guaranteed to be a hit with your friends and family – honey is the perfect compliment to the apricots and adds a unique depth of flavor to this jam. Apricot and Honey Jam tastes great smeared on a slice of artisan bread.
Makes 3 pints
Equipment
- 3 pint sized jars with lids, sterilized
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds apricots
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 7 oz. honey
- 7 oz. water
- juice of 1 large lemon
Directions
Rinse the apricots in cold water. Cut them in half to pit them. Mix the apricots, sugar, water, honey and lemon juice in a ceramic bowl. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper – refrigerate and macerate for an hour.
Pour the contents of the bowl into a pan and bring to a simmer (a copper pan is preferable, as it ensure even distribution of heat). Pour back into the bowl. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, pour this mixture into a sieve. Bring the accumulated syrup to a boil – skim and continue cooking on high heat. The syrup will be sufficiently concentrated at 221°F on a candy thermometer. Add the apricot halves. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring gently and skimming carefully. If you don’t have a candy thermometer – add a few drops of the jam to a cold plate to check the consistency.
Put the jam into jars immediately – wipe off any drips from the rim of the jar and turn them upside down. Store in a cool, dry place, out of the light.
Your preserves look gorgeous. I love the Ferber book, too. If you haven’t already, try the raspberry-chocolate preserves. Last summer I made that with black raspberries and they were amazing.
This is totally beautiful. Congrats on Top 9. GREG
Beautiful jam! Sounds like a delicious flavor combo and the color is simply gorgeous!
The color alone is to die for. Making this week. Before I moved I had a beautiful apricot tree that yielded vast quantities of fruit. I miss it.
Have you tried something like this with quince? I love the tartness of quince jam, and my guess is a bit of that tartness would be cut by the honey in the recipe.
Great idea – I like quince and think it would be a perfect combo!
Thank you!
Thank you! I will put the raspberry-chocolate preserves on my list, they sound amazing!
This recipe – and photo – looks great. I do have Mes Confitures, too (en francais), which I really enjoy for Mme Ferber’s quirky yet inspired combos. Try the exception strawberry jam with mint and black pepper. It’s the best I’ve ever had!
Thanks,
Dan
I love the color of your jam! It reminds me of a Swedish jam that we make of cloudberries. It’s a berry that is almost impossible to find outside of Sweden, and it is amazing. I will make a recipe with cloudberries in my online cooking show soon, so please check it out if you wanna know how it looks like!
This looks amazing. I have this book but have yet to try any of the recipes. I just made strawberry lavender jam.
I have this book as well. It is a great source for jams and jellies. I like the one you made here and the color is so beautiful.
I really like the simplicity of this recipe – I also love jams, preserving things, pickling and basically anything that involves a jar. Your pictures are also beautiful. I think I will have to get that Ferber book!
This looks wonderful! I’m going to have to go out an buy that book, I love jams.
Hey, I tried this jam with agave (the white – not the blue) instead of the honey. Tastes great! Agave is sweeter than sugar or honey, so I cut back on the agave to 5 oz (as a guesstimate). It turned out yummy
Great idea – I’ll definitely have to try that next time!
The recipe looks great. I’m going to try it with the apricots on my tree.