Throughout the summer, fresh fruit arrives at our table. When the time of some fruits passes, other garden crops immediately begin. And in the period of time, when the cherries have already “moved away” and the peaches are still very “green”, the apricots are just ripening. This fruit crop is very ancient, it has been known for a long time, and even now it ranks first in taste among all fruits that ripen in temperate climates. This is explained primarily by the fact that apricot fruits contain a lot of useful substances - sugars, pectin substances and vitamins. In this regard, it is widely used in cosmetics, medicine and in the food industry.
The apricot is also “respected” by many housewives who make compote, jam and jam from these fruits. Apricot jam is also tasty and healthy. Fortunately, there are many recipes for this product.
For example, the following recipe can be cooked using kernels extracted from its seeds. To do this, you need to take 3 kg of fresh apricots, 1 lemon, 1 orange and 2.5 kg of sugar. The fruits, of course, need to be washed and poured onto a towel to dry. Next, you need to carefully examine them, find rotten fruits and throw them away. Then each apricot is divided into two halves and the pit is removed from it. These bones should not be thrown away; they will still be needed in the future.
Then take a bowl for jam and put the prepared apricots into it. And the lemon and orange must be thoroughly washed, cut into slices and, together with the seeds and peel, put through a meat grinder. The resulting porridge is added to the apricots in a basin and the whole thing is covered with sugar. Then this basin needs to be shaken thoroughly so that its contents are mixed. Now you can leave the apricots alone for a couple of hours so that they release the juice.
In the meantime, you can start extracting kernels from the seeds. They need to be pricked with a hammer and done carefully so as not to damage the kernels. They will also go into apricot jam and give it a special taste. Two hours of this activity will fly by unnoticed, and you can start. To do this, put the basin on medium heat and bring the apricots to a boil. Throughout this process, the jam must be stirred periodically and the foam must be collected from its surface with a slotted spoon or spoon. And when it boils, the fire becomes very weak.
Next, it is possible to get light and liquid jam if you cook it after boiling for no more than 10 minutes. And if this process is extended to 20 minutes, the product will turn out dark and thick. Here everyone already chooses according to their taste. After finishing cooking, remove the bowl from the heat and let the jam “rest” for 8-12 hours. After this break, put it back on low heat and bring the product to a boil, stirring it at the same time. This time there is very little foam. Then again “rest” for the same period, and then for the last time we bring it to a boil.
And while the apricot jam is being cooked in the third round, you can prepare half-liter jars for it. They need to be washed thoroughly and sterilized very thoroughly. You should also boil the lids for them. After the third boil, it’s time for the kernels. They should be poured into the jam and cooked for about 15 minutes. And when it is ready, the jam should be poured into jars, roll up their lids and wrap them in a blanket or towels. So they should stand until they cool down. That's it, the jam is ready to eat!
In addition to jam, you can also make apricot jam. It is easy to prepare, within one hour. For this jam you need to take one kilogram of ripe apricots and 200 grams of unripe fruits. Also for this product you will need 800 grams of sugar, 200 ml of water and half a teaspoon of lemon juice or citric acid.
Apricots need to be thoroughly washed and sorted. Ripe fruits are divided into two halves and the seeds are removed. And unripe apricots are cut into small pieces. We start making jam with ripe apricots. They are combined with water, placed on the stove and brought to a boil. As cooking progresses, you need to remove the foam. Then the container with apricots is covered with a lid, and they are cooked for another 10 minutes over low heat. After this time, the fruits are placed on a sieve.
Then the apricots need to be driven through a blender or meat grinder, put them back into the pan and add sugar to them. And until the sugar is completely dissolved, this mixture must be stirred regularly. Then it comes to the hard fruits. They are poured into a puree, and the whole mixture is brought to a boil again. Then the fire is turned on low again and another 20 minutes of cooking follows with constant stirring. added to the jam before the ending.
And this jam is still hot and poured into clean jars, which are covered with lids. They are placed in a large pan of boiling water for sterilization. It will take 10 minutes to sterilize half-liter jars, and 15 minutes for liter jars. Then you need to roll up the lids, turn the jars upside down and leave them alone until they cool completely.
There is also a simple recipe that you can follow to make apricot jam. It will require 4 kg of these fruits, a glass of water and 2.5 kg of sugar. Before you start preparing this jam, you need to cut the apricots in half and remove the pits. Then the remaining pulp is combined with water and cooked under a lid over low heat. Apricots need to be stirred from time to time. And when they are completely softened, they must be rubbed through a sieve along with the juice. The resulting puree needs to be cooked for another 10 minutes and then added sugar. This mass must be thoroughly mixed and cooked until ¾ of its original volume remains. In this way, after 1.5 hours you will get jam. When hot, it should be placed in jars and left alone until the jam has cooled. Then these jars are closed with nylon lids and stored in a cool and damp place.
It cooks very quickly with kernels. After all, to create such a sweet product you just need to purchase the necessary fruit and heat it. To make it more clear to you how to prepare this delicious dessert, we present to your attention a step-by-step recipe.
Apricot jam with kernels: detailed preparation method
Required Products:
- granulated sugar - 3 kg;
- ripe apricots - 2 kg;
- drinking water - 1 half glass.
Features of choosing the main ingredient
Apricot jam with kernels will turn out very tasty only if for its preparation you purchase ripe and soft fruits, the pulp of which comes off well from the pit. When purchasing such a product, you should pay special attention to ensure that the surface of the fruit is completely bright orange. After all, if the apricot is slightly greenish, then it will turn out to be a very rough jam with hard and fibrous fruit. Therefore, the seller of this product should definitely be asked to divide the sweet product in two and show how well the bone comes off and whether its flesh is soft enough.
Main ingredient processing process
With kernels, it turns out much tastier than a regular sweet product, for the preparation of which nuts are not used. Therefore, we decided to use waste-free production. To do this, you need to take 2 kg of ripe fruits, wash them thoroughly under warm running water, and then cut them in half and remove the seeds. In this case, apricots should be placed in a large enamel basin. Next, you need to use a hammer to split all the bones that have been removed and get out the tasty kernels. After this, you need to add them to the pulp along with granulated sugar and mix everything thoroughly with a large spoon.
Heat treatment
If you want to make apricot jam with kernels quickly, then, in addition to granulated sugar, you should also add a little drinking water. This is necessary so that the sweet bulk ingredient melts faster and does not stick to the bottom during heat treatment. If you are in no hurry to prepare the jam, then you should wait 10-12 hours until the apricots themselves give the necessary juice.
In any case, a bowl filled with fruit must be placed on low heat and brought to a boil. After this, the sweet product must be boiled for another 7-11 minutes (stirring constantly), and then poured hot into sterilized jars. Next, the filled glass containers must be rolled up with lids and turned upside down, wrapped tightly in a blanket and kept in this position for exactly one day. During this time, the jars of jam will have cooled completely, and they can be moved to a dark place for further storage (cellar, refrigerator, underground, etc.).
How to serve correctly
Delicious apricot jam will be completely ready for consumption the very next day after heat treatment. It should be placed in a bowl and presented to guests along with warm toast and hot tea.
Step 1: prepare the apricots.
Choose only ripe, elastic and fairly hard fruits, otherwise they will boil in the process and lose their appearance.Rinse the selected apricots thoroughly, dry them and make a shallow cut along the pit on each one. Using tweezers, carefully remove the seeds from the fruit.
Step 2: prepare the kernels.
Now one more painstaking point. You need to split each seed using pliers and remove the kernels without damaging them.
Attention: Be sure to try the kernels extracted from apricots, they can be very bitter, it is better not to use them for making jam.
If the kernels taste okay, place them back into the apricots through the same cut you used to remove the pits. Prick the stuffed apricots with a fork or toothpick on several sides. Thanks to the resulting small holes, the syrup will better penetrate the fruit pulp.
Step 3: cook apricot jam with kernels.
Take a large, wide saucepan and cook the syrup in it by mixing sugar and water and bringing to a boil. Cool until the liquid is slightly warmer than room temperature. Dip the apricots into the warm syrup and drown them slightly. Cover with a lid and let soak overnight, only checking occasionally to lower any floating apricots deeper into the syrup.
After one day, boil the contents of the pan and let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Then leave it to brew again at least 18 hours, preferably 1 day. After this time, repeat all procedures again. Cook the apricot jam until the fruit becomes translucent and the syrup thickens. This usually requires 4 days. During the last boil, add citric acid and immediately after that pour the jam into clean jars.
Apricot jam with kernels should be stored only in sterilized glass containers with tightly closed lids. The newly poured jam should be wrapped in a kitchen towel or blanket and cooled to room temperature, and then sent to a dark place, such as a pantry.
Step 4: serve apricot jam with kernels.
Serve apricot jam with kernels with tea as an independent dessert. It turns out to be much tastier than all kinds of store-bought canned apricots, not to mention healthier.
Bon appetit!
Instead of apricot kernels, you can use peeled almonds or ginger.
You can also buy apricot kernels in the store and put several pieces inside each fruit.
It is best to make jam from sugar, which contains pectin. Usually in stores it is called “Jam Sugar with Pectin.” It is with it that the preparation will turn out sweet, but not cloying, and it requires 2 times less than regular sugar.
This recipe indicates the amount of ingredients needed to make jam from 1 kilogram of apricots, and if you have more fruit, increase the amount of water, sugar and citric acid accordingly, maintaining the proportions.
Cover the apricots with the required amount of sugar and leave them for several hours, or better yet overnight, so that they release juice.
All apricot pits need to be split and the kernels removed. Unfortunately, their shell is very hard and can only be cracked with a hammer. This is the most time-consuming part of making jam.
Let's return to apricots. To make jam, you will need a wide, non-oxidizing container - a large saucepan or frying pan, and ideally, a special bowl for jam.
Place the apricots and sugar in this bowl and place on low heat. Stir the jam very carefully, so as not to damage the apricot halves, until the sugar dissolves.
Once the apricots have boiled, cook them for 5-7 minutes and then remove from the heat. If foams form, they should be removed. Cool the jam completely and let it sit for a couple of hours.
Repeat this procedure one more time - bring the jam to a boil, boil for 5-7 minutes and then cool completely. For the third time, add apricot kernels to the jam and boil the jam again for 5-7 minutes.
Bon appetit!
There are few sweets as legendary as apricot jam with pits.
Children tell scary stories about how you can die from eating bones.
Adults read Persian stories about the feasts of the eastern shahs, where this delicacy was considered almost divine.
No need to guess, let’s prepare it ourselves and try it!
Apricot jam with kernels - general principles of preparation
Apricots for jam It is best to take well-ripened or slightly unripe ones with greenish “cheeks”. Overripe fruits will soften during the cooking process, and the result will not be jam with pieces of fruit, but jam. The fruits must be thoroughly washed with cold water, dried and the seeds removed. The fruit pulp is cut in half or cut into small slices. If whole apricots are required, they are lightly broken on one side and the pit is removed with a small spoon.
The bones are not thrown away. They are carefully chopped with a hammer or crushed with a nut cracker. After that, the kernels are removed, which are subsequently added to the jam, during the cooking process or before. When sprinkling granulated sugar on the fruit, the skin on the surface of the kernels is removed or left, it all depends on the recipe. Often, before extracting the kernels, the seeds are calcined in the oven. Often, kernels from nuts (walnuts or almonds) are added to jam, not from fruit seeds. They give the delicacy a unique rich taste.
Cooking methods There is a lot of delicious apricot jam with kernels and the difference in them is not only in the degree of ripeness of the fruit, but also in what result you want to get. If you want an amber-colored delicacy with dense pieces of pulp, take note of the recipes for one-time short cooking or repeated cooking of slightly unripe apricots soaked in a weak soda solution.
Daily apricot jam with kernels
Ingredients:
Two kilograms of ripe apricots;
White granulated sugar – 2.6 kg.
Cooking method:
1. Break clean, well-ripened apricots into two halves. Remove the seeds and carefully crack them with a hammer. Remove the nucleoli.
2. Take a large container (basin or pan) that can be placed in the refrigerator. Place the apricot halves in it, layering them with granulated sugar and kernels. Then cover the container with a lid and place it in the refrigerator.
3. After a day, remove the container and place on very low heat. Without stirring, bring the apricot jam to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, skim off any foam that has formed on the surface and continue cooking for about forty minutes.
4. Pour the hot mass, while still boiling, into sterile glass jars and seal.
Apricot jam with kernels – “Tsarskoe”
Ingredients:
One kilogram of granulated sugar;
200 ml water;
A kilogram of ripe apricots.
Cooking method:
1. Sort the apricots. Remove soft and damaged ones. Leave smooth, well-ripened fruits with dense pulp.
2. Rinse the fruit thoroughly under running water. Gently break them in half, but do not tear them. They should open like shells.
3. Carefully remove the pits and arrange them in the roasting pan. Place in a hot oven (150 degrees) and heat for five minutes, cool. Chop the seeds and remove the kernels. Place one inside the open fruits, then cover the fruits.
4. Pour water into granulated sugar and place on low heat. When the sugar is completely dissolved, turn up the heat and bring to a quick boil.
5. Pour boiling syrup over the apricots and leave to cool, covering the container with a linen towel or a large sheet of paper (or newspaper).
6. When the mass has cooled completely, place the container on the stove again and bring to a boil. Remove from heat several times during cooking and gently rock the pan from side to side. This is done in order to stir the jam. If you stir with a spoon, you can damage the fruits and the kernels will fall out.
7. After the re-boiled mass has cooled well, reheat it again and bring it to a slight boil until fully cooked.
Apricot jam with kernels – “Pyatiminutka” (with alcohol)
Ingredients:
Ripe firm apricots – 1.3 kg;
800 gr. refined sugar;
Alcohol – 130 ml;
One big lemon.
Cooking method:
1. Submerge the apricots in water for ten minutes. Then remove, rinse several times and dry in a colander. Break into halves, carefully remove the seeds, place in a separate bowl and leave for now.
2. Place the fruit halves in a large saucepan, add alcohol, add sugar and place in the refrigerator for two days. Be sure to stir gently once a day, trying to lift up all the sugar that has settled at the bottom.
3. On the third day, remove the pan from the refrigerator, stir and place on the lowest heat setting.
4. Carefully split the previously set seeds, remove the kernels and peel the skin.
5. After the jam boils, pour in the peeled kernels, a little cinnamon and add lemon. Citrus can be cut into small pieces or rings. If you don't want to leave the lemon in the jam, cut it into rings, this will make it easier to remove it after cooking. Cook over low heat at a low simmer for no more than 5 minutes.
6. Remove the mixture from the heat and set aside.
7. After ten hours, bring it to a boil again in the same mode, boil for 5 minutes and set aside again for ten hours.
8. After this, boil the jam again, but cook until done.
“Amber” – apricot jam with kernels
Ingredients:
One kilogram of ripened apricots;
A kilo of granulated sugar;
A teaspoon of baking soda.
Cooking method:
1. Pour one and a half liters of cold drinking water into an enamel pan. Pour baking soda into it and stir well.
2. Divide the washed apricots into two halves, cut each of them into large slices.
3. Dip the fruit pieces into the soda solution for five minutes. This will allow them to retain their shape and not fall apart during further heat treatment.
4. Crush the extracted seeds with a nut cracker or break with a hammer and remove the kernels.
5. Place the apricot slices in a colander, rinse thoroughly and wait until the remaining water has drained away.
6. In a separate bowl, cook a thick syrup from sugar mixed with a quarter glass of water. Pour boiling syrup over the apricot slices, mixed with kernels, and leave to stand until completely cooled.
7. Then strain the syrup, boil again and pour it over the fruit. This must be repeated at least four times.
8. After pouring the pulp for the last fourth time, boil it over low heat for two minutes and roll it into sterile jars.
Apricot jam with almond kernels
Ingredients:
Not overripe apricots – 1.5 kg;
One and a half teaspoons of baking soda;
One and a half kilograms of sugar;
One and a half glasses of drinking water, filtered;
A handful of peeled almond kernels.
Cooking method:
1. Sort and rinse freshly picked, slightly unripe fruits, remove the seeds. You can cut them into two halves or just break them, but not completely.
2. Dilute baking soda in one and a half liters of cold water. Pour the resulting solution over the fruits and leave in it for three hours. Then drain the solution, rinse the pulp thoroughly and dry in a colander.
3. Mix sugar with water and place on the lowest heat. When the sugar grains are completely dissolved and the syrup is boiling, dip the fruit into it.
4. Bring to a boil and add almond kernels. Cook at a low simmer for about 20 minutes, then remove from the stove and leave overnight. Don't forget to cover the bowl with a cloth or piece of paper.
5. The next day, boil again and boil again for 20 minutes.
6. Pack the still boiling jam into sterile jars and seal with metal lids for preservation.
Apricot jam with walnut kernels
Ingredients:
Seedless apricots – one kilogram;
300 gr. walnut kernels;
600 gr. white sugar.
Cooking method:
1. Add the entire volume of sugar to the washed, well-dried fruit halves, mix and leave in a warm place for several hours (3-4).
2. When the fruits release their juice, stir them again and place the container over moderate heat. Once it boils, simmer for a quarter of an hour and remove from heat.
3. After the mass has cooled, put the container on the fire again. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce the heat to low, let sit for 15 minutes and set aside again until completely cooled.
4. Repeat the process one more time.
5. Break the nut kernels in half and dip into apricot jam after boiling it for the fourth time. Then boil with the nuts for 25 minutes and roll up while hot.
Apricot jam is cooked, ideally, in a copper basin or in an enamel bowl. Such containers do not oxidize upon contact with fruit acid.
To thoroughly wash the fruits, immerse them in cold water for ten minutes and then rinse under the tap.
In hot weather, do not leave fruit sprinkled with granulated sugar indoors for a long time; it is better to put it in the refrigerator. Otherwise they may ferment.
Before adding kernels extracted from seeds, be sure to taste them. Sometimes they can taste bitter.
Do not add bitter kernels, the jam will also be bitter. Better choose a different recipe and use the core of walnuts or almonds.
Roll apricot jam with kernels only into thoroughly sterilized jars and seal them with boiled metal lids. This way the jam will last longer and you won’t need to put it in the refrigerator.
After cooking, be sure to let the sweets sit for a while. The kernels of seeds and nuts should absorb the syrup well.
