Apricot Preserves
Published Aug 09, 2023
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How to make the best Apricot Preserves with only 3 ingredients! The flavor of the apricots plus the lemon juice will leave you begging for more!
You can actually eat these preserves by the spoonful. It is that good! But serve it alongside muffins, pancakes, Easy Crepes, Homemade Waffles, and more.
I’m so thankful for a sweet friend I met at Bible Study who invited me to harvest apricots from her apricot tree. This apricot preserves recipe was inspired by the abundance of apricots we had at home from the harvest.
You’ll love how this homemade version tastes better than storebought. Plus making and canning fruit preserves is such a fun project to take on!
Table of Contents
You’ll Love This 3-Ingredient Recipe!
This recipe focuses on using apricots to make preserves but you can use this same recipe to make preserves or jam out of many other fruits.
Consider adapting this recipe with other fruits like berries, other stone fruit like peaches or plums, or tropical fruits like mango, guava or pineapple.
This recipe gives you the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. You know exactly what goes into it and there are only 3 simple ingredients!
Also, check out this Pineapple Jam and Healthy Strawberry Jam.
Ingredients For Apricot Preserves
Here are the ingredients you need for this homemade apricot preserves recipe. There’s no need for pectin!
- Apricots: Use a great mix of ripe apricots and not fully ripe apricots for the best flavor. Any apricots you have on hand would work.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice adds tang and also acts as a natural preservative. I prefer fresh-squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar or unrefined organic cane sugar would work. It might seem like a lot of sugar but note the sugar also helps to preserve the fruit. Still, this recipe calls for significantly less sugar than most recipes you would find.
Note that the quantities used are different from what is shown in the picture. Check the recipe card below for detailed measurements and instructions.
How To Make Apricot Preserves
Follow these simple steps for making Apricot Preserves or any jam recipes. These steps will give you the best results.
- Wash the apricots. Add 1 part of white vinegar to 3 parts of water, add in the apricots, and let them sit for 5 minutes. Then rub the fruits together to remove any dirt on their skin. Remove the fruits from the vinegar water and strain. Then rinse them 2 more times. (No, you won’t taste the vinegar).
- Cut apricots in halves or quarters. After patting the fruits dry with a clean kitchen towel, cut the apricots into halves or into quarters and discard the pits. Apricots are easy to cut and the pit comes right off.
- Place apricots in a bowl with lemon juice and sugar. Mix to combine.
- Let the fruit sit for a while or cook immediately. The fruit can sit in the lemon and sugar mixture for up to 2 hours or overnight in the fridge. This process of allowing the fruit to sit is called macerating. Macerating draws out their juices and creates a syrup.
- Place the apricot mixture in a pot and cook until jammy. First, bring to a boil on high heat then reduce to medium heat and simmer until done.
- Mash as needed. For chunkier preserves, leave them as is. For a more spreadable texture, mash using a potato masher.
- Keep simmering until done. Simmer on medium heat for about one hour in total.
- Let the preserves cool for a few minutes. This allows the fruit to settle and also, the preserves won’t be too hot when ladling into a jar. The preserves should look something like this:
- Place into jars. Place the preserves into mason jars and can them following the jar’s canning instructions. Here is an incredible guide to canning for beginners. If you can them properly, they will last on the shelf for up to one year!
Quick Canning Guide
Here is a quick guide to canning for beginners so you can easily can your fruit preserves for a longer shelf-life.
- First, wash 5-6 8 oz mason jars and their lids with hot soapy water. Place the jars in a large pot with water covering the jars. Bring to a boil on high heat. Boil for 10 minutes.
- Place the lids and their rings in a smaller pot and add water. Bring to a simmer on medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove both the jars and their lids and place on clean kitchen towels to dry.
- While the jars are still hot, fill them with the apricot preserves.
- Cover them with their lids and screw the lids on to ensure they are locked properly.
- Return the filled jars to the large pot where the jars were sterilized. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.
- Remove the jars from the pot and let them rest on the countertop undisturbed for 12 hours.
- Store them in a cool, dry, and dark place for up to a year!
These preserves also make cool gifts for friends and family!
Once a jar of apricot preserves is opened, refrigerate.
Various Uses For Apricot Preserves
- These preserves work well as an ingredient in the ever delicious Malva Pudding, for roast pork, chicken, or glazed ham.
- The preserves are also a delicious addition to charcuterie boards! Check out this sweet and salty charcuterie board.
- Add apricot preserves on top of melted Brie cheese to make a quick and tasty appetizer.
Useful Tools
The following tools make the process of making fruit preserves easier:
Can You Freeze Apricot Preserves?
Yes, you can store jars of apricot preserves in the freezer for up to one year! After making the preserves and putting in jars, let the jars rest for 24 hours before freezing.
Another way to freeze preserves is to put them in Ziploc freezer bags. Remove the extra air from the bags and freeze for up to a year.
Commonly Asked Questions
Fruit preserves are quite similar to jam in that they are all cooked down fruit but fruit preserves tend to be chunkier than jam. That’s because larger pieces of fruit are used in preserves.
For the best apricot preserves, make it homemade with the right balance of lemon juice and sugar that makes flavorful preserves. With this method, you can taste the rich flavors in the fruit.
Apricot preserve is a sweetened chunky sauce made out of apricots, lemon juice, and sugar.
Once a jar of apricot preserves is opened? It should be refrigerated so it can maintain its freshness.
Similar Recipes
Love this recipe for apricot preserves? Also, check out these similar recipes:
If you make this recipe please leave a star rating below. Your rating helps others find the recipe plus I love hearing from you! Thank you!
Apricot Preserves
Ingredients
- 4 pounds apricots rinsed, cut in halves or quarters, pit removed
- 1 pound granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice About 4 large lemons
Instructions
- Place the pitted and halved or quartered apricots in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Let it sit covered for 30 minutes or in a fridge overnight (Note 3) or cook immediately.
- Transfer the apricots to a large or medium-sized pot. A non-stick pot will work well here. Bring the fruit to a boil on high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for about one hour, stirring from time to time.
- For chunkier preserves, leave them as is. For more broken down preserves, mash the fruit using a potato masher. Let the fruits cook until they look jammy. This takes about 1 hour.
- Let the preserves cool for about 5 minutes then proceed with canning following your canning jar instructions. Here is a great tutorial to follow for canning.
- Serve over toast, muffins, pancakes, and more.
