Making Small Batch Apricot Jam

Apricots hail the start of summer. Unlike many other stone fruit which ripen later in the summer, apricots are ready to eat as early as June and July. Apricot jam seems to embody summer. It is fresh, bright, and tastes like a backyard tea party under the shade of a willow tree.

Apricots are easy to find here in the Santa Clara Valley. They were a prime crop along with Prunes long before the tech industry moved in. In those days this whole area was called the fruit bowl of the world, before it was called Silicon Valley.

During the early and middle part of the 1900’s, especially during the Great Depression, apricots and prunes were the largest percent of orchards grown here. Both fared well in this Mediterranean climate, and both are dried beautifully with minimal spoilage. Drying allowed for easy transport. These were the days when fresh produce was only available locally. So our region pioneered the production of these dried crops which had wider distribution. In those days, most of our California farmers put aside as much as a third of their crops to help out the starving dust bowl and migrant workers through that Period.

California Prunes and Apricots were redistributed during the dust bowl to needy families — *California Prunes and Apricots were redistributed during the dust bowl from California to needy families by the New Deal Agency – Federal Surplus Commodities*

Now in Silicon Valley, many of these ancient orchards have disappeared to give way to the high tech companies. While California remains the leader in Apricot production at 85% of the fruit grown in the US, many of the orchards have moved down to the San Joaquin Valley.

Nonetheless, finding apricots is not difficult. They can be found seasonally at farmer’s markets, roadside stands, organic stores, and in backyards.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

When I received my little gift-batch of apricots, I was pretty excited. We have a lot of fruit in our orchard, but no apricots. Therefore, since I just had a handful, I created this small batch apricot jam recipe. I didn’t want to fuss with pectin or canning – or be in the kitchen all day.

This recipe is great because it uses no pectin!
It whips up in about 25 minutes
You only need four ingredients. All fresh.
It is so simple compared to other jams and jellies. Like it thick? Just cook a little longer
It is flexible – you can sub in other stone fruit if you don’t have enough apricots. I once made this with half apricots and half peaches, and the result was divine!!
You do not need to can – although if you want to make it shelf stable, you certainly can in a water bath canner for 10 minutes
The flavor is just amazing.

Ingredients

1-1/2 to 2 lbs of unpeeled and pitted apricots. That’s about 15-20 apricots.
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced. (optional, adds pectin and structure, but not critical)
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange. You can substitute fresh squeezed lemon juice, but the orange compliments the apricot well.
1 Cup granulated sugar

Small Batch Apricot Jam

Add the unpeeled apricot halves, diced apple, sugar and fresh squeezed orange to a wide pan. I like using a large pan because it gives you more surface area on the heat to evenly cook the small batch.
Bring to a boil, stirring regularly.
Reduce heat to low and continue stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
Simmer for twenty minutes, or until the jam has reached the desired consistency. If you are not using the apple, you may wish to cook an extra 5 minutes. Your jam is done when you can run your spoon down the middle of the mixture and the jam does not backfill the hole.
Transfer to jelly jars. You should need 2. Store in the fridge up to a month. If canning, use a water bath canner for 10 minutes.