Saturday, August 4, 2012

Apricot Jam in 3 Ingredients! (Vegan/ GF)

I love fresh fruit... and even more so I am in obsessed with picking my fruit myself. Fruit trees are such a blessing to have around... if you don't let them go that is.

I am currently living in Salt Lake City, Utah, and while I don't have any fruit trees in my apartments yard, plenty of my neighbors have them growing and don't use them. This summer alone I have scored free mulberries (3 harvests!), pears, peaches, and a TON of Apricots!!!


I love apricots. They are, believe it or not, very good for you. High in vitamin A and potassium, low in calories, and quite versatile in the kitchen.

So versatile I didn't know at first what I wanted to make with them!

Perhaps I could roast them with some balsamic and toss them in caramelized onions and almonds all atop some fresh Salmon or Chicken... Maybe make a fun funky salsa or a feta and spinach stuffing....

Why is food so much fun!!!??

Thank goodness apricot trees around here product like 1000 little guys and many people fear the fruit. Many a run I stumbled upon a poor little tree that had been left to ruins. A knock on the door later and I was back with canvass bags and my awesome monkey tree climbing-fruit harvesting skills!

And so I came home and realized I had a delicious loaf of Honey Whole Wheat Bread from a local bakery screaming my name.... and what would be better after all that running and harvesting fun then fresh Apricot Jam!?


And being I didn't want to break out my college Organic Chemistry Lab Kit, I made the jam with only 3 simple, and natural ingredients... and it..... was..... AMAZING!

Apricot Jam
What You Need:
4 1/2 cups of Halved Apricots
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
3 cups Sugar

I like a good texture in my jam, so I removed the pits, then chopped 2 cups of the apricots so they would easily dissolve. I then left the rest ad halves.


That said, to start add the three ingredients to a medium sauce pan, stirring to combine. The sugar will be wet after stirring, making all three ingredient one thick mixture.


Heat over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring often and slowly bringing to a boil. You will notice the jam will bubble and a film will begin to form. This is good. The sugar and fruit are thickening the mixture so you have a perfectly spreadable jam!


After 10 minutes, remove from heat and let cool. I saved a few glass jars from previous jams and even pickles (washed of course) to put my jam into. You could of course use canning jars and go for the win by canning the jam.

Me, I knew I'd eat it sooner than not, so I did not can my jam. But I did chill it 3 hours before using it, to allow the mixture to completely cool and set.



The texture for me was perfect. Not too hard, not too watery -- a perfect spreadable jam that not only made my toast happy, but also made an amazing Brie topper for an appetizer and a cracker dip for a late night snack!

I hope you enjoy! This was so much fun to make and let's face it, we most likely all have sugar and lemon juice around the house! No pectin or gelatin needed! Perfect!

I hope you have a great day! Thanks for Jammin' with me!

8 comments:

  1. I'm a HUGE fan of homemade jam and this looks awesome. How lucky that you're able to score fruit from your neighbours. One man's junk is another man's treasure!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Ellen!!! I always get so sad when I see fruit trees just dropping their goods all over the sidewalk, so I think me picking them helps the tree owners as much as it does my kitchen addiction!! This did turn out so yummy! I recommend it ;). Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks Miss Messy!! It was super... I may have had more than 1 piece of toast with it ;) Thanks for stopping by!!

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  3. Hi!
    I’ve just found your lovely blog, it looks delicious!
    I’d love you to take a look at mine and let me know what you think ;)
    Kisses from Spain,
    S

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks you so much! I'm going to check yours out now!!!

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  4. Replies
    1. Thanks Darling!!!! We need to do some more hoppin!!

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