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If you're a regular visitor at The Café, you might recall the dilemma I had a few weeks ago, it was when I was visiting my daughter in London and lost my brains at the street market near her home. Some of you might be wondering what I did with the bountiful supply of produce that I purchased...
Well, funny you should ask :), I just happen to have a wonderful recipe to share today, a yummy jam I made when I returned from the market that day, the stroller hanging low to the ground, heavy with bags of delicious, fresh fruits and veggies. I had purchased some sweet, ripe apricots.
And there was no way I could resist the shiny, vibrantly red cherries...
And don't they say; "When life gives you apricots and cherries, it's time to make Apricot-Cherry Freezer Jam?" You haven't heard that one? Well, maybe I made it up just because this jam is so delicious, easy and quick! Try it, you'll be thanking yourself all year long whenever you pull this yummy, delightful treat from the freezer. Toast may not ever be the same!
Apricot-Cherry Freezer Jam
1 lb. fully ripe apricots, rinsed, halved and pitted
4 cups sugar*
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¾ cup water
1 package powdered fruit pectin, I use Sure-Jell brand
Directions:
1. Finely chop fruit. (You should have a total of 2½ cups minced fruit - I actually went a lot heavier with the apricots and used less cherries, as long as you use 2½ cups* of fruit in total, you should be just fine.)
2. In a medium mixing bowl, thoroughly stir together fruit, sugar and lemon juice. Cover loosely; let mixture stand 10 minutes. Stir well again and place in microwave for 3-4 minutes or until bubbly. Stir and repeat microwaving (this will help dissolve the sugar crystals.) Remove from microwave and stir steadily for 2-3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Take a taste and make sure mixture is not grainy. If you still taste sugar granules continue to stir, sometimes these jams can be a bit stubborn.3. In a small saucepan, stir together water and powdered fruit pectin. Stir over high heat till mix reaches a full rolling boil. Boil, uncovered, 1 minute. Immediately pour warm pectin mix over fruit; stir constantly 3 minutes.
4. Ladle fruit mix into clean jars or freezer containers, leaving ½ inch headspace (room for freezing expansion) at top of each container. Seal containers tightly. Wipe containers and lids. Let containers stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Store for 3 weeks in the refrigerator or up to 1 year in the freezer.
Yield: 6½ cups of jam
Adapted from Recipe Secrets
Notes:
* ~ I am the first one to "fudge" in a recipe and not measure super precisely, but I don't do this when making jam. Jam making is a precise science and you really want to measure accurately otherwise you will have less than stellar results - too watery or too thick. That's very disappointing, so be sure to measure carefully!
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