Jam Jam Jam… I made jam! Ok, that might sound a little over-excited, but when you’ve never made jam before, it IS pretty cool. It was a bit of a process, but it’s definitely worth it, especially since its just over 10 weeks until Christmas… yeah I know. It’s pretty scary, hey. But these little jars of jam make a nice gift, whether on their own or as part of hamper. And the best bit, is that you can get it done now and there’s one less thing that needs to be done closer to Chrissy. I made edible gifts last year (apricot balls, coconut ice, rum balls, that sort of thing), but they all had to be done in the last few days and it was a lot of pressure. I’m hoping to make a few more things that last well, so that I can get organised with a bit more time to spare.
I know the flavour combination sounds a bit… weird, but in truth, it could almost be called just Apricot Jam, because you can’t taste the pumpkin.
The first thing you need to do to make this jam is to soak the dried apricots overnight.
Once they have soaked, you then need to cook the pumpkin in the remaining water and lemon juice until quite soft. Be careful that you don’t have the heat too high or it might catch on the bottom… yeah I learnt that the hard way, don’t be like me. Once the pumpkin is cooked, add the apricots and water. Cook this for about 15 minutes on a medium heat.
Add the sugar and stir until it has completely dissolved. Then bring it to the boil and let it bubble along. Place a plate in the freezer, you’ll need it later to check the gel of the jam.
The mixture will start to thicken and become sticky. At this point, you will need to start testing for the gel point. This website explains it really well with pictures, but basically you need to wait until the last of the mixture sheets down off the spoon, rather than dripping when you hold it up. Once you think it has reached the gel point, take the plate out of the freezer and put a teaspoonful of the mixture onto the plate and then put it back into the freezer for another minute. Then grab it back out and push the mixture. If it wrinkles (check this website for a picture) it’s ready. If it doesn’t, then let the mixture boil for another few minutes and test again, just be careful that you don’t let it catch and burn on the bottom.
Once its ready, you can bottle it. The bottles will need to be hot, you can do this by either putting them in the dishwasher on a hot cycle or letting them boil in a pot of water. This sterilises them as well as ensuring they don’t crack when you put in the hot mixture. Ladle the mixture into the jars, quite full, then put the lid on and tip them upside down for a couple minutes to ensure they heat seal properly. Check the seal by making sure the pop button in the centre of the lid is down.
The jam should last well; up to a year or 2 if it is kept in a cool dark place and then refrigerated once opened.
Dried Apricot and Pumpkin Jam
| Serves | 6 Jars (225g Each) |
| Meal type | Condiment |
|
From book |
Recipes from Peace - Gatton |
Ingredients
- 225g Dried Apricot
- 750ml Water (600ml used for soaking apricots and remainder for cooking pumpkin)
- 450g Pumpkin (skinned and roughly chopped)
- 8 tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1kg Sugar
Directions
| Soak Apricots in 600ml water overnight. | |
| Cook pumpkin gently in remaining water and lemon juice until very soft. Add apricots and water and cook for 15 minutes. Add sugar and stir until fully dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook until mixture thickens and gels when tested. Gel point is reached when the last of the mixture sheets of the spoon rather than dripping and a teaspoonful of mixture wrinkles when placed on a frozen plate and returned to the freezer for 1 minute. | |
| Ladle mixture into hot jam jars, filling close to the top. Put on the lid and then turn them upside down for 2 minutes to heat seal the jar. Leave to cool and then store in a cool dark place until opened. Refrigerate after opening. | |
