Baked Apricot Jam with honey
Apricot jam at its best!
The sweetness of the honey together with the caramelised flavour of the coconut sugar, the acidity of the lemon juice, the pectin of the fresh ripe fruit, and the slow cooking method are all that is needed to produce a nice thick, wholesome jam full of goodness.
Ingredients
- 2 kg apricots destoned and cut in quarters
- 1 green apple (peeled and sliced)
- 300 g honey
- 100 g coconut sugar
- 1 lemon ( juice and zest)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence or 1 vanilla bean sliced in half and added whole
Instructions
- Turn on the oven to 160ºC.
- Place all ingredients in a large deep baking dish (making sure it's deep enough to allow room for the jam to rise a little as it boils) and place it in the oven.
- Bake for about an hour, stirring halfway.
- Decrease the temperature to 100ºC and let it simmer for another 2-21/2 hours, occasionally stirring until the juices start to thicken. You don't want it to dry out, so check it and keep an eye on it after the 1 1/2 hours in the low oven. You can test to see if it's ready by simply pouring a little jam on a cold plate and placing it in the fridge to check if it sets when cooled.
- Throughout the cooking process, use a fork or potato masher utensil to break up the apricots as they cook.
- At the end of the process, once cooled a little, you can blend the jam in a blender until smooth or leave as it is if you like chunks of fruit in your jam.
- Pour in sterilised glass jars while still warm and close tight. Turn jars upside down and let them cool down. Store in a cool place or the fridge.
Notes
1. For the perfect apricot jam, use a mixture of ripe and overripe apricots. Overripe apricots give the jam the sweetness and smell of apricots, whereas the firm ripe apricots give it a good amount of pectin, which is needed for the apricot jam to thicken. 2. If you prefer, you can add a couple of teaspoons of chia seeds after blending the jam. These will help thicken the apricot jam a little more once cooled and add some more nutritional goodness. Chia seeds are a superfood high in antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acids, high dietary fiber, phosphorus, magnesium and other vitamins and minerals. What a great way of incorporating these nutrient-dense seeds into your diet!
Nutrition
Serving: 40gCalories: 93kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 9mgPotassium: 227mgFiber: 2gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 1546IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!