Five-Minute Apricot Jam for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   You'll need just two ingredients to make apricot jam: the apricots themselves and sugar. Use the ripest apricots you can find. They're sweeter, more fragrant, and tastier. Pick fruit with no bruises or damage. Rinse the apricots well under running water to wash off any dust and dirt.

2. Step 2:

   

   Split each apricot in half and remove the pit. You can leave the apricots in halves or cut each half in two again. I cut mine into quarters. Put the cut apricots into the vessel you'll cook them in. An enameled or glass pot works well for this. Just don't use aluminum cookware, to avoid an oxidation reaction with the fruit juice.

3. Step 3:

   

   Sprinkle the cut apricots with sugar and give the pot a gentle shake so the sugar spreads out as evenly as possible. Don't add all the sugar at once. If the apricots are sweet, you may need less. If it turns out not sweet enough, you can add more later. Cover the apricots and sugar and let them sit for several hours so they release their juice. I usually leave them overnight.

4. Step 4:

   

   After a few hours there will be plenty of juice. Now set the pot over the heat and bring everything to a boil. Taste it. If it's not sweet enough, you can add more sugar.

5. Step 5:

   

   Cook the apricots for 5 minutes over low heat. Skim off any foam that forms while cooking — you won't need it. Even though the jam only cooks for 5 minutes, the apricots soften a bit.

6. Step 6:

   

   Get jars of a suitable size ready for the jam. Wash and rinse them well. Sterilize the jars however is most convenient for you — in the oven, in the microwave, or over steam. Just pour boiling water over the lids.

7. Step 7:

   

   Ladle the hot jam into the prepared jars and seal the lids. Turn each jar upside down and check that it's airtight. Wrap the inverted jars in a warm blanket and leave them to cool completely. Why the warm blanket? Wrapped up, the jam stays hot for a long time, so it keeps cooking gently as it cools. During that time it thickens even more.

8. Step 8:

   

   Store the cooled jars of jam in a cool place. Enjoy your winter tea!