Apricot Jam with Agar-Agar for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make apricot jam with agar-agar? It's very simple. Start by getting your ingredients together: ripe, juicy apricots, granulated sugar, powdered agar-agar, and a little water.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash and dry the apricots thoroughly. Choose ripe, soft, bright-orange fruit with a red blush. Yellow, firm apricots aren't ripe yet and will make a sour jam, so pick ripe ones from the start.

3. Step 3:

   

   Halve each apricot and remove the pit. You want 1 kg (about 2.2 lb) of pitted fruit, so buy a little extra to account for the pits.

4. Step 4:

   

   Put the apricots in a pot, cover with the sugar, and leave for 2–3 hours to draw out the juice.

5. Step 5:

   

   Set the pot over low heat and let it go for 10 minutes.

6. Step 6:

   

   To speed things up, you can cover the pot. By now the apricots will have softened.

7. Step 7:

   

   Blend the fruit with an immersion blender into a smooth purée. Blend thoroughly so there are no fruit chunks in the finished jam.

8. Step 8:

   

   Stir the agar-agar into the water and let it swell.

9. Step 9:

   

   While the agar softens, return the apricot purée to low heat. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Stir often, scraping all the way to the bottom so the apricot doesn't scorch and form burnt lumps. At this point taste the jam and add more sugar if needed. Then pour the agar into the boiling jam and, stirring, cook everything together for another 5 minutes.

10. Step 10:

    

    While the jam cooks, wash the jars and lids thoroughly inside and out and sterilize them. You can steam them with a special sterilizing lid or heat them in the oven. If you use the oven, don't put the jars straight into a hot oven or they'll crack from the temperature shock — place them on a rack in a cold oven so they warm up gradually.

11. Step 11:

    

    Pour the finished jam into the sterilized jars. This batch gave me 3 full 500 g (about 1 lb) jars, plus a little extra to taste.

12. Step 12:

    

    Seal the jars with the lids using a canning tool.

13. Step 13:

    

    Turn the jars upside down and leave them for 15–20 minutes. This lets the lids and their rubber seals heat up and expand, which seals the jars tightly.

14. Step 14:

    

    Turn the jars right side up again and let them cool at room temperature. Depending on jar size, the jam cools and sets at room temperature in 8–12 hours. Store it in a cool spot out of direct sunlight.