Pumpkin Jam with Dried Apricots for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make pumpkin jam with dried apricots? Start by gathering all your ingredients. Use any kind of pumpkin, but favor the sweeter varieties. The dried apricots should be juicy and meaty—and since dried apricots are simply dried apricots, at a pinch you could use fresh ones instead. My sugar is regular white sugar, but coconut or cane sugar works well too; they'll lend the finished jam a coconut or caramel note, respectively.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash the pumpkin, then remove the skin and seeds. Cut the flesh into cubes of about 1/2 inch (1 cm).

3. Step 3:

   

   Put the diced pumpkin in a heavy-bottomed pot—ideal for cooking jam—add the sugar, and let it sit for a few hours to draw out the juice. You can even leave it overnight, but don't expect much liquid: pumpkin usually isn't a very juicy vegetable, so you'll need to add water anyway.

4. Step 4:

   

   Wash the dried apricots. If yours are very firm, soak them in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Cut the apricots quite small, into pieces about 1/4 inch (5 mm).

5. Step 5:

   

   Add the dried apricots to the pumpkin.

6. Step 6:

   

   Stir everything together. At this point, if you like a more aromatic jam, add a few spices: a vanilla bean, a cinnamon stick, a few whole cloves, a star of anise—just remember to fish out any whole spices at the end of cooking. You can also use these same spices ground and dried; a pinch of each is plenty.

7. Step 7:

   

   Pour in the water, set the jam over low heat, bring it to a boil, and cook over the lowest heat, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes.

8. Step 8:

   

   Take the jam off the heat and let it rest for 30 minutes or more—you can even let it cool completely.

9. Step 9:

   

   Sterilize the jars however you like. I put jars with a splash of water in the microwave for 5–7 minutes, but you can also sterilize them in the oven at 210°F (100°C) for about 30 minutes, or hold them over steam. For the lids, it's enough to boil them for 5 minutes. Spoon the jam into the jars and seal tightly with the lids.

10. Step 10:

    

    Enjoy!