Apricots appear on sale in late spring and in August, disappearing from the shelves, leaving currently only beautiful memories and thoughtfully stocked jar of jam, marmalade or jam. Meanwhile, a few housewives know how to properly cook apricot jam, the fruits are not turned into "mush" and retains its shape and pleasing orange color What color blends orange: bold and calm combination .

What happens apricot jam

Apricot Jam can be cooked in different ways. If the raw materials used small dense fruits, they can be cooked whole with bone or without it (in this case bone gently removed from apricots, you will need to proceed with caution so as not to damage the fruit). Large apricots with firm flesh sliced ​​before cooking. If the apricots are ripe, they are very soft and fall apart in your hands, the fruit does not retain its shape in a jam, which, however, will not affect the taste and aroma that will be great.

Often apricot jam Apricot Jam: amber bank   various spices added. So, with well blended vanilla, apricots Vanilla: sweet tenderness   and cinnamon. A small addition of ginger jam give a sharp, piquant flavor: a jam very well be used for making sauces for turkey or venison. Adding lemon juice or lemon or orange peel jam gives special aroma and fresh taste. Sometimes apricot jam or marmalade put a couple of spoonfuls of strong aroma of alcohol - such as brandy or rum. This addition not only enhances the flavor of jam, but also increases its shelf life.

Another popular supplement to apricots - different nuts: hazelnuts, almonds, cashews and walnuts. Sometimes used instead of nuts nucleoli apricot kernel.

It is possible to add apricots and other fruits such as apples, pears, plums and peaches. The taste and aroma of the jam-platter vary greatly depending on what kind of fruit, and in what proportions used for its cooking. As a result of the jam is not bored and always pleases your taste.

Cooking apricot jam: step by step

To cook a tasty and, importantly, a beautiful apricot jam, be very careful approach to the selection of fruit. It is best to use a small apricots, ripe, but with a fairly firm flesh. Of course, the fruit must be intact and undamaged, with no defects and propped sites.

Prepared fruits thoroughly washed and dried. It seems to be drying - optional operation, without which you can do, but it is not: Wet fruits easily boil soft, turning into a homogeneous mass. Of course, this jam is also delicious, but it looks a lot less attractive than the entire apricot jam.

The next step - an extract from the fruit seeds. The most convenient way to take out the bones of apricot through a small incision at the top of the fruit. You can also use a pencil or pin hair to gently push the bone. We should try as little as possible damage to the fetus. If desired, you can substitute apricot nut (ideal almonds and cashews) or apricot nucleolus. This walnut or apricot kernel gently injected into the fetus through the same hole through which the bone was removed.

Then prick apricots from all sides with a fork or (preferably) a wooden toothpick. This is to ensure that the sugar syrup is easier to penetrate into the fruit, jam and quickly cooked.

Prepared apricots pour hot sugar syrup. Melting of the syrup has its own characteristics. Keep in mind that the worse the purified sugar, the more foam will give when cooking the syrup out of it. Therefore bakers prefer to use the most pure sugar - refined. In any case, whatever the sugar is used, it should be heated with a small amount of water until the sugar is dissolved, then remove all the resulting foam wall wipe clean with a wet cloth tableware and cooking the syrup to a small fire. Determine the readiness of syrup can be using classic sample: a drop of the syrup on a wet plate retains its shape without spreading.

Jam made in a special dish: tinned or copper basin. Suitable and stainless steel pan. But aluminum and enameled container for cooking jam are not suitable. It has meaning and form of utensils: pans preferable to use a large diameter, which is faster cooking jam.

Drenched with sugar syrup apricots boiled for exactly one minute, and then infused for eight to twelve hours. After this period, the syrup should be carefully drained with apricots, trying not to damage or bruise the fruit at the same time. Bring the syrup to a boil, pour over the apricots and boil for two or three minutes, and again leave for eight to twelve hours. After this operation was repeated once again, but this time cook until tender.

Digest jam, cooked in this way, it is practically impossible, and yet must be careful: if the color has darkened jam, it must immediately remove from heat.

Festive jam at the table

For one kilogram of apricots should be fine to take a kilo and two hundred grams of sugar and half a glass of water. From the washed fruit extract bone, skin prick each apricot in several places. Pour fruit sugar syrup and let simmer for a few minutes, then infuse future jams for eight hours. Repeat these operations until cooked jam.

If you wish, you can improve the taste of jam, apricots adding a small amount of lemon peel. With the addition of this extra jam becomes tantalizing aroma, fresh and delicate.

Maria Bykov

Related Articles

Apricot Jam: amber bank

Apricot jam with seeds: Royal recipe

Apricot Jam - Recipes goodies

Apple and apricot jam - sweet taste of summer