When I was a little girl, my aunts taught me how to make jam. Every summer, Belinda, Miriam and I would methodically process the sugar and fruit, whipping up apricot, strawberry, and blackberry preserves to be doled out as holiday gifts in the coming year.
My family always looked forward to receiving these precious gifts, and when my aunts were no longer able to tackle the challenging project, I started to make jam on my own. At first, I stuck to the familiar flavors and methods, only making berry jams and thickening them with pectin, as my aunts had taught me. But the last couple years I’ve branched out, coming up with a few of my own concoctions.
Today’s recipe was inspired by a trip to The Milk Pail, an open air produce market in my hometown of Mountain View, California. I’d planned on making apricot jam with the first stone fruits of the season, but when my boyfriend spotted a pineapple, he suggested it go into the mix, too. What resulted was a deliciously tangy jam, perfect for spreading on toast, mixing into yogurt, spooning over ice cream, whisking into a teriyaki marinade . . . it’s versatile and delicious.
Canning is really not so scary once you’ve done it a few times. The most important thing I learned from my aunts is to be very prepared — line your countertops with towels and assemble all your ingredients, pot holders, sterilized jars, lids, and bands, boiling water bath, jar lifting tongs, ladle and stirring spoon before you start to make your jam! Otherwise there’s no way you’ll be prepared to get everything canned once the jam is done cooking. If you prepare properly, the process will be smooth and efficient.
The second most important thing? If you can, get somebody to assist you with your jam-making project! A second pair of hands is invaluable.
If you’ve never canned before, I recommend reading the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It’s an amazing resource for all kinds of canning projects, and will get you off to a great start. A canning kit is also a good idea if you don’t have a jam funnel or jar-lifting tongs –you’ll end up making much less of a mess, not to mention be safer, if you use the right tools for the job.
Apricot Pineapple Jam
makes 7 half-pint jars
2 lbs. apricots, pitted and sliced into quarters
1 medium-sized pineapple (yield 2 lbs.), peeled, cored, and sliced into 1″ chunks
4 C. granulated sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1. Combine all ingredients in a large (mine’s a 6.5 quart) pot. Turn stove onto medium heat, and stir until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Set a timer for 25 minutes.
2. Stir continuously for the entire 25 minutes — this is important! If you stop stirring, you’ll end up with a scorched pot and burnt-tasting jam. No fun.
3. During the last couple minutes of cooking, use an immersion blender to pulverize any pieces of pineapple that haven’t entirely dissolved. Make sure the blender is entirely immersed in the liquid, so you don’t spatter your kitchen — or yourself — with boiling hot jam.
4. Remove jam from heat and quickly ladle into sterilized jars. Making sure the rims of the jars are clean, put on the lids and bands. Screw on the bands firmly, but not too tightly.
5. Process the jars in the hot water bath for 10 minutes, then let cool. Remove bands, clean off jars, dry thoroughly, and replace bands. Your jam is ready to eat, gift, or store.
That sounds wonderful! I’ve never tried canning but I want to so badly. I use apricot fruit spread a lot in Asian dishes, this would go perfectly.
Jenn
Hi Jenn! Canning is easy when you’ve got all the right tools and a solid battle plan. And of course, summer is the perfect time for it, with all the beautiful berries and stone fruits ripe for preserving. Last year, I even canned tomato sauce and ketchup with some friends, after spending hours at a u-pick tomato farm. I can’t wait for the peaches and pluots to arrive at the farmers’ market this year!
This sounds great – so summery! I bet it would be amazing on a yummy scone.
Thank’s for the post! I freeze a lot, but I’m going to learn to can this summer, so it’s fun to read about others who have!
I am so glad that you took up the jam making for the family when your Aunt Mim and I could no longer do it! Thank you for mentioning us in your article – Aunt Mim would be so proud that she played a part in your becoming such an accomplished and creative jam maker! I sure am!!
[...] the morning. I paired them with a simple, no-cook yogurt sauce, sweetened with a spoonful of my Apricot Pineapple Jam. Topped with a diced nectarine, this made a delicious and filling [...]
[...] it just involves a little pre-planning and a clean kitchen. As I explained before in my recipe for Apricot Pineapple Jam, you’ll want to have all your equipment laid out before you start — sterilized jars [...]
Thank you so much for this recipe! It was exactly what I was looking for! I can’t wait to make your apricot pineapple jam tomorrow.
Awesome, Angie! I’d love to know how it turns out for you — it’s definitely one of my favorite jams =)
I made the jam and it turned out fabulous! It looks so pretty in the jar and tastes so good, it’s my new favorite. Thanks again for this recipe. I know I’ll be trying more of your recipes too. Great blog!
Awesome! So glad you’re enjoying it. Another jam recipe is going up this week =).
I made and canned this jam last weekend and it turned out fantastic. Its great on toast and also especially good mixed with plain greek yogurt.
That is so nice to hear! Glad you’re enjoying it!
I am new to canning but i thought you had to have pectin to can? How long does this last, in the pantery?
This jam keeps for at least a year in the pantry. Pectin is not necessary when you cook the jam down enough for it to thicken naturally — most fruit contains enough pectin to set up on its own. Just remember to keep stirring — the longer cooking means there’s more danger of burning the jam on the bottom of the pot if you’re not careful!
Just made a batch… of course had to lick the spoon, tastes so YUMMY!!!
Alas! My grandma from italy made the best apricot pineapple jam & never learned how she made it before she passed away. I’ve been searching & think yours is going to bring back all those fond childhood memories. Thank you so much for sharing a wonderful recipe. Have my apricots and pineapple sitting out to sweeten up all the more.
I hope it turns out as well as your grandma’s jam — thanks for stopping by, Lisa!