This apricot jam recipe is so easy to make and yields the most glorious golden homemade conserve. With just three ingredients and no added pectin, it’s a fuss free way to hold on to a taste of summer.
Apricot jam
Of all the jams I think that apricot is probably my favourite. Bursting with fruit and super quick to make, it is not only a delicious breakfast conserve, but it is used in so many recipes.
See Also
How to make jam covers all the technical knowledge you need to make this and other preserves successfully every time.
How to sterilize jars for preserving covers everything you need to know for storing jam safely.
Make two jars of this small batch blackberry jam recipe in 30 minutes.
Learn to make quick and easy three ingredient jam with our easy blueberry jam recipe
Think of the glaze on a Normandy apple tart or the thin layer of jam that fixes the marzipan to an iced fruit cake. Apricot jam is a kitchen essential.
As with most of my stone fruit jams (see my plum jam, and nectarine jam), I like to make apricot jam by the conserve method. This means I soak the fruit in sugar for several hours before cooking, to combine the sugar with the fruit juices.
This does mean that the entire process takes a longer, but the hands on time is just the same and there is no extra effort.
With the conserve method, your jam will require less cooking time and have larger pieces of fruit, retaining some texture. You can, of course, skip this stage and follow a regular jam process. To do this, just leave out Steps Two and Three of the recipe, but add 1/4 of a cup of water.
This recipes makes two regular sized jars of jam with two punnets of apricots.
Why make apricot jam?
- It is easy – anyone can make this lovely jam. And there are just three ingredients!
- Apricot jam is delicious sunshine in a jar. I love mine for breakfast served on a homemade croissant.
- It is perfect for using up a glut in the summer, or a bargain from the store or market.
- Homemade is so much better than shop bought.
- This apricot jam recipe is scalable. I make jam by ingredient ratios – more of this later.
- It’s a low(ish) FODMAP food (apricots are low in small quantities).
Apricot jam ingredients
- Apricots – ripe, or slightly under ripe fresh apricots
- Sugar – regular granulated white sugar – no need for jam sugar
- Lemon – Roll it under the heel of your hand before cutting to maximise the juice yield.
How to make apricot jam – step by step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this apricot jam recipe perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step One – Before you start, make sure you have clean, sterilized jars ready for the jam.
Cut the apricots in half, and remove the pits. Then cut each half into 10–12 pieces according to how chunky you like your jam.
Discard any bruised bits of flesh – damaged fruit will spoil your apricot conserve.
Step Two – Put the apricot pieces into a bowl, and add the sugar and lemon juice. Give it quick stir. Then cover and leave overnight, so the sugar draws the juice out.
If you can leave your apricots overnight, don’t worry too much. A few hours will be enough. In the summer I leave the bowl in the fridge overnight, in the winter it is fine on the kitchen countertop.
If you feel that it looks like there is far too much sugar, don’t worry. There isn’t.
Helen’s Pro Tip
If you have a glut of fruit but do not have the time to make jam at the moment, you can freeze the apricot and sugar mixture at this stage. Make sure it is in a leak-proof container, as the sugar syrup will not freezer solid. It will leak all over your freezer if not tightly sealed. Try to keep it upright just in case.
Step Three – In the morning there will be lots of juice, much of the sugar will have dissolved, but there will still be a layer at the bottom of the bowl, and you will be ready for the next stage.
Step Four – Place it all in a good sized saucepan. You need plenty of space, and in particular, you need more depth than you might assume if you don’t make jam regularly. The bubbling hot jam will rise up quite high. (larger the you think that you need).
Heat gently and allow the jam mixture to simmer, but not boil until all the sugar has dissolved.
Again, if you think there is far too much liquid, there isn’t. Don’t worry.
While you are heating the jam on the stove top, heat your jam jars and lids in the oven, so that they will not crack when you fill them.
Step Five – Boil the jam until it reaches setting point. Stir frequently, and scrape the bottom of the pan so that none of the fruit catches and burns. This will take about 10 minutes, depending on the size and shape of your pan.
If you would like a less chunky jam give it a mash with a potato masher at this stage to break the fruit up.
How to test for setting point
This is the only tricky bit of making jam: checking it’s hot enough to set, so that when cool, it will be jam rather than liquid.
The temperature test. Digital jam thermometers are widely available, and not expensive. They are much easier to read than traditional jam thermometers. Heat the jam to the setting point (usually 105°C/221°F) and once your jam is there, you know it should be ready.
Caution: Use temperature only as a guide. Once the thermometer reads 105°C, I give the jam a good stir to get rid of any hot spots and then test with the wrinkle test.The wrinkle test. Place a couple of side plates in the freezer before you start making your jam. Once the jam is boiling, start testing by placing some on one of the plates. Allow it to cool on the plate. Then push your finger through the jam. If you see it wrinkle up ahead of your finger, it is ready. This technique takes a bit of practice.
The flake test. Take a spoonful from the pan and turn it vertically to tip out the jam. If the jam runs off, it hasn’t set. If, however, some sticks to the spoon in a sort of wide drip that doesn’t fall, the jam is ready. Again, this works best with some practice. You are looking for a change in behaviour from the jam.
For more in-depth coverage, read my full guide to jam setting point.
Step Six – Pour your jam into heated sterilized jars. I find it easiest to do this by pouring the jam into a sterilized jug and pouring through a jam funnel.
Helen’s Pro Tip
Let the jam sit in the jug for a few minutes to cool and thicken, then give it a stir and check the fruit is evenly distributed before you pot the jam. If you pot it when it is too hot the pieces of fruit can rise to the top.
Wipe away any drips and seal the jars with the lids, making sure they are secure. Leave them to cool and then check that they have sealed correctly. The dimple in the lids will have popped down and if not, you should be able to pop it down with a gentle pressure.
If you have a jar that won’t seal properly, keep it in the fridge once cool and treat it as if already open, eating it within a few weeks.
Serving suggestion
Use your apricot conserve just as you would any other jam. It is good on toast or a croissant for breakfast and can be the filling in a sandwich cake. Try it as an alternative to cherry jam in a chocolate cake.
It is also lovely with thick Greek yogurt for a simple breakfast or dessert.
Apricot jam is also widely used as a glaze. Melt it to brush over a gammon joint before roasting, or to coat and preserve the fruit on top of a tart.
Apricot jam is the traditional way to fix marzipan to a rich fruit cake before icing, so it is essential to wedding and Christmas cakes.
Variations
- Vanilla apricot jam – Add a little vanilla paste to the apricot and sugar mixture.
- Cardamom apricot jam – Add a two or three cardamom pods to the apricot and sugar mixture. Remove the pods before cooking.
- Mixed stone fruit jam – Any mixture of stone fruit such as peaches, apricots and plums, works well and is delicious.
Storage
Check the jars are properly sealed. If any fail to seal, keep them in the fridge and use those first.
Sealed jars can be kept on a shelf in a cool dark cupboard.
Someone once asked me whether you could freeze apricot jam. Jam is a method of preserving fruit that long predates the invention of the freezer and it lasts just as long as anything in the freezer. Don’t bother!
Hints and tips
- Choose a deep pan. Not only will the jam rise up high to fill most of the pan when it is hot, but it can spit and splash. Boiling jam liquid is hotter than boiling water. You don’t want to scald yourself.
- Don’t forget to heat the jars while you cook the jam, even if they have already been sterilized. If you pour hot liquid into cold glass, the glass can break.
- No one wants a lot of equipment in the kitchen that is not in regular use. If you are going to make preserves regularly, however, I do find a jam funnel makes life much easier.
Apricot jam recipe – ingredient ratios & yield
It is easy to scale jam recipes up or down and you may want to just work to the quantity of fruit you have. That said, if you have a lot of fruit, you may want to make it in smaller batches.
Here are the are the ingredient ratios for this apricot jam recipe, so you can adjust it to your fruit.
- 10 apricots weigh 500–600 g, and you lose about 10 % of that weight in the stone.
- The weight of the sugar needs to be about 80 % (4/5) that of the fruit (so a 4:5 sugar: fruit ratio).
- Add 2 dessertspoons or 20 ml of lemon juice per 10 apricots or 450–550 g fruit.
- 10 apricots made about 500ml or 2 cups of jam.
FAQs
No. The skins will cook down and are harmless. In fact, if you ever eat dried apricots, you can see and feel that the skins are still present. Of course, you can peel them if you dislike finding traces of the skin in your jam.
Provided you have discarded any overripe or bruised pieces of fruit, and have cooked and sealed the jars properly, your jam will last unopened in a cool dark cupboard for several years. It is best enjoyed within 18 months. Once opened, keep in the fridge and eat within a few weeks.
No. I know it looks like a huge amount of sugar, but it is there to preserve the fruit, and for flavour. If you reduce it, the jam may not set, and may also go mouldy. Without all that sugar, it’s like trying to keep an apricot tart for months or years. Don’t worry. You only eat a little jam at a time.
Don’t even think about leaving the lemon juice out. It is not there for flavour, but to make the jam set. You won’t taste the lemon in the finished jam.
More jam recipes
- Black cherry jam – easy to make and delicious with yogurt or in chocolate cake
- Nectarine jam – you don’t find this one in the shops but it is delicious
- Blackberry and apple jam – the classic forager’s jam
- A collection of the best jam and jelly recipes – all my favourite sweet preserves
Easy Apricot Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- 550 g (21 oz) apricots (about 10 ripe apricots, see notes)
- 400 g (1.9 cups) granulated white sugar (see note 1)
- 4 tsp (4 tsp) lemon juice
Instructions
- Remove the stones from the apricots and chop into small pieces.550 g apricots
- Put the apricots in a bowl. Cover with the sugar, add the lemon juice, and stir. Then cover the bowl and leave overnight.400 g granulated white sugar, 4 tsp lemon juice
- When you are ready to cook, place jam jars and lids in the oven at 135°C/Gas mark 1 to sterilize and warm.
- Transfer the ingredients to a deep saucepan or jam pan and set on the stove. Bring to a rolling, but not rapid boil until setting point is reached.
- Allow to stand for a few minutes to allow the bubbles to settle. Pour into hot jars, seal and allow to cool.
Notes
Storage
Check the jars are properly sealed. If any fail to seal, keep them in the fridge and use those first. Sealed jars can be kept on a shelf in a cool dark cupboard. Someone once asked me whether you could freeze apricot jam. Jam is a method of preserving fruit that long predates the invention of the freezer and it lasts just as long as anything in the freezer. Don’t bother!Hints and tips
- Choose a deep pan. Not only will the jam rise up high to fill most of the pan when it is hot, but it can spit and splash. Boiling jam liquid is hotter than boiling water. You don’t want to scald yourself.
- Don’t forget to heat the jars while you cook the jam, even if they have already been sterilized. If you pour hot liquid into cold glass, the glass can break.
- No one wants a lot of equipment in the kitchen that is not in regular use. If you are going to make preserves regularly, however, I do find a jam funnel makes life much easier.
Note 1 Ingredient ratios & yield
It is easy to scale jam recipes up or down and you may want to just work to the quantity of fruit you have. That said, if you have a lot of fruit, you may want to make it in smaller batches. Here are the are the ingredient ratios for this apricot jam recipe, so you can adjust it to your fruit.- 10 apricots weigh 550–600 g, and you lose about 10 % of that weight in the stone.
- The weight of the sugar needs to be about 80 % (4/5) that of the prepared fruit (so a 4:5 sugar: fruit ratio).
- Add 4 teaspoons or 20 ml of lemon juice per 10 apricots or 450–500g prepared fruit.
Andrew Lawton
My mother used to make apricot jam using dried apricots. In the 50’s fresh apricots were a super luxury. The jam seemed to be very flavourful. Some of the current jams are OK but seem to lack the depth of flavour. Maybe it is nostalgia that adds to it? Since cutting back on my sugar intake I have not made much jam – I am currently eating some 1919 (mature) marmalade.
I know what you have been through – my wife had a similar “problem” a good few years ago. Prompt action by the NHS sorted it and at 78 there are no physical problems to report.
Good to hear from you again.
Best wishes,
Andrew.
Helen Best-Shaw
thank you Andrew. the NHS has been amazing for me in 2022.
I now need to try apricot jam with dried apricots!