Making Apricot Jam

A young lady rang me today to buy some Ball Jars for her wedding.  She is going to make little jars of apricot jam for all the guests.  I asked her how she was planning to make the jam and she told me the recipe she had been given and that she was going to put the jam in hot jars, put the lids on straight away, let them cool then store them in the fridge. 

This got me thinking that there are probably still lots of people making jam this way and potentially brewing some very unhealthy products (totally unintentionally of course).  The modern recommendation for all acidic foods is to treat them in a water bath even if they product has been boiled for hours in making the product.  The water bath expels the last bit of oxygen out of the jar and ensures a really strong air tight seal.

No specialist equipment is really required for jam making, although if you are using the safe water bath method, then a pair of bottle tongs to remove the hot bottles from the water is an excellent investment.  Choose a pair like the Ball Premium Bottle Tongs which have an ergonomic handle, or invest in an accessories kit that includes other useful tools for jam making such as a head space measuring tool, funnel (absolute must have to avoid mess!), a magnetic tool to pick up hot lids from water, and of course, the tongs.

It is not necessary to use pectin when making apricot jam, but doing so reduces the time needed to make the jam, generally yields more jam (as less is evaporated during the longer boiling period required for non pectin types) and is reported to give a more fruity tasting jam. 

Whatever recipe you use, test for gelling periodically after the elapsed processing time (separate blog on gelling).  Put the jam in hot bottles.  Note that the bottles do not need to be sterilised first: you mainly want them hot so that they do not break or crack due to hot jam hitting cold glass.  I do not recommend the method of heating jars in the oven.  It can cause the bottles to crack or even explode when you put something in them.  The safer methods are to either run the jars through the dishwasher (achieves the task of ensuring they are clean too!) or to put them in a pot of water and slowly bring the water up to boiling point and then keep simmering until you need the bottles.  Bottle tongs are very handy for fishing hot bottles out of the water.

It is recommended that you leave about 3/4 cm headspace at the top of the jar, ie. fill the jar with jam up to 3/4cm from the top.  Put the lids on: if you are using Ball Mason jars, tighten the bands finger tight only.  Process in a water bath for 15 minutes. Remove from the water and allow them to cool on a wooden board or towel.  Once the jars are completely cool, test for a seal.  Jars can then be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 12 months.  This is a great advantage of the water bath method in that you do not need to store all your jars in the fridge!