Apricot Jam

Before I took a canning class with Delilah, of Patchwork fame, I never realized how easy it was to make jam. Easy. It's pretty much just a loving marriage of sugar and fruit and it's helped me learn about the magic of patience.

The two main things you need to know: use good fruit that's really ripe and the jam will tell you when it's ready - you can't rush it.

This is Delilah's recipe. I could only glean 4c worth of apricots so I halved it. Another magical facet of these recipes is that they are easily, easily malleable to fit your ingredients. I also didn't have 6 cups of regular sugar so I mixed Trader Joe's organic sugar and the super nubby horrible-to-dissolve-in-cold-drinks sugar we had to squeeeeeze together 3 cups of sugar. I'm trying to be thrifty since ye old separation from the job and making my own stuff is thrifty and exceedingly rewarding.

Here's what you need:
8c apricots
4c sugar
1/4c lemon juice

Put it all in a non-reactive pot until it gets mushy - it takes about 30 minutes but you just gotta feeeeel your way around the jam. It looks runny until it doesn't look runny anymore. I know that sounds elusive, but when you cook it, you'll know what I mean.

Set it on the counter in the little jars and let it hang out until it's cool enough to put the tops on.

I like to put them in the fridge to make it a nice cool complement to whatever you smear it on. In my house, that's a hot biscuit.

Thanks Delilah for letting me post your delicious recipe!