Apricot jam prepared in a slow cooker will be an excellent filling for pies and cakes; it is instantly eaten by household members and guests with pancakes and pancakes. It makes delicious compotes and even wines. The product retains beneficial substances that support immunity in winter.
Features of preparing apricot jam in a slow cooker for the winter
Apricot jam goes well with various ingredients, each of which gives it a certain taste.
Using a multicooker is a pleasure: convenient, practical, and the product is prepared several times faster.
You don’t have to monitor the process every minute and worry that the jam might burn or “escape” from the bowl.
Before cooking, it is important to take into account some points:
- Choose firm, ripe fruits (but not overripe or softened).
- From 1 kg of apricots you get approximately 700-800 ml of dessert.
- Properly processed fruits can be stored in well-sterilized jars for 3-4 years.
- Adding 1 tsp at the end of cooking helps eliminate the cloying sweetness. citric acid.
- A gauze bag with calendula leaves or coarse coffee added during the cooking process will give the jam a piquant flavor.
- Using a pressure cooker, you can reduce the cooking time of the dessert by 2 times, without having to stir it regularly, so the apricots do not turn into porridge.
- With the same amount of berries and sugar (1 kg per 1 kg), the product will last longer (sugar is a preservative here), and you can extend the period by adding another 1 tsp to the jar before seaming. Sahara.
It is a myth that jam does not retain nutrients. They are present, albeit not in the original quantity. Apricots have a beneficial effect on the nervous system, immunity and vision, so eating desserts made from these fruits is especially useful for those who have eye problems and constant stress.
How to prepare the fruits?
Before cooking, apricots are thoroughly washed to remove dirt and dust, carefully selecting the most beautiful ones: not wrinkled or rotten.If the recipe requires it, you need to remove the pits by breaking the soft fruit in half or cutting the fruit in a circle with a knife so as not to crush the apricot again. Next they are cut into small pieces.
When the fruits are prepared, they are placed in a multicooker pan and, sprinkled with all the necessary amount of sugar, left for a while, waiting for the apricots to release their juice. This can be either 5 hours or 25, depending on the ripeness of the fruit. Some people, before preparing the jam, instead of the standard sprinkle, dilute sugar in water (a small amount) so that its crystals do not scratch the pan, or prepare sugar syrup in advance and cook the dessert immediately, without waiting for the juice from the apricots.
Preparing containers
Glass jars into which you plan to pour jam also need careful processing. Having collected all the containers, you need to make sure that they are intact, not broken, without cracks. Screw or other caps must also be intact, not bent or rusty.
Next, the containers are washed, but not with chemicals, but with soda or laundry soap, a new dishwashing sponge, and rinsed well.
To sterilize jars, a large basin or pan is useful, which needs to be filled with water and heated over a fire until boiling water. Place a wire rack on top of a bowl of boiling water and place the containers on it with their necks down for 10-15 minutes. The jars are steamed and become completely sterile. The lids are boiled in the container itself.
Some people find it more convenient to sterilize containers in the oven: place clean containers in an oven preheated to 100 degrees on a wire rack, but dry ones with their necks down, and wet ones with their necks up, so that the liquid from them evaporates. For cans up to 1 liter it will take 15 minutes, for larger volumes – 25.
They can also sterilize in the microwave: pour 1-2 cm of water into the jars and leave for 4-5 minutes. Jars filled with jam are sterilized in the oven or boiling water without lids, with open necks.
How to make apricot jam in a slow cooker?
It’s easy to prepare desserts from apricots in a slow cooker, and the taste and aroma are much richer. In addition, less nutrients are lost from the fruit, since the product cooks faster.
Classic seedless recipe
Most people prepare apricot jam according to the standard recipe. What you will need:
- apricots – 1 kg;
- the same amount of granulated sugar.
How to make classic apricot jam:
- Place the apricots by a third in a multicooker pan, cover with sugar and cover with a lid.
- Turn on the “Stew” mode for 1 hour (30 minutes is enough for a pressure cooker).
- Open the lid after a while and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
The finished product can be immediately poured into jars and rolled up.
With oranges
Oranges give sweet apricot jam a pleasant sourness.
What you will need:
- apricots – 1 kg;
- the same amount of granulated sugar;
- 2 large oranges.
How to make orange-apricot jam:
- Oranges need to be peeled and pitted, if any, removed.
- Grind the fruit through a meat grinder and add sugar.
- Set the multicooker to “Stew” mode and set the time to 1 hour (for a pressure cooker it can be 30 minutes).
- After a while, open the lid and cook for another couple of minutes.
Pour the finished dessert into the prepared container.
With bones
Many people are familiar with delicious jam made from apricots with pits from childhood; you can make a couple of jars to try.
What you will need:
- apricots – 1 kg;
- 200 g more granulated sugar.
How to make jam from apricots with pits:
- Remove the pits from the apricots, break them, remove the nuts (if they don’t break, boil the pits for half an hour in boiling water).
- Pour boiling water over the nuts and let them soften for 20 minutes, then remove and dry.
- Place the pan with apricots and pits covered with sugar in a multicooker, turn on the “Stew” mode for 1 hour (30 minutes is enough for a pressure cooker).
- After turning off the timer, remove the lid and cook for another 5 minutes.
Pour the product into jars and roll up.
With kiwi
Apricot jam with kiwi is the leader in the amount of vitamins and will definitely conquer everyone with its sweet and sour taste.
What you will need:
- apricots – 500 g;
- the same amount of kiwi;
- 1 kg granulated sugar.
How to make apricot and kiwi jam:
- Kiwi is peeled and cut into apricot-sized pieces.
- Place the fruits by a third in a multicooker pan, add sugar and cover with a lid.
- Turn on the “Stew” mode by setting the timer for 1 hour (30 minutes is enough for a pressure cooker).
- After cooking, open the lid and cook for a couple more minutes.
The dessert is poured into jars.
With walnuts
What you will need:
- apricots – 1 kg;
- the same amount of granulated sugar;
- 1 glass (250 ml) drinking water;
- 150-200 g shelled walnuts.
How to make apricot jam with walnuts:
- Cut the nuts into pieces.
- Place fruits and nuts in the multicooker pan no more than a third full, add sugar to them, pour out the water and close the lid.
- Set the “Stew” mode for 25-30 minutes (15 minutes is enough for a pressure cooker).
- Open the lid and let the jam cool for 3 hours.
- Close the dessert again and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- After turning off the timer, take out the jam.
Place the slightly cooled jam into a container, roll it up and wrap it in a blanket.
With lemon and almonds
What you will need:
- apricots – 1 kg;
- half as much granulated sugar;
- 1 large lemon;
- 300-350 g peeled almonds.
How to make apricot jam with almonds and lemon:
- Soak the nuts in water for 20 minutes, remove and finely chop.
- Place fruits and nuts in a multicooker pan, filling one-third of the capacity, add sugar, squeeze in lemon juice, do not close the lid.
- Set the “Stewing” or “Baking” mode, set the timer for 1 hour (half an hour will be enough for a pressure cooker), stir the jam periodically.
- After the timer turns off, take out the dessert.
When hot, the jam can be poured into clean jars.
With spices
What you will need:
- apricots – 1 kg;
- the same amount of granulated sugar;
- 3 tbsp. l. vanilla sugar;
- cinnamon on the tip of a knife;
- 2 tbsp. l. barberry extract;
- 1 large lemon;
- 2 tbsp. l. dried lemon zest;
- 300 g peeled apricot kernels;
How to make classic apricot jam:
- Place the fruits in the multicooker container by a third, pour in all the sugar, dried lemon zest, mix gently with a wooden spatula, do not close the lid.
- Set the “Stew” mode, the timer for 1 hour (for a pressure cooker it will take half as much time), and gently stir the dessert periodically.
- After half an hour, add the remaining ingredients and cook until the timer goes off, continuing to stir.
- Get ready jam.
Pour the dessert into jars and close the lids, wrap them in a woolen scarf or blanket.
Storage rules
All canned foods have an expiration date and require certain storage conditions. Apricot jam is no exception:
- The dessert should be kept in a cool, dry and dark place where the temperature is not higher than +15 ºС (basement not flooded with water).
- Jars of jam should not be exposed to sudden temperature changes to prevent the product from becoming moldy or becoming sugary.
- A quick-cooked dessert (i.e., sugar is poured into the fruit that has just boiled and after a couple of minutes it is removed from the heat) and is stored in the refrigerator for no longer than 2-3 months and eaten first.
- Jams and compotes cooked with seeds should not be stored for longer than a year. After this period, the product forms hydrocyanic acid, the consumption of which can lead to serious poisoning and death.
- Swollen and rusty lids on jars indicate high humidity in the storage area - you need to immediately correct the situation by moving the jars to a drier room.
- If temperatures are too low (below 0 degrees), the dessert may spoil.
If you follow the storage rules, you will be able to keep apricot jam for about 3 years (excluding the option with pits). During this time, beneficial vitamins will not disappear from the dessert, but every year the taste will decrease.
