Apricot Cherry Jam

So I made another recipe today; Apricot Cherry Jam why aren't you a recipe already? Seriously? Has no one ever made this and bothered to write it down?  Well not to fear, you may now run google searches and (hopefully) find this recipe. Awesome!  I'm glad to report I'm not totally stupid when it comes to jam making, this recipe is both simple and safe.  It also happens to taste AMAZING! If you need to taste it before you believe me come on over and try it. (Just bring some bread!)

I started by chopping the apricots and pitting the cherries, simple enough work, although slightly messy.  Be sure to chop both the fruits up small, or you'll end up using a wand blender to break up the fruit like I did.  You need to add the juice of one lemon to make the jam shelf stable, the zest of the lemon is optional but it totally makes the jam pop!  I used 1050 grams of sugar because I can NEVER put in the recommended amount, something about the total number just makes me cringe.  My taste in jam is on the less sweet side, but add too little sugar and it won't set.  1050 grams is 5 and 1/4 cups of sugar, you could add up to 6 cups, but happily I've discovered for you it's not necessary.  The last few degrees leading up to 220 F are excruciatingly long, but watch carefully or you'll miss it.  Be sure to use the freezer test to make sure it's cooked enough for your liking.  I took my jam off at 118 F, it was enough.

Apricot & Cherry Jam


Makes 6 - 1 cup jars

Ingredients:
4.5 cups chopped and pitted apricots
3 cups pitted and chopped cherries
Juice of 1 lemon, 2 Tbsp minimum
zest of 1 lemon
1050 grams, 5 1/4 cups of sugar

Directions:
Chop fruit into small pieces and place in a large sauce pot, the mixture will boil up a lot.  Add the lemon juice and zest to the pot along with sugar.  Bring pot to a boil, stirring the mixture often to keep the sugar from burning.  Boil the jam for quite some time until the temperature reaches 220 F or the freezer test works.  Ladle the cooked jam into sterilized jars and boil in a water bath for 10 minutes.