Perfectly Preserved Apricots

 There's many reasons to preserve fruit.  The basic one of course is to make it last longer, that's what people had to do in the old days.  Somewhere along the way, foodies discovered that preserves can be delicious, and you can get creative with this.  Enter Alison Duffy, who wrote the cookbook Preserving with Pomona's Pectin.  She stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about some of her favorite recipes, 

including Brandied Apricot Preserves.  Chef Alison told Tonia she starts with Lemon Peel that she cooks until they're soft.  She then adds fresh apricots (you can use frozen), brandy (of course!), sugar and pectin powder.  It's a not overly sweet preserve that people on low-sugar diets can enjoy.

4 cups mashed apricots (about 2 1/2 pounds)
4 teaspoons calcium water
¼ cup lemon juice or 1 teaspoon citric acid
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin powder

Before You Begin

Prepare calcium water. To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well. Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.

1) Wash jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and keep jars in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small sauce pan; cover and heat to a low boil. Turn off heat and keep lids in hot water until ready to use.

2) Wash, pit and chop fruit. Puree in a food processor so that the skins are chopped up well. **To soften firm fruit, bring to a boil with 1/2 cup water, simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3) Measure 4 cups pureed fruit into sauce pan.

4) Bring fruit to a boil, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer about 30 minutes or less, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

5) Add calcium water and lemon juice or citric acid, and mix well.

6) Measure sugar into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sugar. Set aside.

7) Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-sugar mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.

8) Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.