Nectarine Apricot Ginger Jam

Recipes

Nectarine Apricot Ginger Jam: Spicing Things Up!

Tom

August 17, 2017

Nectarine Apricot Ginger Jam: Spicing Things Up!

nectarine ginger jam jars — This recipe yields about seven half pints of gloriously good fruity goo!

Tommy’s jam kitchen is a jammin’ this summer, and with a fresh box of Washington State stone fruit beaming before me (courtesy of my friends at Sweet Preservation), the time is nigh to come up with something a little different for my pantry shelf and unrepentant sweet tooth. My canning codex of choice is Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber—287 pages of delectable, seasonal preserve recipes. Ms. Ferber’s recipes are simple and well-suited to my methods of making jam, which favors overnight maceration, while excluding commercial pectin as a thickener.

nectarine ginger jam mix — The fruit and sugar macerate overnight to firm the fruit and draw out the juices.

As I’ve mentioned in past posts, I’m not against using commercial pectin, I just find I get really mixed results. Sometimes the jam resembles fruit leather, or a jar-sized jello shot, or a fruity chew for Buddy. I’m just not a fan of commercial pectin consistency when I’m behind the jam pan.

I found my timely recipe for nectarine apricot ginger jam on page 58, where the key ingredients all just happened to be within arm’s reach: apricots, nectarines and candied ginger. It also called for fresh ginger, which I did not have, so I left it out of the recipe this time. If you’d like a little more punch and heat, add the fresh ginger.

How to Make Nectarine Apricot Ginger Jam

Print recipe

Ingredients

1.5lb Nectarines
1.5lb Apricots
1/2 cup Candied Ginger (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon Fresh Ginger (grated (and optional to add heat))
5 Whole Cloves
4 cups Sugar
1 lemon (juice from one lemon)

Note

Adapted from Christine Ferber's Mes Confitures

Directions

Step 1
Rinse fruit, remove pits, cut into bite-size chunks
Step 2
Add all ingredients to stainless or ceramic bowl, stir gently to combine. Cover with parchment or plastic wrap and leave to macerate overnight.
Step 3
Next day, add fruit mixture to nonreactive pan. I like large open stainless saute pans or low stock pots for better evaporation.
Step 4
Bring mixture to a simmer and stir, and continue stirring until things start to thicken up usually about 20 minutes. Low heat is best so as not to scorch the sugars in the mix. Shut off heat and stir a little longer to cool down. Evaporation will create a thicker jam.
Step 5
Wait a good 6-8 hours, remove whole cloves, and reheat the mixture up slowly until it simmers for 5-10 minutes and then add to sterilized jars and process in a water bath for ten minutes.

Now, onto my box of peaches!