Apricot Jam

Directions

1. Place the apricots and the sugar in a non-reactive pan or bowl, stir, cover and let macerate for at least 12 hours.
2. Prepare water bath canner, jars, and lids. Dont forgot to add 1/2 cup vinegar to canner water to keep your bottles looking nice.
3. When apricots are fully macerated and softened, put them through a food mill (coarse).
4. Transfer the fruit and sugar to a large shallow sauté pan (or electric skillet) and bring to a simmer.
5. Simmer until the jam reaches desired gelling stage. Because I used a shallow electric skillet, it took me only about 15-20 minutes to reach the desired gelling stage.
6. Once you have obtained desired gelling point, remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and almond extract. Skim foam off if necessary.
7. Remove from the heat and ladle the jam into sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch headroom.
8. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
9. Place jars in canner and return to a boil. Process for 5 minutes (0 – 1,000 feet elevation), 10 minutes (1,001 – 6,000 feet elevation), and 15 minutes (6,001 – 8,000 feet elevation).
10. Turn off heat, remove canner lid and let jars sit in the hot water for another 10 minutes. This will prevent too much of the jam from pushing itself out the lids as it is cooling.
11. Transfer jars to a towel-lined surface and let stand until completely cool, about 24 hours.
12 .Check lids and refrigerate any jars that are not sealed.