This jam contains slightly less sugar than most, resulting in a softer set, and the apricots are left in big chunks. Because of this, it is inevitable that the fruit will rise to the top of the jar, rather than being suspended evenly throughout the rise to the top of the jar, rather than being suspended evenly throughout the jam. This doesn’t matter—you can simply allocate an apricot half for every serving. One apricot piece will squash perfectly under the knife to fill a biscuit, for example. The cooking time is kept to a minimum, so keeping the flavor at its utmost.

Makes about 3¾ cups

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds apricots
• 3 cups sugar
• juice of 1 small lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

• Skin the fruits by pouring boiling water over them and leaving them for a few minutes, then replacing the hot water with cold. Keep the skins to one side. Halve the fruits and remove the stones. Place the skins and stones in a piece of muslin and tie it into a bag with string.
• In a ceramic or glass bowl, place sugar, lemon juice, and ¾ cup water. Tuck the muslin bag in among the other ingredients. Push a piece of waxed paper down onto the surface to cover it and leave the bowl in the refrigerator overnight.
• Pour the contents of the bowl into a preserving pan and heat gently, stirring all the time until the sugar has completely dissolved. Simmer gently for 10 minutes without stirring, then remove the apricot halves from the syrup using a slotted spoon. Remove and discard the muslin bag.
• Bring the syrup to the boil and boil rapidly to reach setting point, then quickly put the apricots back into the syrup and bring to the boil again. Remove the jam from the heat. Skim if necessary.
• Spoon the apricots into hot, sterilized jars, dividing them equally, then pour the syrup over them, filling the jars up to the top. Seal the jars and leave them to cool upside down.