8 step-by-step recipes for making apricot jelly for the winter

Fresh apricot jelly recipe for the winter—a fragrant orange treat that adults and children alike will love. It's a true vitamin bomb that will boost your immune system and help fight colds during the cold season. If you're tired of regular apricot jam, you can spice up the flavor with orange, peach, ginger, or dried fruit.

The intricacies of preparing apricot jelly for the winter

It's important to choose the right kind of apricots; only then will the jelly turn out delicious, aromatic, and perfectly textured. To make this dessert, choose ripe, brightly colored apricots. Their flesh should be juicy. You can pick these in season from your own garden or buy them at the market. But in the latter case, it is worth carefully examining the peel and asking whether the trees were sprayed with anything before harvesting.

Apricots don't contain enough pectin. Therefore, to make jelly, you need additional gelling ingredients. These include:

• agar-agar;
• gelatin;
• pectin;
• geofix.

Apricot jam made with just apricots is delicious, as is a combination of other ingredients. Mint, oranges, lemons, and peaches are commonly added.

Selecting and preparing fruits

Choosing apricots should be done with the utmost care. The fruit should be:

• juicy;
• dense;
• not lined;
• medium in size;
• not overripe.

Wash the fruit thoroughly and drain in a colander. Remove any seeds or stems. Some recipes require peeling, while others can be used as is. For those recipes that require a blender, you can leave the peel on, as the blender will over-blend the fruit.

Required capacity

When preserving liquid jam, choosing the right container doesn't have to be a big deal. It's simple—you can use any jar, but sterilize it first. For jelly, smaller, more flattened jars are best. If you're not preserving the jam for the winter, you can use a regular plastic container.

The main thing is that the material is environmentally friendly and does not have an unpleasant chemical smell.

First, thoroughly wash the jars with a solution of baking soda and dish soap. Then, rinse them with cold water and sterilize. You can use a microwave, a boiling kettle, or a regular oven for this purpose—it all depends on the number of jars and their size. Place the jelly in a dry jar, and sterilize the lids in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Methods for making apricot jelly

Choose the recipe you like.

Classic recipe

Even a novice cook can make this simple classic recipe. You'll need:

• 1 kilogram apricots;
• 250 milliliters of water;
• 500 grams of granulated sugar.

The fruit is carefully inspected for any rotting spots or brown spots. These are always removed, even if the jelly is pureed. The pits are removed.

Cover the apricot halves with water and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Once the fruit has softened slightly, transfer it to a colander to drain off excess water.

Grind the softened ingredients using your favorite method. You can use a meat grinder, food processor, blender, or even a powerful mixer. But if you don't have such a kitchen appliance, no problem. You can simply press them through a sieve.

Transfer the mixture to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and return it to a low heat. Add all the sugar at once. This time, continue stirring until the mixture has reduced by half.

Each cook can determine how much sugar to use. Some varieties of apricots are already quite sweet, so much less granulated sugar is needed, otherwise the sweetness will overpower the fruity flavor. However, if the apricots are hard and tart, you can increase the amount.

Checking the jelly's readiness is fairly simple. Take a saucer and drop a small drop of the mixture onto it with a spoon. If it doesn't spread or change shape over time, the jam is ready. Remove it from the stove and seal it in hot jars with metal lids.

Let's cook quickly using the "Five-Minute" recipe

The "Five-Minute" recipe series allows the housewife to easily create delicious winter preparations. Apricot jam You can also do it this way, and for this you will need:

• 1 kg of main ingredient;
• 600 grams of granulated sugar;
• 25 gram packet of gelatin;
• 10 milliliters of water.

First, puree the fruit in a blender or grinder. Mix it immediately with sugar and place on the stove. Unlike the classic recipe, turn the heat to high. Cook for exactly 5 minutes, stirring constantly and skimming off any foam. Let cool completely. Repeat this process two more times. During the final batch, add gelatin or agar-agar (a natural substitute) dissolved in water. Seal the jars immediately.

Preparation with gelatin

This gelatin-based preparation is fairly quick and easy to prepare. You'll need:

• 1 kilogram of apricots;
• 1 kilogram of sugar;
• two packets of gelatin (about 40 grams);
• boiled warm water.

Gelatin is dissolved in warm water. It's important to stir it thoroughly to prevent it from sticking to the sides. A little sugar is added. The fruit is pureed using any convenient method. Mix everything together, place it on the stove, and simmer for five minutes. Then let it cool completely. Repeat the process once more. The jars are then sealed while still hot.

Assorted with orange

Orange Assortment is an unusual preparation that will amaze you with its citrus aroma. You'll need:

• 1 kilogram of apricots;
• 2 large oranges;
• 1.4 kilograms of granulated sugar;
• the required amount of agar-agar or gelatin.

The recipe is generally standard. However, for garnish, save a few pieces of orange peel and finely chop it into the mixture. You can boil it until it becomes a jelly, or add gelatin or a natural gelatin substitute right away.

With peaches and ginger in champagne

This is a delicious and unusual dessert that can even be served at a holiday table. Despite the pompous name, it's quite simple to prepare, so even a novice cook can handle it. You'll need:

• 5 large apricots;
• 1 piece of fresh pineapple;
• 4 peaches, medium, juicy;
• 1 bottle of quality champagne;
• 20 grams of ginger root;
• 1 piece of red pepper;
• 7 tablespoons of granulated sugar;
• thickener packet.

The steps to follow this recipe may seem confusing, but only until you actually taste the delicious treat.

So, take slightly unripe fruit, wash it, and remove the pits. Then cut it into small cubes. Meanwhile, pour boiling water over the gelatin and let it bloom. Wash the ginger and red pepper and chop it into small pieces.

Open the champagne and pour it into a small saucepan. Add sugar, pepper, and ginger. Simmer for no more than 4 minutes over low heat. It's important that the champagne is fresh and unflavored. Otherwise, it may become bitter.

Next, mix the champagne with the gelatin and stir well. Pour it over the fruit and place it in pretty molds in the refrigerator to set. When serving, you can garnish it with whipped cream or mousse.

Dried Apricot Recipe

Dried apricot jam is incredibly aromatic, rich, and very vibrant. You'll need:

• 250 grams of juicy, soft dried apricots;
• 250 grams of apricots;
• 750 milliliters of boiled water;
• 120 grams of sugar;
• half a lemon;
• loose agar agar.

First, prepare the thickener as described in the recipe. Wash the dried apricots thoroughly, place them on a baking sheet, and let them dry for at least 10 minutes. Then simmer them with the apricots over low heat until completely softened. Pour in the juice of half a lemon and remove from the heat.

Strain through a sieve or use a blender or meat grinder. Add sugar and spices (cinnamon or vanilla are good options), return to the stove, and simmer for another half hour. Add a thickener and let cool to room temperature. Then place in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf.

Apricot jelly without gelatin for the winter

Making apricot jelly without gelatin takes quite a bit of time. It's made with standard ingredients, but you'll need a little more sugar (150-200 grams, depending on the initial sweetness of the ingredients). First, boil the mixture for 30 minutes, let it cool, then boil for 40 minutes, and then let it cool again. During the last, third cooking, the quality of thickening is checked.

Apricot jam and jelly

You need to take:

• a glass of jam;
• 200 ml of water;
• 2 teaspoons of gelatin.

There are no difficulties: dissolve the gelatin, mix the jam with water, dilute the thickener in it, wait until it cools and put it in the refrigerator.

How and how long to store the dish?

Jelly not intended for winter storage should be stored for no more than 3 days. Stored in jars with metal lids, it will keep for up to a year, or a maximum of 1.5 years.