Apricot Preserves | Precious Core

August 9, 2023 Stan

How to make the best Apricot Preserves with only 3 ingredients! The flavor of the apricots plus the lemon juice will leave you begging for more!

You can eat these preserves with a spoonful. It is that good! But serve it alongside muffins, pancakes, Easy Crepes, Homemade Waffles, and more.

I’m so thankful for a sweet friend I met at Bible Study who invited me to harvest apricots from her apricot tree. This apricot preserves recipe was inspired by the abundance of apricots we had at home from the harvest.

You’ll love how this homemade version tastes better than storebought. Plus making and canning fruit preserves is such a fun project to take on!

A zucchini muffin with apricot preserves spread on one half.

You’ll Love This 3-Ingredient Recipe!

This recipe focuses on using apricots to make preserves but you can use this same recipe to make preserves or jam out of many other fruits.

Consider adapting this recipe with other fruits like berries, other stone fruit like peaches or plums, or tropical fruits like mango, guava, or pineapple.

This recipe gives you the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. You know exactly what goes into it and there are only 3 simple ingredients!

Also, check out this Pineapple Jam and Healthy Strawberry Jam.

Ingredients For Apricot Preserves

Here are the ingredients you need for this homemade apricot preserves recipe. There’s no need for pectin!

Apricots: Use a great mix of ripe apricots and not fully ripe apricots for the best flavor. Any apricots you have on hand would work.
Lemon Juice: Lemon juice adds tang and also acts as a natural preservative. I prefer fresh-squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor.
Sugar: Granulated sugar or unrefined organic cane sugar would work. It might seem like a lot of sugar but note the sugar also helps to preserve the fruit. Still, this recipe calls for significantly less sugar than most recipes you would find.

Note that the quantities used are different from what is shown in the picture. Check the recipe card below for detailed measurements and instructions.

Close-up shot of apricot preserves in a mason jar.

How To Make Apricot Preserves

Follow these simple steps for making Apricot Preserves or any jam recipes. These steps will give you the best results.

Wash the apricots. Add 1 part of white vinegar to 3 parts of water, add in the apricots, and let them sit for 5 minutes. Then rub the fruits together to remove any dirt on their skin. Remove the fruits from the vinegar water and strain. Then rinse them 2 more times. (No, you won’t taste the vinegar).
Cut apricots in halves or quarters. After patting the fruits dry with a clean kitchen towel, cut the apricots into halves or quarters and discard the pits. Apricots are easy to cut and the pit comes right off.
Place apricots in a bowl with lemon juice and sugar. Mix to combine.

Halved apricots mixed with granulated sugar in a white bowl.

Let the fruit sit for a while or cook immediately. The fruit can sit in the lemon and sugar mixture for up to 2 hours or overnight in the fridge. This process of allowing the fruit to sit is called macerating. Macerating draws out their juices and creates syrup.

Liquidy fruits, after sitting in lemon juice and sugar.

Place the apricot mixture in a pot and cook until jammy. First, bring to a boil on high heat then reduce to medium heat and simmer until done.

Cooked apricots in an enameled cast iron pot.

Mash as needed. For chunkier preserves, leave them as is. For a more spreadable texture, mash using a potato masher.

Potato masher mashing fruit preserves in pot.

Keep simmering until done. Simmer on medium heat for about one hour in total.
Let the preserves cool for a few minutes. This allows the fruit to settle and also, the preserves won’t be too hot when ladling into a jar. The preserves should look something like this:

Fully cooked food preserves in a pot with a wooden spoon.

Place into jars. Place the preserves into mason jars and can them following the jar’s canning instructions. Here is an incredible guide to canning for beginners. If you can them properly, they will last on the shelf for up to one year!

5 open jars filled with apricot preserves.

Quick Canning Guide

Here is a quick guide to canning for beginners so you can easily can your fruit preserves for a longer shelf-life.

First, wash 5-6 8 oz mason jars and their lids with hot soapy water. Place the jars in a large pot with water covering the jars. Bring to a boil on high heat. Boil for 10 minutes.
Place the lids and their rings in a smaller pot and add water. Bring to a simmer on medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove both the jars and their lids and place them on clean kitchen towels to dry.
While the jars are still hot, fill them with the apricot preserves.
Cover them with their lids and screw the lids on to ensure they are locked properly.
Return the filled jars to the large pot where the jars were sterilized. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.
Remove the jars from the pot and let them rest on the countertop undisturbed for 12 hours.
Store them in a cool, dry, and dark place for up to a year!

5 jars of fruit preserves stacked on each other.

These preserves also make cool gifts for friends and family!

Once a jar of apricot preserves is opened, refrigerate.

Various Uses For Apricot Preserves

These preserves work well as an ingredient in the ever-delicious Malva Pudding, for roast pork, chicken, or glazed ham.

Add apricot preserves on top of melted Brie cheese to make a quick and tasty appetizer.

The following tools make the process of making fruit preserves easier:

Can You Freeze Apricot Preserves?

Yes, you can store jars of apricot preserves in the freezer for up to one year! After making the preserves and putting them in jars, let the jars rest for 24 hours before freezing.

Another way to freeze preserves is to put them in Ziploc freezer bags. Remove the extra air from the bags and freeze for up to a year.

Commonly Asked Questions

Are apricot preserves the same as apricot jam?

Fruit preserves are quite similar to jam in that they are all cooked down fruit but fruit preserves tend to be chunkier than jam. That’s because larger pieces of fruit are used in preserves.

Who makes the best apricot preserves?

For the best apricot preserves, make it homemade with the right balance of lemon juice and sugar that makes flavorful preserves. With this method, you can taste the rich flavors of the fruit.

What is apricot preserve?

Apricot preserve is a sweetened chunky sauce made out of apricots, lemon juice, and sugar.

Should apricot preserves be refrigerated?

Once a jar of apricot preserves is opened? It should be refrigerated so it can maintain its freshness.

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Place the pitted and halved or quartered apricots in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Let it sit covered for 30 minutes or in a fridge overnight (Note 3) or cook immediately.
Transfer the apricots to a large or medium-sized pot. A non-stick pot will work well here. Bring the fruit to a boil on high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for about one hour, stirring from time to time.
For chunkier preserves, leave them as is. For more broken-down preserves, mash the fruit using a potato masher. Let the fruits cook until they look jammy. This takes about 1 hour.
Let the preserves cool for about 5 minutes then proceed with canning following your canning jar instructions. Here is a great tutorial to follow for canning.
Serve over toast, muffins, pancakes, and more.

1. Apricots: Weigh the apricots first before removing the pits. The weight is different when the pits are inside.
2. Washing apricots: Add one part of vinegar to 3 parts of water in a large bowl. Add the apricots to the bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. Rub the apricots together in the water to remove any dirt/sand. Remove the apricots from the bowl and discard the water, Add more water to the bowl add back the apricots and rub together to rinse. Remove the apricots from the water and rinse them one more time.
3. Make-Ahead: Letting the apricots rest with the sugar and lemon juice is a great make-ahead tip. This also lets the fruit macerate, creating syrup.
4. Nutritional information is per jar of jam.