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Preserving fruits in their own juice has been known since ancient times and from time immemorial was the most gentle and at the same time the most natural and healthy type of preservation, even before the invention of freezers.
Apricots prepared in this way retain the maximum amount of nutrients and the taste of the original product, are universal in subsequent use, and can even be eaten by diabetics, since some recipes contain no sugar at all.
The best recipes for apricots in their own juice
In this article you can find and evaluate a wide variety of recipes used for preparing apricots in their own juice.
In slices
The most traditional and at the same time popular recipe for obtaining apricots in their own juice is the following.
For 1 kg of pitted apricots, take 300-400 grams of sugar.
First, you should remove the seeds from the prepared fruits. This is done in the usual way, cutting or even breaking the fruit into halves. Depending on your aesthetic preferences, you can leave halves of apricots for preservation, or you can cut them into two more parts, getting quartered slices.
Then take dry, sterilized jars ahead of time and fill them with apricot slices, while simultaneously sprinkling them with sugar.
When laying apricots, it is advisable to periodically shake the jars gently so that the fruits are packed with maximum density. Filled jars are covered with a light cloth and placed in a cool place for 12-24 hours.
Since during the process of infusion with sugar, apricots will release juice, and free space will be freed up in the jars, two methods are used to fill it:
- Or use the contents of one of the jars to fill the free space in other jars.
- Or, in advance, leave apricot slices with sugar in a small bowl for infusion, and the next day use them to fill the empty space in the jars.
After the required time has passed, fill the jars with fruits and sugar almost to the brim and place them in a pan of water for sterilization. If desired, sterilization can also be carried out in a convection oven, in an oven, or in a microwave - whichever is more convenient for you. It is enough to sterilize half-liter jars for 10 minutes, and 1-liter jars for 15 minutes. Immediately after sterilization is completed, roll up the jars with lids and allow to cool at room temperature.
Without sterilization
If you don’t want to bother with sterilizing jars filled with apricots, then you can do otherwise. After pitting, apricots are cut into slices convenient for you (you can leave halves) and put in a pan or bowl of suitable size, at the same time sprinkling with sugar. For 1 kg of peeled fruits, take 300 grams of sugar.The pan is covered with a lid and everything is set aside overnight or for 12 hours in a cool place.
In the morning, the pan with apricots is placed on low heat and after boiling, 200 g of orange pulp is added to it. With constant stirring, the mixture of apricots with sugar and orange boils for about 5 minutes. When hot, the fruit mixture is placed in sterile jars, a scalded mint leaf is added to each jar for flavor, and the jars are closed with lids. Stored in a cellar or refrigerator.
The resulting preparation is ideal for use in Christmas or New Year's dishes.
Sugarless
This recipe produces the most natural-tasting apricots, which can be eaten even by those who, for various reasons, cannot tolerate sugar.
For 1 kg of apricots take 200 grams of water.
The fruits are traditionally cut into halves and the seeds are removed. The fruit is placed in a saucepan and cold water is added. Everything is heated until it boils. Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid and periodically look into the pan, waiting for the juice to begin to release. As soon as the juice begins to stand out, the product is considered ready. Next, the choice is yours: either immediately put the apricots in jars and begin sterilization or try to boil the fruits until soft.
This method of producing apricots in their own juice cannot be done without sterilization. It is carried out traditionally for 10 or 15 minutes, depending on the volume of the cans.
In Slovak
If you do not have the opportunity to infuse fruit with sugar for a long time, then there is a recipe for quickly preparing apricots in their own juice. The entire production time will take you no more than 20-30 minutes. For 1 kg of peeled apricots you need to prepare 200 g of powdered sugar.
Halves of apricots are placed in jars with the cuts down as tightly as possible, filled with sugar and such an amount of boiled cold water is added to each jar so that the total liquid level does not reach 1-1.5 cm to the neck. After that, the jars are covered with lids and sterilized in boiling water, the level of which should reach from the outside to the shoulders of the jar, for about 10 minutes.
The jars are immediately screwed on with lids and cooled in a large container of water, into which cold water should be added periodically.
No heat treatment
This recipe should appeal to lovers of quick and original solutions. In addition, apricots prepared according to this recipe in their own juice are practically no different from fresh fruit, with the exception of the addition of sugar.
According to the recipe you should prepare:
- 1 kg pitted apricots
- 250 g sugar
- A tablespoon of vodka
Wash the apricots, dry them, remove the pits, and cut into quarters if desired. Then place in sterile dry jars, sprinkling with sugar. Keep the jars cool for at least 12 hours. The next day, cut out circles from paper with a diameter 1 cm larger than the diameter of the openings of the cans. Soak these circles with vodka. Place them on top of the neck of the jars, and cover the top with a boiled plastic lid. Store the workpiece in a cool place.
Useful tips
Canning apricots in their own juice will bring you many joyful moments if you remember to follow these helpful tips:
- Apricots for this harvesting method can be of any variety and size. But if you use sugar for preservation, it is better to take harder ones; even slightly unripe fruits are allowed. If you make preparations without sugar, try to use the most ripe, juicy and sweet apricots.
- The preparation will not require a large amount of sugar from you or will delight you with its complete absence - all the more scrupulous is the need to be careful about the procedures for cleaning fruits and jars from contamination and sterilizing them.
- Use only enamel or stainless steel cookware. The use of aluminum containers for storing fruit is prohibited.
- To make the finished apricots look as attractive as possible, do not be lazy about cutting the fruits into halves to remove the pits, rather than breaking them.
Conclusion
From the variety of the best recipes for making apricots in their own juice, even a picky gourmet will be able to choose something suitable for themselves.
