Canning is the method of preserving fruits and vegetables in jars. The purpose of this is to not waste food and be able to store these foods for long periods of time (about a year). If you've ever had a healthy garden or fruit tree then you know that it can produce more food than you can consume at a time. Rather than let it go to waste, us ole timers, and our parents, and their parents etc. would can extra food so that it wouldn't go to waste. As a result, you'd have fruits and vegetables out of season....AND boy oh boy it's some good eat'n!
Apricots are my favorite fruit. Their skin is edible but you might want to peel them if you're making preserves (because many frut preserves can be made into jelly or jam--you might not want the skin. It's a matter of preference; I've eaten a lot of fruit preserves that still had the skin on). The easiest way to peel them is the gently cut a slit or two in the skin, then place them in boiling water for about less than a minute. You can pull them out and put them in a bowl of ice water to cool them off; then you can basically pell the skins off by hand. (It's easy, the boiling water will separate the skin from the fruit.)
Half the apricots and remove the seed/pit. Put them into a pot of boiling water (Not high heat, about medium-high--you don't need a raging pot of boiling water). Let them boil for about 15 minutes then lower the heat a little. Repeat that step, reducing the heat and giving them a stir about every 15/20 minutes. What you want to see is that the water is reducing and everything is starting to thicken. When you're down to a syrup-like consistency you're almost ready to can. Keep the heat low and add in some spices if you like (vanilla or cinnamon sticks are popular but I like to add in honey. Honey and apricots are a match made in Heaven).
While the apricots are reducing you'll need to already have some jars warmed up in the oven. When the apricots are ready, pull out the jars and start canning the apricots. Don't fill the jar to the brim, leave about half an inch space at the top--less air the better but if you fill all the way up you will see why I said not to do that later. Make sure to clean the threads of the jar very good then put on your lids firmly. The key to this is a firm air-tight seal. Once you've got your lids on, it's time for the final step.
Place your jars standing up in a deep pot of low-boiling water. It's good if the jars are submersed but you can probably do this with the jars 1/2 to 2/3 submerged. Keep them in there for about 15--20min. Then remove the jars and let them rest. The indicator on the lids will sink in and that confirms a good seal. You don't have to refrigerate these until after you have opened them.
Apricots are my favorite fruit. Their skin is edible but you might want to peel them if you're making preserves (because many frut preserves can be made into jelly or jam--you might not want the skin. It's a matter of preference; I've eaten a lot of fruit preserves that still had the skin on). The easiest way to peel them is the gently cut a slit or two in the skin, then place them in boiling water for about less than a minute. You can pull them out and put them in a bowl of ice water to cool them off; then you can basically pell the skins off by hand. (It's easy, the boiling water will separate the skin from the fruit.)
Half the apricots and remove the seed/pit. Put them into a pot of boiling water (Not high heat, about medium-high--you don't need a raging pot of boiling water). Let them boil for about 15 minutes then lower the heat a little. Repeat that step, reducing the heat and giving them a stir about every 15/20 minutes. What you want to see is that the water is reducing and everything is starting to thicken. When you're down to a syrup-like consistency you're almost ready to can. Keep the heat low and add in some spices if you like (vanilla or cinnamon sticks are popular but I like to add in honey. Honey and apricots are a match made in Heaven).
While the apricots are reducing you'll need to already have some jars warmed up in the oven. When the apricots are ready, pull out the jars and start canning the apricots. Don't fill the jar to the brim, leave about half an inch space at the top--less air the better but if you fill all the way up you will see why I said not to do that later. Make sure to clean the threads of the jar very good then put on your lids firmly. The key to this is a firm air-tight seal. Once you've got your lids on, it's time for the final step.
Place your jars standing up in a deep pot of low-boiling water. It's good if the jars are submersed but you can probably do this with the jars 1/2 to 2/3 submerged. Keep them in there for about 15--20min. Then remove the jars and let them rest. The indicator on the lids will sink in and that confirms a good seal. You don't have to refrigerate these until after you have opened them.