Making and Canning Delicious Apricot Syrup

It’s apricot season here!  I love apricots and one of my favorite canning products of apricot season is apricot syrup!  This stuff is to die for.  Tangy and sweet and perfect on french toast, pancakes, or German pancakes.  And it’s easy to make and can in your own home!

Ready to make some?  Here’s what you’ll need:

• Fresh apricots
• Fruit Fresh (optional)
• Sugar
• Food sieve or strainer (like you’d use for making apple sauce). Here’s a great one I’ve used, or this one makes it SO easy if you have a Kitchenaid mixer.
• Jars and canning lids
• Canning funnel
• Water bath canner

(Steps 1-5 are the same as for making apricot nectar!)

Step 1: Pick and wash your apricots.

I set up the washing/halving station outside to save some mess in my house, so we’re washing in a big mixing bowl like this one.

Step 2: Halve the apricots, discarding the pits and trimming off any damaged parts.

Hire the kids for this part! I put the cut apricots directly into a mixture of 2 quarts water and 2 TB Fruit Fresh to keep them from browning while we cut the rest. This is entirely optional, but does help preserve the color.

Step 3: Cook the apricots.

Put the apricot halves in a pot, adding enough water so they don’t stick to the pan, and boil them until soft. Apricots that are more ripe will soften faster.

Step 4: Run the softened apricot mixture through your food sieve.

I use my Kitchen-aid with the strainer attachment to make this super easy!

Step 5: Pour strained apricot nectar into a pot and keep it hot.

*Measure how much you have as you pour it in the pot–you’ll need it to figure out how much sugar to add.  You can measure in cups or quarts or bowls full depending on how many apricots you have.

At this point I also put the canning lids I’ll be using into a small pot of water and heat them so they’ll be ready to put on the jars and get the canner filled with hot water as well.

Step 6: Add sugar and boil.

Add sugar to the pot.  The ratio is 1 apricot nectar to 1.5 sugar.  So if I have 1 cup of apricot nectar, I’ll add 1 1/2 cups of sugar.  If I have 6 quarts of apricots, I’ll add 9 quarts of sugar.  For every Kitchen-aid bowl full of apricot nectar, I’ll add a bowl and a half of sugar.  Make sense?

Bring the apricot/sugar mixture to a boil and boil for two minutes.

Step 7: Can it.

Ladle hot syrup into hot jars and process in a boiling water canner 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude.  I set up my canning station outside using a Camp Chef Explorer stove and love it!  Keeps the house nice and cool!  One of my canners is this larger style that will process 9 quarts at a time instead of the standard 7.  Remove from canner and let cool.

Step 8: Enjoy!

Apricot syrup changes ordinary breakfast to gourmet, and it’s so pretty too!  Enjoy!

Keep preparing! Angela