Low Sugar Bread Maker Apricot Jam

This low-sugar bread maker jam recipe preserves the delicious fresh Blenheim apricot flavor and produces a bright orange jam with chunks of fresh-cut fruit -- all while reducing much of the labor! This is truly a modern day "set it and forget it" recipe. If you don't have a bread maker (or if you love to stir), this recipe can also be prepared on the stove top.

Why We Recommend Blenheims: Blenheim apricots are naturally sweet and intensely flavorful, making them especially well suited for low-sugar jam. If using another apricot variety, you may want to increase the sugar to achieve a similar level of sweetness.

Prep time: Overnight

Cook time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Blenheim apricots

1/2 cup sugar (see note below for a sweeter version)

1 tablespoon powdered low-sugar fruit pectin

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:

Don't have a bread maker? You can also use these ingredients with your favorite stove top preparation method.

1. Chop the apricots. There is no need to peel them.

2. For the best texture, refrigerate the chopped apricots overnight. This allows the product to retain delicious fruit chunks in the finished jam.

3. Add the apricots, sugar, pectin and lemon juice to the bread pan.

4. Select the Jam cycle and operate your bread maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

5. When the cycle is complete, carefully transfer the hot jam to warm jars prepared for canning. Or, allow jam to cool completely before transferring to clean jars.

Yields about 3 cups.

Notes:

Ours was tested in an Oster bread maker with a jam cycle.

Double and triple batches will require an additional 30-minute jam cycle.

If you prefer a slightly more sweet version, increase the sugar to 3/4 cup.