Raiders of the Lost Art

                Truly, it is a lost art: Canning and Preserving  

Apricot Preserves with 4 ingredients:  Apricots, lemon juice, pectin, honey. 

So many people I meet tell me that they can't be bothered to make jam, and it's easier to buy jams and preserves from the store.  I admit, when it is hot outside, it's the last thing I feel like doing, washing jars, slicing fruit, but the effort is well worth it! I am so happy to see that home preserving is making a come-back! 

Almost all commercial jams and preserves contain high fructose corn syrup, or TOO MUCH SUGAR! I decided to use honey instead.  Some brands even have sugar as the FIRST ingredient, ahead of fruit.  Avoiding sugar is a challenge, so we try to reduce refined sugar in our diet as much as possible.  This is one way to have our jam and eat it too!  To read more about sugar and glycemic index of foods, go to the Diabetes Canada website: https://www.diabetes.ca/managing-my-diabetes/tools---resources/the-glycemic-index-(gi) 

Gorgeous fruit from the Okanagan  

 If you are vacationing in the area, or driving by, check out a fruit stand to support BC's local farmers:   https://www.kelownanow.com/business_directory/listings/Food-Drink/Fruit-Stand

Apricots are very perishable, store apricots in a breathable, shallow, cardboard boxes and cover with newspaper in a cool dry place until you are ready to use.  

Wash well, drain, and cut fruit.  

Great practice, using a sharp knife! 

My son, Lucas, helping chop and dice the fruit.  

Being the mom/teacher, we also had a quick fraction review lesson! 

The recipe calls for 7 cups of sugar, we omitted the sugar and substituted it with 11/2 cups of honey instead.  The apricot preserves are quite tart because we added lemon juice to keep colour bright.  

 Apricot preserves are delicious on toast, stirred into a meat stew or used in a pastry filling

I have also used pectin in the apricot preserves: Pectin is derived from the white rinds of oranges, and is a natural product, it is necessary to give jams and preserves body, otherwise they would be very runny, or would have to be boiled a very long time, which impacts micro-nutrients and colour.  (Forgot to take pictures of boiling fruit and canning! ) I followed instructions on the Certo Pectin package.  http://www.kraftcanada.com/brands/certo

Some to give away, some to enjoy! 

For jars and lids, I like Bernardin products, they are easy to use and come with an excellent website for beginners and experts alike.  https://www.bernardin.ca/en/howtoguide.htm    

Buttered whole grain toast and home made apricot preserves! Yum! 

In the winter, we will be raiding the pantry for these tangy treasured gems that are jars of the Golden Sunshine of Summer.