Apricot Raspberry Jam with hints of orange is a beautiful combination for your taste buds and your eyes. Pair these fantastic fruits and you’ll get a jam that is more than the sum of its parts! (This post was first published in 2012 and updated in 2021)
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Why you’ll love this recipe!
Apricot raspberry jam is a small batch jam, perfect for using up stragglers in your raspberry and apricot fruit bowls. In fact, I give my overflowing fruit basket full credit for turning me into a jam maker! One batch of jam I made from my overflowing fruit basket – strawberry raspberry jam – was so good it almost helped my son win his annual blintz-off with his Auntie Sharon.
I often make jam in small batches that I refrigerate and use up in a week or two. But since I first published this recipe, I’ve also realized that canning involves some science, but it is not rocket science! Check out this Sunset article on canning if you want to learn more.
Ingredients you’ll need
At it’s most basic, jam is made with fresh fruit, sugar and lemon juice. To that trinity, I added orange zest and my favorite orange liqueur, 43.
- Apricots: Blenheims and Bonny Royals have deep, delicious flavor but any apricot will work. Remember the cooking intensifies the flavor and you will be adding additional flavor components.
- Raspberries: Basic red raspberries are perfect for this jam.
- Lemon Juice: I always use fresh-squeezed rather than jarred lemon juice.
- Orange Zest: Use a microplane grater to quickly get the zest off your citrus. It’s one of my favorite kitchen tools!
- Orange Liqueur: I love 43 with citrusy and vanilla undertones. But any orange liqueur will do or leave this out – it is purely optional. You can also use vanilla extract!
- Sugar: I used regular granulated sugar and tend to use less sugar than many traditional jam makers. I like to really let the flavor of the fruit shine through.
How to make this recipe
1. To make this luscious raspberry apricot jam, combine the fruit and lemon juice in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on medium heat. Let it cook for a few minutes until you start to see juices release from the fruit.
2. Add the sugar and orange zest and mix well. Continue to cook for 10 – 15 minutes more. It should be steadily boiling and reducing and thickening. If white foam appears, skim it off but don’t throw it out. It’s delicious on toast or by the spoonful.
3. If using, add the orange liqueur near the end when the jam looks almost ready. Look how beautiful the texture and color is!
4. Let cool and place in clean, sterilized jars. Then refrigerate.
Expert Tips and FAQs
- Since I made this jam way back in 2012, I’ve tried different methods – all yield good results. Here I let the fruit release some juices in the pan, then add the sugar and zest. You can also mix it all together before you start cooking it and let it sit on the counter or in the fridge. Or you can add all the ingredients except for the liqueur right at the beginning of cook time.
- Have more apricots and less raspberries? Don’t worry. Just follow the same basic instructions. As long as your total amount of fruit is about the same, it will be fine. Or double all the ingredients and make even more!
- I use 8 ounce glass canning jars but if you’re not sharing, you could use a pint jar instead.
- You can sterilize your jars by running them under boiling hot water, actually boiling them, or running them through a dishwasher cycle.
If you don’t eat it up within a couple of weeks (how could it be?), then you can freeze it. Just make sure there is some space at the top of the jar. If you freeze liquid in glass with no space, the glass could break. I learned this the hard way.
I did not follow strict canning protocol for the amount of sugar I used versus the fruit. But over the years, I’ve started to can jam even with lower sugar amounts. The key is to be sure the tops pop after you boil them. If they don’t, put them in the refrigerator. Click this link for the all the details on proper canning.
Other jam recipes on OMG! Yummy
- Strawberry Raspberry Jam with Rosé Wine
- Strawberry Jam with Pineapple Guava
- Cranberry Orange Jam
- Fresh Fruit Compote
P.S. If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or a review in the comment section below. I so appreciate your feedback! AND find more inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Signup for my email list, too!
Apricot Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
- 12 oz fresh raspberries preferably organic, washed
- 5 apricots washed, pitted, cut in quarters
- ½ lemon juiced
- 1/2 cup sugar
- zest of ½ an orange
- 2 tablespoons 43 liqueur or Cointreau optional
Instructions
- Combine the lemon juice and fruit in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook on medium heat for about 7 minutes while it breaks down and releases its juices.
- Once it is boiling and juicy, add the sugar and zest, turn down to medium-low and continue to boil and reduce for another 15 minutes or so. You’ll feel as you mix it that the liquid is reducing and you’ll see on the sides of the pan that the level goes down about 1 inch in volume (depends on the size of your pan of course). As you mix occasionally, skim off the white foam that appears.
- It’s done when it is visibly thicker and all the fruit is broken down. Add the orange liqueur, if using, right near the end. As the jam cools, it will thicken further.
- Transfer it to clean, sterilized glass jars, let it cool a bit more, and then refrigerate. You’ll need to use it up in a week or two.
Notes
- Since I made this jam way back in 2012, I’ve tried different methods – all yield good results. Here I let the fruit release some juices in the pan, then add the sugar and zest. You can also mix it all together before you start cooking it and let it sit on the counter or in the fridge. Or you can add all the ingredients except for the liqueur right at the beginning of cook time.
- Have more apricots and less raspberries? Don’t worry. Just follow the same basic instructions. As long as your total amount of fruit is about the same, it will be fine. Or double all the ingredients and make even more!
- I use 8 ounce glass canning jars but if you’re not sharing, you could use a pint jar instead.
- Be sure to skim off the foam that appears but don’t throw it out. It’s delicious on bread or in a smoothie or just by the spoonful.
Nutrition
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This is the perfect summer jam! We love it on toast!
Right? It just screams summer fruit flavors. Also great with yogurt. Or inside a cupcake!
soooooo yummy! I just made this, I added some honey and vanilla and it was so great.
This looks awesome!
How did this come out texture-wise? I wanna make some thumbprint cookies using apricot-raspberry, but preserves, spread, and jelly are all too watery to use for that. Was it tight enough to use in something like that, or would you recommend adding some pectin?
Hmmm – it’s been a while since I made it but it thickened up quite nicely. However, I haven’t made thumbprints with it, though the thought crossed my mind! I think if you cook it long enough reducing the liquid down, you’ll be ok. I never use pectin but I am far from an expert canner. Here is an interesting page all about naturally occurring pectin (http://www.pickyourown.org/pectin.htm). It says raspberries have a high amount of naturally occurring pectin and apricots not so much. You can probably get away without the added pectin but if maybe a little dab wouldn’t hurt either just to be sure. Let me know what happens and how they come out. I love thumbprints!
I *might* have to take this up. I’ve made freezer jam w/strawberries but would love to figure out using less sugar. I am going to try this recipe as soon as I get some fresh blueberries from the farmer’s market – yum! Thank you for sharing. I actually might consider being a canner!
Besides a little bit of equipment, the most important item is “time”. That’s the tough part for me. But how nice it would be to reap the benefits for months to come, instead of finishing it all up in a few days!
I love homemade jams just for the fact that we can control the amount of sugar that goes into the process. I just finished a sweet-spicy apricot chutney. I love that you have brought apricot-raspberry together. I have bookmarked this recipe.
Oh a sweet spicy apricot chutney sounds lovely – I would love that recipe as well! And yes, controlling the sugar is one of the best reasons to make your own jam. It is so hard to find a jarred jam, even when you buy expensive ones, that isn’t over-sweet, at least for my family’s tastes.
This looks so yummy! I’ve never attempted making jams, but have always wanted to give it a try. Stopping by from SITS Saturday Sharefest. 🙂
Try Try Try – so easy, really. I just have to get up the courage to do the canning/preserving part because trust me, they taste so good, you’ll want to make a larger batch and have some in the winter!
This looks fantastic. Actually, both the blog and the jam look beautiful. That’s one of my favorite themes, and apricot IS my favorite jam. I am also in the less is more camp with respect to sugar, so it sounds perfect.
I hope you give it a try – so easy and really yummy. Thanks for stopping by and the lovely compliments on the jam and blog! Hope you’re having a great weekend.
sounds like a wonderful combination! berry jam always turns out too “loose” for me, so I think the apricots would give it some “meat”
Yes, this jelled up wonderfully – I’m really happy with the consistency. And I didn’t have to peel the apricots – if they are thin-skinned, I learned from Cathy Barrow, you can just let them dissolve!
now that you are also making jams whats next on the list? Wish I could get up enough enthusiasm to make some spaghetti sauce. BTW can you work magic with the market(stock market that is).
What goes down, must come up (a new saying in our house). And keep cooking – it kept Grandma young didn’t it?
You clearly can! Haha. I’m making mango chutney tomorrow 🙂
Just like the little red caboose…
YUM – mango chutney sounds excellent.
It will be! I hope… Thing generally work out, but I’ve never made it before…
Yay, Beth! That jam looks really good – the colors are vivid, and I bet the flavor is spectacular (being that apricots and raspberries are my favorite fruits:) I spent a lot of time last summer and fall preserving tons of fruit my dad brought from his “ranch”, and I am not afraid any more! It made me very proud to see all the jars lined up in the pantry, knowing that I did it!
And I love both Cathy and Marissa!
Happy canning!
I think you also wrote a wonderful post to go along with that canning, if I remember correctly?!
I did take another taste of the jam after it cooled to be sure it really is good and well, it does ROCK! Wish you were here, I’d bring you the extra jar!
Love this, Beth! Beautiful post and homage to Cathy and Marisa, look at you, Miss Canner:)
Well, I did everything but the canning but with a little more confidence and a lot more time, I think I can I think I can!