Learning how to can apricots was the first canning I ever did. It was a fantastic introduction. Quick. Easy.
Get our FREE Fruit Canning Chart on how to make super light sugar, honey syrup, on up to medium sugar syrups for canning your fruit!This is a link click here to get your FREE Fruit Syrup Canning Chart
Not to mention it yielded great results and a huge smile from my husband. That was all it took; I've been canning ever since. Basic fruit canning is very simple and a great jumping off point into water bath canning. Plus, the jars look beautiful lining the pantry shelf.
Plus, there's something incredibly soul satisfying about filling up your pantry with home canned foods, a satisfaction you can't get from store bought items.
Gather up your Apricots, your water bath canning gear and let's get at it!
Resources to Hot Water Bath Apricots :
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- Canning jars
- Deep kettle with jar rack (Water Bath Canner)
- Canning jar lids and rings
- Lots of old kitchen/ hand towels & hot pads
- Canning Jar Lifter & Chop Stick or Wooden Spoon
There are two ways to can fruit, using either the raw pack or the hot pack method. The raw pack method is my choice (aka way less work), though some sources say a raw pack makes poor quality apricots, I find it tends to yield a firmer end result, and what this recipe uses.
The hot pack method means you bring the apricots to a boil with the syrup, and also decreases the processing time by 5 minutes. The choice is up to you, but I find it easier to pack the jars, and less hands on work on my end, using the raw pack method.
Get our FREE Fruit Canning Chart on how to make super light sugar, honey syrup, on up to medium sugar syrups for canning your fruit! This is a link click here to get your FREE Fruit Syrup Canning Chart
How to Can Apricots
(makes 4 quarts)
Apricots (approximately 2 and 1/4 pounds per quart jar)
6 cups Water
2 Cups Sugar
- Prepare hot water bath canner by filling 1/2 way with warm water, placing rack inside, and setting on medium heat.
- Have jars washed and rinsed in hot soapy water, wide mouth are the easiest to pack your apricots in.
- In a large sauce pan bring 6 cups water and 2 cups sugar to a boil.(I cover and turn it off since Apricot canning goes so fast)
- Rinse apricots well and peel if desired (peeling is optional)
- Cut in half and pop out the pit.
- Place apricots in the jar, cut side down, and fill to a 1/2 inch headspace (not that how you pack them matters in the overall canning process, it just works best to fit more per jar).
- Pour hot syrup over apricots to a 1/2 inch headspace.
- Remove air bubble by taking a chopstick, knife, or ruler and running it between the outside of the fruit and the inside of the jar. Re-check headspace and add more syrup if needed.
- Wipe down the rim of the jar, place lid and band on, and tighten to fingertip tight.
- Place jars in hot water bath canner. Lower jars into water and make sure the water level comes 1 inch above the top of the jars. Add more boiling water if necessary.
- Bring water to a boil and begin processing time only after water has reached a full boil, cover, and process pints for 25 minutes and quarts for 30 minutes. (If using hot pack method, pints are 20 minutes and quarts are 25 minutes).
- Turn off burner and remove lid. Wait 5 minutes and using a jar lifter, remove jars from canner and place on a folded towel. Allow to cool for 12 to 24 hours undisturbed.
- Check seals, remove bands, wipe down jars to remove any sticky residue, and store in your pantry!
How to Can Apricots- Easy Canned Apricots Recipe
Ingredients
- Apricots approximately 2 and 1/4 pounds per quart jar
- 6 cups Water
- 2 Cups Sugar
Instructions
- Prepare hot water bath canner by filling 1/2 way with warm water, placing rack inside, and setting on medium heat.
- Have jars washed and rinsed in hot soapy water, wide mouth are the easiest to pack your apricots in.
- In a large sauce pan bring 6 cups water and 2 cups sugar to a boil.(I cover and turn it off since Apricot canning goes so fast)
- Rinse apricots well and peel if desired (peeling is optional)
- Cut in half and pop out the pit.
- Place apricots in the jar, cut side down, and fill to a 1/2 inch headspace (not that how you pack them matters in the overall canning process, it just works best to fit more per jar).
- Pour hot syrup over apricots to a 1/2 inch headspace.
- Remove air bubble by taking a chopstick, knife, or ruler and running it between the outside of the fruit and the inside of the jar. Re-check headspace and add more syrup if needed.
- Wipe down the rim of the jar, place lid and band on, and tighten to fingertip tight.
- Place jars in hot water bath canner. Lower jars into water and make sure the water level comes 1 inch above the top of the jars. Add more boiling water if necessary.
- Bring water to a boil and begin processing time only after water has reached a full boil, cover, and process pints for 25 minutes and quarts for 30 minutes. (If using hot pack method, pints are 20 minutes and quarts are 25 minutes).
- Turn off burner and remove lid. Wait 5 minutes and using a jar lifter, remove jars from canner and place on a folded towel. Allow to cool for 12 to 24 hours undisturbed.
- Check seals, remove bands, wipe down jars to remove any sticky residue, and store in your pantry!
There you have it my friends, how to can apricots.
Hi Malissa.
I had a problem with downloading your Fruit Syrup Canning Chart. Is your site not working or could it be mine? I haven’t been having any trouble with mine lately.
Harold, I’ve not had any issues and anyone else hasn’t reported anything. What seems to be the problem so I can try and troubleshoot?
Thank-you for the chart! The recipe looks yummy.
Would this also work for canning peaches?
Yes! Exact same procedure and processing times.
The recipe first says 6 quarts of water and 2 cups of sugar. Farther down it says 6 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar. Which is correct?
Thanks for catching that typo John, it should be 6 cups of water to 2 cups sugar. Updated and fixed.
Hi Melissa,
My apricot tree yielded more and faster than I expected, so I froze some of the fruit. Can I still transfer the frozen apricots into jars and can them? Or thaw them first and then can them?
Thanks much,
Anette
No, you can’t put them in frozen and you could turn them into an apricot jam or fruit butter but the texture of frozen then canned is going to be too mushy to bother with I would think.
How do you keep the apricots from getting mushy if you do a quart for 25 minutes. I do mine for 10 minutes and they still get mushy. Do you can them before they are quite ripe?
They are softer than fresh once canned.
Is there a purpose behind making a syrup to pour over the apricots rather than just adding sugar to each jar and pouring water over? I’ve only seen it done the latter way and it seems like less work but was wondering if there’s an advantage to creating the syrup first that I’m missing?
You need to disperse the sugar evenly in the water and your tested times for canning are with using a hot liquid, so to stay within tested times for food safety, yes, it needs to be hot syrup.
I followed the recipe but when I lifted the cooked jars out of the water bath the juices started to come out from under the lids. About 1/4 cup worth of juice. The jars sealed properly when cooling. What did I do wrong?
Did you let them sit in the canner with the lid off for 5 mintues after the processing time had ended (and burner turned off). That helps to reduce siphoning, which is what you experienced.
I have been making, jams, relishes, salsa , chutneys, etc for 45 years. I NEVER do the boiling water bath. I keep jars in oven at 220 till ready, simmer. Bernardin canning lids and rings in water then fill hot jars with hot product and lid immediately. You will hear a pop and that means it is sealed and the lid is slightly depressed. I have never had anything spoil. Currently we are eating black currant jam from 2015 and relish from 2017. It is perfect. As long as you have to pry the lid off you are good.
Makes it so much simpler.
Great recipe! Thank you
I’m sorry but this is not true, the lid popping just means you had a vacuum seal, it’s not an indication the jars of food are safe. The pH level of foods and processing times to kill bacteria are what make a recipe safe for canning. I highly recommend going through some canning safety and science, I have a free video series here https://melissaknorris.com/pressurecanning that covers safety
When I have canned apricots in the past they seem to all bunch up at the top of the jar. Any suggestions to prevent floating fruit? Thank you!
After 24 hours they should settle back down, this is normal with fruit like peaches, pears, and tomatoes that have more air in them.