Apricot Rum Jam

I recently decided I needed to clean out the freezer compartment of my giant fridge. I don't need a giant fridge, but that seems to be the size they come in nowadays. It has a nice big freezer compartment, too, the perfect size for things to disappear into for years and years. A cleaning was seriously in order. After chucking all sorts of little bags filled with the remainders of fish, and chicken, and what I think was once a steak (or pork chop?), I rediscovered a whole lot of fruit I had frozen & bagged last summer. There was the rhubarb. Aha, there was the plums, blueberries, and cranberries. And best of all, there were the apricots! I found them at a local farmer's market last summer, locally grown and tiny, sweet and just perfect for anything. I ate too many, and squirreled away the rest for "another day". Today was that day, folks. I dug out one of my favorite jam books, well preserved by Judy Hassol, and made a batch of fragrant, sweetly delicious Apricot Rum Jam. If you like apricots, this will make you think you've gone to apricot-pirate-rum-smuggler paradise. Mmmmm....

Apricot Rum Jam

4 cups pitted, chopped apricots (no need to peel the skins!)

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 packets of powdered pectin, or 2/3 cup All-Natural Dutch Jell bought in bulk

8 cups sugar

1/3 cup rum, white or dark (I love Captain Morgan's Spiced Dark Rum!)

Combine apricots and lemon juice in a large pot. Bring to boil, stir in pectin. Bring back to hard boil. Add sugar slowly, stirring constantly. Bring back to boil, and boil hard for one minute. Stir in rum--watch out, it will sizzle up!--and bring to boil again. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, top with a hot lid & tighten bands. Invert for five minutes, then flip right-side-up and allow to cool. Try not to eat the whole jar with a spoon in one go.