Small batch artisanal fruit preserve

Inspired by Rachel Roddy over on IG and the gorgeous apricots currently at the greengrocers, a small batch of preserve was on the menu this morning. Apricot preserve, not jam, because it contains only 25% sugar. Rachel pointed out that one can buy packets of pectin designed to confer success on small batches. At the supermarket, I discovered that they come in four distinct varieties, tailored to how much sugar you like in your jam: 2:1, 3:1, and 4:1. That's very appealling because with low sugar, getting a good set is much trickier, and low sugar is so much tastier. I bought a box of the 4:1, sliced 500 gm of apricots into eighths, popped them in a pan with 125 gm of sugar and half a packet of the pectin stuff, and boiled it for the required 3 minutes. The test will come tomorrow when, according to the pectin packet, it will have reached its final consistency. This is honestly so much easier than ruining my future over a huge pot of kilograms of boiling fruit and then having 10 jars…