Safety classification
Tested
Testing authority: National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia / USDA-derived guidance)
Safety reviewed: 09/09/2026
Processing details
Altitude adjustment: Use the exact altitude band for the selected boiling-water or pressure-canning schedule.
Source & provenance
Safety classification: Tested recipe from NCHFP.
Safety summary
Match the schedule to pack style and jar size; do not use larger jars or shorten processing.
Processing details
- Method
- Boiling Water
- Pack style
- Hot_raw
- Jar sizes
- Pint or Quart Jars
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
- Processing time
- Boiling-water: hot-pack pints 20/25/30/35 min, quarts 25/30/35/40 min; raw-pack pints 25/30/35/40 min, quarts 30/35/40/45 min at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Optional pressure process: pints or quarts 10 min.
Tested source
Safety status: Tested authoritative recipe. Follow the NCHFP source exactly.
Canning timeline
- Prepare jars and a boiling-water canner.
- Wash, halve or slice, and pit sound apricots, then complete one tested pack method.
- Fill pints or quarts, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Hot pints 20/25/30/35, hot quarts 25/30/35/40, raw pints 25/30/35/40, raw quarts 30/35/40/45 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft.
- Cool undisturbed 12 to 24 hours and check seals.
Equipment
Boiling-water canner, nonreactive saucepan or stockpot, preparation tools, jar lifter, and pints or quarts.
Visual method guide
- Prepare: Use sound produce and exact measured ingredients.
- Pack: Hot or raw pack; maintain 1/2 inch headspace.
- Process: Keep jars covered by boiling water and use the altitude schedule.
- Cool: Leave jars upright and undisturbed.
Safety essentials
Hot pack is preferred because raw packs make poor-quality apricots. Preserve the source's exact jar-size, pack-style, altitude, and processing schedules.
About this recipe
Apricots, Halved or Sliced is a tested NCHFP boiling-water home-canning recipe using hot or raw pack.
Before you begin
- Method
- Boiling-water canning
- Pack
- Hot or raw pack
- Jar size
- Pints or quarts
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
Altitude and processing schedule
Hot pints 20/25/30/35, hot quarts 25/30/35/40, raw pints 25/30/35/40, raw quarts 30/35/40/45 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft.
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Apricots, Halved or Sliced — NCHFP
Ingredients
- 16 lb firm, well-colored mature apricots average for a 7-quart canner load
- water, apple juice, white grape juice, or very light, light, or medium syrup for packing fruit
- ascorbic acid solution to prevent darkening
Equipment
- 1 Boiling-water canner For the primary documented process.
- 7–9 Pint or quart canning jars Use standard home-canning jars.
- 7–9 Two-piece canning lids Prepare according to manufacturer directions.
Directions
- Wash fruit well. Skin removal is optional: dip fruit in boiling water 30 to 60 seconds until skins loosen, cool quickly, and slip off skins. Halve, pit, and slice if desired; hold peeled fruit in ascorbic acid solution.
- For hot pack, bring drained fruit to a boil in syrup, water, apple juice, or white grape juice. Fill jars with hot fruit and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- For raw pack, fill jars with raw fruit cut side down and add hot water, juice, or syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Raw packs make poor-quality apricots.
- Boiling-water process hot-pack pints 20/25/30/35 minutes and quarts 25/30/35/40 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Raw-pack pints process 25/30/35/40 and quarts 30/35/40/45 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Private Notes
Questions or results?
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Tried this recipe?
Share your results how it turned out.Serving suggestions
Serve as appropriate for the preserved fruit, or use in breakfast dishes, desserts, sauces, and baking after opening.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the process?
Only make changes expressly permitted by NCHFP. Match the schedule to pack style and jar size; do not use larger jars or shorten processing.
What if a jar does not seal?
Refrigerate promptly, or reprocess within 24 hours using a new lid and the complete tested process when permitted.
How this recipe compares
Hot pack gives better quality than raw pack.
Troubleshooting
Handle ripe fruit gently and keep the selected pack style matched to its schedule.
Discard jars showing leakage, bulging, spurting, mold, or other spoilage. Never taste to determine safety.
Source & provenance
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Apricots, Halved or Sliced.
Garden planning for this recipe
Plant, space, variety, zone, and timing estimates live on dedicated ingredient pages:
Typical canning season
Season: Summer
Months: June, July, August
How much of the main ingredient should I grow?
25–50 lb of Tree fruit per person per year
This is an annual planning range that includes preserving and typical fresh use. Plant, row-foot, and square-foot estimates are shown only when compatible cited yield or spacing data is available.
Garden yields vary by cultivar, climate, soil, pests, and care. Always measure the exact prepared ingredient amount required by the tested canning recipe.