Got an apricot tree, or your greengrocer gave you a basketful?
Can them.
It's quite easy, and canned apricots will bring back welcome memories in the winter months, in addition to being a nice gift. You'll need:
Can them.
It's quite easy, and canned apricots will bring back welcome memories in the winter months, in addition to being a nice gift. You'll need:
Prep Time: 60 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- At least 4 1/2 pounds (2 k) apricots
- 1 2/3 pounds (750 g) sugar per 4 1/2 pounds apricots
- Canning jars with lids
- A wooden toothpick or skewer
- A piece of stick cinnamon, or other spices you like, e.g. cloves (optional, and go easy on them)
- A kitchen scale
Preparation:
Continuing with some background:
The Italian apricot season begins in June and carries through into August, with a succession of different apricot strains, including the Campanian Beccuccia and Cafona, and the Emilian Reale D'Imola.
You will likely find different strains; the important thing is to select them carefully in your market. They should be firm-fleshed, blemish-free, and ripe -- with that golden orange-red glow apricots have, and smelling richly of apricot. Should they be unripe, and greenish with little if any aroma, pass them by because they don't ripen well off the tree, but rather simply wrinkle.
Once you get them home they will keep for a day or two in a fruit basket, or for a few days in the fruit bin of your refrigerator.
What to do with them? If you don't have many, simply enjoy them: they're quite healthy, with few calories, about 28 per quarter pound (100 grams), and quite a bit of vitamin A, 360 micrograms per quarter pound. They're also fairly rich in fiber, while the nutmeats in the pits can be used instead of bitter almonds in recipes that call for them (don't use many of the nutmeats at once unless you cook them, because they contain a cyanide compound that can be dangerous if injested eaten raw).
And if you have a tree, or your greengrocer gave you a basketful?
Can them.
Once you have assembled the above ingredients, set a pot with sufficient water to cover the apricots to boil, stir in the sugar, and add the spices, if you're using them.
While the syrup is heating, wash the apricots, pat them dry, and stick each a few times with a toothpick. When the syrup boils add the apricots. Cook for two minutes, and then turn off the heat and let the pot cool.
When it has, remove the apricots to the canning jars using a slotted spoon, and return the pot to the fire. Boil the syrup down until it has reduced to a volume sufficient to fill the jars.
Fill the jars, discarding the spices if you used them, and seal them. Set them on a rack in a pot, fill it with water to cover them by a couple of inches, and bring the pot to a boil. Boil the apricots for 15 minutes to sterilize them, check the seals by tapping the lids with a knife blade (they should ring true), and store them in a cool dark place.
The Italian apricot season begins in June and carries through into August, with a succession of different apricot strains, including the Campanian Beccuccia and Cafona, and the Emilian Reale D'Imola.
You will likely find different strains; the important thing is to select them carefully in your market. They should be firm-fleshed, blemish-free, and ripe -- with that golden orange-red glow apricots have, and smelling richly of apricot. Should they be unripe, and greenish with little if any aroma, pass them by because they don't ripen well off the tree, but rather simply wrinkle.
Once you get them home they will keep for a day or two in a fruit basket, or for a few days in the fruit bin of your refrigerator.
What to do with them? If you don't have many, simply enjoy them: they're quite healthy, with few calories, about 28 per quarter pound (100 grams), and quite a bit of vitamin A, 360 micrograms per quarter pound. They're also fairly rich in fiber, while the nutmeats in the pits can be used instead of bitter almonds in recipes that call for them (don't use many of the nutmeats at once unless you cook them, because they contain a cyanide compound that can be dangerous if injested eaten raw).
And if you have a tree, or your greengrocer gave you a basketful?
Can them.
Once you have assembled the above ingredients, set a pot with sufficient water to cover the apricots to boil, stir in the sugar, and add the spices, if you're using them.
While the syrup is heating, wash the apricots, pat them dry, and stick each a few times with a toothpick. When the syrup boils add the apricots. Cook for two minutes, and then turn off the heat and let the pot cool.
When it has, remove the apricots to the canning jars using a slotted spoon, and return the pot to the fire. Boil the syrup down until it has reduced to a volume sufficient to fill the jars.
Fill the jars, discarding the spices if you used them, and seal them. Set them on a rack in a pot, fill it with water to cover them by a couple of inches, and bring the pot to a boil. Boil the apricots for 15 minutes to sterilize them, check the seals by tapping the lids with a knife blade (they should ring true), and store them in a cool dark place.
