Apricots!
We’d been yelling at the kids to stop knocking the apricots out of the trees for what seemed like months. Finally, it became apparent that the kids weren’t knocking the apricots out of the trees anymore. The birds were and the apricots were soft and ripe when they landed on the ground which means it’s picking time! (Yes, that chair is totally busted.)
Hooray! I didn’t spend all spring paying that water bill for nothing. It was time for me to cash in on some yummy orange fruit!
While I went to the store for canning supplies, the kids picked whatever they could reach and Rapunzel, my oldest niece, got a ladder out of the shed and picked the higher-up ones. They left some yellowy-green ones for later.
You can’t just let these babies sit around and draw fruit flies. Nope. They have to be canned, into apricot jam specifically.
This is the face you make when you know you’ve got a big ugly mess ahead of you. It’s canning day.
My mom did most the cooking. I just cut up the apricots. Boy, did they smell good.
I love the smell of fresh hot jam.
We made 29 jars of jam which is a lot. Four batches. There are more apricots left too but I think I’m done with jam. My mom’s talking about dehydrating the rest but I’m going to let her do that at her house.
I’m done with messiness for a while. Phew!
It was worth it though. TWENTY-NINE JARS! Christmas presents, DONE. Now I just need to design some kind of cool label for them and maybe invest in some kind of big round paper-punch. There’s no way I’m cutting out 29 circle stickers like I did for the Marmalade. No way.
I did make some scones with some of the leftover cut-up apricots though. I just used my lemon scone recipe and added apricots instead of zest except I added a lot more than 2 tablespoons. They turned out super dense. Kind of like an apple fritter without the glaze. Pretty tasty really. You might want to stop by if you’re in the neighborhood.
I’m really digging this rural living. What’s next? Tomatoes, I think. Salsa anyone?
23 Comments
sizzle
This takes me back to my childhood. We had an apricot tree in the backyard and my mom would make apricot jam and give it out for Christmas. My dad would make kahlua and bottle it for gifts. It’s a good memory.
Ninotchka
YUMMY. My kids would be in heaven. We LOVE apricots here. As for the tomatoes: don’t forget gazpacho!
Yara
Oh, that jam looks so good!
Yara
Oh, you can also make & can spaghetti sauce with your tomatoes
brooke
In the past when I get sick of making jam and I don’t feel like dehydrating, I simply put the apricots in the blender (minus the pits, of course) and make them into puree to freeze. Then it can be used for pancake toppings, french toast filling (mixed with cream cheese and powdered sugar) and my favorite–over pork chops–all year long. Yum! Wish I had a tree…I’ll have to be content with buying some when they come in season here.
I am sorry to hear about your Grandpa. We had the privilege of seeing him in Aberdeen when he last visited Uncle Tim and Aunt Edie.
Christine
Oh wow. Your lemon scone recipe has been a big hit with the teachers at my son’s preschool – I made them for the open house, and then I had to make them again for teacher appreciation lunch and for the pot-luck picnic; everyone loves them.
Now I really want to make them with apricots. Yum.
Sharyn
Oh lovely lovely lovely! The photo of all those beautiful, sunshiny fruits makes me smile.
One of your commenters mentioned gazpacho. Have you ever tried a fruit gazpacho with all those delectable apricots, some strawberries, blueberries and maybe mango?
TexasLea
Oh man, I wish I was on your Christmas gift list! That looks super yummy. I am jealous, first the lemons and now the apricots.
As for the tomatoes, I recommend making a few jars of salsa and then just straight up canning the rest of the tomatoes. That way you can use them in recipes or make whatever else you want later on down the road. We just wash the ‘maters and plop them in boiling water for a minute then straight into an ice water bath. They peel super easy after that. Then we just cut them up and can ’em!
Might I add… Canning with Mom’s helping ROCKS! It’s almost like things taste better with Mom helping. Canning stuff all alone is just depressing to me.
RookieMom Heather
Whitney loves her round circle paper cutter thingie that she got on amazon. If I had 29 jam jars staring me in the face, I’d spring for it.
Melissa K. in Nebraska
Apricots. Apricots. Everywhere apricots. And then… one little ol’ sliced up orange on the counter. Tee hee.
cc
I think you need new baking powder. When I made the scones at your place they were much denser than the ones I made at home. The only thing I can think of is the baking soda might be old. Who knows?
I would love, love, love, love, LOVE, some dried apricots. Every time I buy them Shawn eats them before I can make anything with them. Last time I only bought what I needed and now I don’t have enough.
Apricot jam is best served on warm Eggo waffles with butter in every square.
nicole @ deliajude
you could also make apricot sauce, apricot ice cream and fresh apricots sliced with mozza make super tasty grilled cheese sammies.
as for labels…papersource makes the printable 2.5″ label…I could hook you up.
kirida
I love fruit trees so much. I grew up around mango trees and that memory really carries me through so much.
Beck's Mom
FOUR batches of canned anything is a LOT of work – complete with tired legs from standing in the kitchen! We jammed strawberries this week. Boiling jam sure does make the house smell fantastic! We’re waiting for peaches to ripen… :)
OMSH
Looks delicious!
Kuky
I wish I lived in the neighborhood! I’m salivating here.
noe
i want some!!!
As soon as I saw ‘apricots’ i wanted to eat some jam!
It looks so so so so YUMMY!
Janna
Ooooooh. My in laws have an apricot tree in their backyard and my mother in law makes cobbler with the really ripe ones. SO FLIPPIN GOOD!
This is the best pie crust recipe I have ever made (the vodka evaporates out and leaves a super flaky buttery salty sweet crust that is A-MAZING!). I put crust on the top and bottom (cause I like crust to soak up all the yummy syrup…nom nom nom) but you can do what you like. :) This makes enough for a 9×13 cobbler. http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/11/pie-crust-101/
Preheat oven to 350.
Prepare 9×13 dish with pie crust. Reserve top crust.
For the filling:
16-24 apricots, washed, pitted and quartered
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can apricot or peach nectar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp cinnamon
butter (salted and real)
1 Tbsp corn starch or flour mixed with 2 Tbsp water to thicken
1 egg white for crust wash.
Granulated sugar and cinnamon for garnish.
In a sauce pan bring nectar, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and 3 pats butter to a gentle simmer.
Add apricots and stir until well combined.
Add cornstarch or flour mixture.
Pour apricot mixture over bottom crust.
Add pats of butter sporadically to top of fruit.
Top with top crust.
Pierce with vents.
Brush with egg white.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
Bake 30 minutes or so. Top with foil.
Bake another 15 minutes.
Enjoy (really good with vanilla ice cream).
Alexandra
So impressed you are getting your Christmas gifts done in June–now that is tremendous. I want to try canning this summer but feel a little intimidated by the process, but this post with its gorgeous photos makes me want to try!
Kathy K
I think you should use Bethany’s Apricot Cookie recipe to use up the rest of the apricots. I made them last winter and they were delightful!! They were the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture of the buckets of apricots. The jam looks wonderful.
Nic Dempsey
Lovely, lovely jam. Have you tried this? http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/06/breakfast-apricot-crisp. It is amazing…
Sarah
Ooh, I wish I *was* in the neighbourhood!
Heather
I really like fruits but I don’t know that I have ever eaten apricots. I love the shot of Bug biting into one.