Gluten-Free Food,Kiwi Style

Jump to Comments

Ever wondered what to do with those abundant summer apricots?  I am luckily enough to have plenty of apricots available for eating and preserving.  This year it has been apricot jam, apricot chutney, apricot sauce and stewed apricots. Recipes are included below. Essentials for preserving include jars with lids, preserving pan, long handled spoon and a funnel for sauces jars. If you have a favourite apricot recipe or tips then feel free to add.

APRICOT JAM

1 kilogram of apricots, stoned and halved

1 cup water

4 cups sugar

juice of 1 lemon (for pectin)

4 apricot kernals (crack apricot stone to get kernal)

3-4 jam jars with lids

 

Place the apricots and water into a large heavy pan and simmer gently until the apricots begin to soften. Place the jars in the oven at 120oC.  Place the lids in a small pot of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes.

Add sugar, kernals and lemon juice to apricots.  Stir continuously until sugar is dissolved.  Boil briskly for 20-30 minutes, stirring often.  While the jam is boiling place 3 small plates in the freezer.  Test the jam after 15 minutes by dropping a tsp of the jam onto one of the chilled plates.  Leave for one minute to cool then push with your fingertip.  The jam should wrinkle on the plate.  If it only wrinkles a little then continue to boil for another 2 minutes and test again.

When jam is set use tongs to remove a hot jar from the oven, place it into a heat proof dish (to catch spills) and fill to the top with hot jam.  Then use the tongs to pick up a hot lid from the pot and screw it on. When the jam is cooled it will be well set, the hot jars and lids will have formed a vaccum so the lids will invert slightly and give a satisfying pop when you come to open them.

 

APRICOT CHUTNEY

3 kg apricots, stones, coarsely chopped

1kg onions, peeled, finely chopped

750g white sugar

2 tsp table salt

1 tsp each ground cloves, ground mace, curry powder

½ tsp cayenne pepper

4 cups white vinegar

 

Grease bottom of preserving pan. Combine all ingredients in pan and boil slowly for 1 hour, stirring often. If needbe thicken with cornflour paste. Pour into sterilised jars and seal (see above for instructions).  Makes about 3.5 litres

 

APRICOT SAUCE

3 kg apricots, stoned, coarsely chopped

500g/4 onions, peeled, finely chopped

1kg apples, peeled, chopped

6 tsp salt

1 kg soft brown sugar

1 ½ litre white vinegar

3 T ground cloves

3 T all spice

2 T black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

3 tsp ground ginger

 

Grease bottom of preserving pan.  Combine all ingredients in pan and simmer gently for 3 hours or until desired consistency.  Stir often.  Pour into sterilised jars and seal (see above for instructions).  Makes about 4 litres

 

STEWED APRICOTS      

Grease bottom of preserving pan.

For every 1kg of stoned and halved apricots add ½ cup sugar and 1 cup water. Simmer gently until stewed and right consistency.  Meanwhile sterilise preserving jars in oven at 120oC for at least 15 minutes, heat preserving seals and rings in a sink of hot tap water at the same time.  Pour into the sterilised jars and seal. Makes just over 2 half jars per kg of apricots.