Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Apricot Day


Apricot Jam

Looks like I feel the urge to make jam out of fruits in season around this time every year. To tell you the truth, I haven’t been very successful in making jam this year. Konatsu marmalade was terribly runny probably because the pectin was way too old (or maybe completely dead). I made tomato jam when I was at my parents’ place, but since I didn’t bring a recipe with me, I did a guess work and ended up making it a little too sweet... :(

When I found some apricots in the “discount” section of a supermarket yesterday, I thought I was really lucky, because we don’t see fresh apricots around here very often. The ones I found did not look ripe but already turning brown here and there, so they were obviously meant to be cooked/baked with lots of sugar.

I decided to use half of them for apricot cobbler and the rest for apricot jam.



I used thepeach cobbler recipe I tried out and liked last year and replaced peach with apricots. It was so much fun making them both. But I had to learn a lesson… I shouldn’t have tasted the cobbler right after taking it out of the oven. It had this strong, stinging sourness which almost numbed my tongue. I tasted my apricot jam after that, and thought it was sweet enough, but on the next day the jam tasted pretty sour.


Apricot Cobbler

The sourness got a lot milder after the cobbler cooled completely, and I enjoyed it with a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream.


I think I have seen something like this on the net before… I mean, putting some kind of spread on a rusk (melba toast?) and topping it with a rosemary sprig. It looked so nice that I have been wanting to recreate it someday, and finally the “someday” came. Maybe this combination of cream cheese, apricot jam and rosemary is rather strange, but I was quite satisfied … visually. The taste? It was... OK. :)

Don’t you just love the cheerful orange color of apricot jam?



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13 comments:

K and S said...

very nice!

ghanima said...

I just finished my first ever "canning", obachan! It was for a yellow apricot jam. I must say your forays into jam-making have made the prospect less intimidating, so thanks! I don't know if I would have been so daring without your posts.

Salieri said...

gorgeous! at my work, we're selling all sorts of plums, peaches, nectarines, and apricots for cheap prices. i think maybe i want to try making apricot jam. do you have a recipe?

obachan said...

evil jonny
Thanks!

k & s
Thank you!

ghanima
Wow, glad to hear that my posts helped. Isn't canning fun? I love it.

yung-i
Mmmm... I don't know if I can call this a recipe, but the instruction I read on a Japanese website was:
Wash, peel, pit and dice ripe apricots. Cook with sugar (50 to 80% of the weight of the apricots i.e., 500 to 800 g sugar for 1 kg apricots).
That was it. :D It didn't even mention pectin, but I added just a little amount of it at the end. I didn't do it this time because the apricots didn't look very ripe, but adding a little lemon juice at the end may be a good idea.
BTW, some Western recipes on the net say "do not peel apricots." I wonder why... Anyone?

ghanima said...

I can't imagine. The peels for the plum jam I made just floated to the surface and ended up being skimmed off with the "foam". Maybe they're trying to retain as much nutritional value (from just under the peels) as possible?

As for whether or not canning is fun, I ended up having trouble sleeping last night because I was thinking about all the other local produce I could can... :)

Gustad said...

does the rosemarry actualy go well with the aprcots?

obachan said...

ghanima
Could be.
And you seem to be going through the stages properly to become addicted to canning ;)

gustad
Ha-ha-ha. As you can see in the last hoto, I didn't eat the rosemary. :P

Anonymous said...

I'll bet pork roasted with rosemary (特にばら肉^^)cooled to room temperature, sliced, and served with apricot preserves would make your cheeks fall. A nice green salad, some crusty bread, a glass or six of a nice Riesling . . . (真夏の暑さには負けないよ!って感じでね)

長らくコメントは投稿せずにず~~っとブログを読ませていただき続けていたロンです。すみませんが、いろいろ忙しくてつい数ヶ月になってしまいました。 これからもっと積極的に参加しようとします、きっと。(楽しそうですからね)さて、悪いですが、ちょっとobachan様のアドバイスを頼みます。先日獅子唐を初めて手に入れたが、どう使うのかとは全然わかりません。もしかしたら、obachan様がおいしい作り方でもご存知ですか。宜しくお願いします。
                                                      ロン

obachan said...

ron
Oh it sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing the idea.
私のブログを読んでいただいてありがとうございます。実は私はシシトウはあまり好きではないので、めったに使わないんですよ。唯一使うのはてんぷらの時ですね。薄く衣をつけて揚げて、温かい天つゆと大根おろしで食べます。
このサイトなんか、レシピがいっぱい載ってますから、参考になるんじゃないでしょうか。

Anonymous said...

リンクを教えてくださってありがとう。面白いサイトだと思います。オクラって日本でも栽培されていることにはちょっとびっくりしましたよ。そちらの地域の特産品なんですか。人気があるかな~。(ここでは、多くの人がオクラのぬるぬるした舌触りには苦手だそうです。僕大好きですけれども)ところで、現代の土佐は古文の土佐日記と同じ場所ですか。では、お元気でね。
                                                    ロン

obachan said...

昔の土佐は、今は高知県です。場所は土佐日記に出てくるのと同じですよ。
I’m not too crazy about the slimy texture of okura, either, but I try to eat it once in a while because they say it’s good for health. ;)

Patrick Leong said...

nice nice. i have not eaten peaches a long time. i miss japan. your next post, edamame...dont think we have it here as well.

obachan said...

Oh, hi patrick. So glad to hear from you again! :D
Looks like you're doing fine over there.
Come visit my blog anytime you miss Japanese food.