Apricots 2016

[montjoye]

We left picking too late!  When I arrived to check out the tree, the fruit left on the tree looked well ripe and lots of fruit was on the ground. We gleaned the salvageable fruit from the ground and I picked all the ripe fruit. There was a little left on the tree but only a very little. We stoned and bagged 8kg of clean fruit and 2kg of "less than wonderful but likely ok if well cooked" and sent all this to the freezer. I also took 5.5kg home. 3kg of mine are now jam. Most of the rest are also stoned and frozen.

Jam 
3kg apricots, destoned and cut in 8ths
{kernels from 1kg
{pits from 3 lemons
{rind of one lemon
above tied in cloth
juice of two lemons

(10B's lemonade lemons this year.)

very low heat until liquid and simmering
add 2.5kg sugar
rest 1hr

bring to boil
remove stone bag (a few escaped, which I mostly fished out during the boil)
boil ~20min, stirring to avoid sticking.

This made 11 jars of apricot jam

I'm not doing Apricot brandy this year. I don't like it enough to spend $30 or so on the needed brandy, especially when I'd rather have the brandy straight or available for hot chocolate. Must remember actually that apricot brandy is pretty darn good in hot chocolate. I still have some from previous years.