No need to peel.

Not necessary to peel - try Pomona pectin with these - the flavor really sings.

It is (was) the most popular jam in my pantry.

Bejay

I made a big batch and didn't peel my apricots either. I used 3 different types, and added plenty of ascorbic acid. Just checked today and the jars are still a nice bright yellow/orange. Apricot preserves spread between the layers of a cholate cake are to die for.

Add me to the group that doesn't peel apricots!

I love the idea of apricot preserves with chocolate cake....

Ann

I peel my apricots. It's purely personal preference. I don't care for the texture or the underlying bitterness of the skin.

Carol

Unlike peaches, the apricots I have eaten don't have any bitterness on the skins. I do prefer peeling peaches and plums as the skins tend to get tough when made into jelly. I don't like the way too sweet and bland tasting dried Turkish apricots. Give me the California ones and I'm happy. I also grow some here, but only a few per year.

I, too, peel peaches and plums, but never found skins to be an issue for texture or taste with apricots. (Carol clearly has a very discrimintating palate!)

Zabby

Well, I don't know if it's a discriminating palate or not. We all have our likes and dislikes. Maybe it has to do with the growing conditions of the apricots we get here.

Carol

I don't peel them either, though I do take the time to slice or score them so I won't have big hunks of peel. I like the texture they add.

I haven't tried making jam with pectin, though. I use the old fashioned method, which often results in darker colors, but tastes so rich and good.

I don't peel apricots before canning into jam or sauce. Be sure you put enough acid in - apricot jam, like peach, can be difficult to get to set. I even have trouble with Pomona pectin in peach jam, it is the only one. Actually I just make apricot sauce now on purpose, it is FABULOUS over pound cake or pancakes or ice cream. Just like making a low sugar jam but without the pectin is what I do. Graat stuff, I don't give it to anybody or even tell them I have it. :-)

Marcia

I made a double-apricot butter with a combination of fresh and dried apricots. The added dried fruit really intensified the flavor.

Carol

Thanks, Thanks and Thanks again!! I will be putting up this unpeeled apricot jam later today!!

DL

OK folks!! Made the Apricot Jam last night and it turned out fantastic!!!! I only had 3 cups of fruit left (they ate it) so I used about 2/3 box of powdered pectin and 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice plus 4 cups sugar. The jam was setting up while I was putting it in the jars. After the WB and 24 hour rest I had to taste it and I like it. Tart but sweet and perfect jell. I will do this again next year. Thanks everyone for your help and info sharing.

DL

DL, I'm late to this game, but glad to hear that your jam turned out well.

Like Carol, I peel the apricots. I have a texture "thing" and I don't like the texture of a piece of peel. Yeah, I know, I'm picky.

Annie

Annie,

No problem. We all have our likes and dislikes. I always put my tortilla chips in the microwave for 30 seconds before eating them. To me it makes them taste fresh. Have NO idea why I do this or why I started doing it!!

BTW that Apricot turned out so well that I went to Costco and got a bag of fresh pears and will make pear preserves tonight. Who ever heard of making jams and jellies in January?? Oh well........

DL

DL, January and February are the BEST times to make jam. I freeze blueberries, peaches, lots of stuff in season, then in January and February I make jam when it's nice to stand over a boiling jam pot.

Annie

Pear jam came out great!! I should call it pear lemon jam because I put too much lemon juice in but it really makes it taste good. I had intended to make preserves but cut the pears too small.....

Annie,

Thanks for the idea about freezing fruit for making jams/jellies in winter. Sure beats standing over a hot stove in July!!

DL

DL,

Another great thing for preserving at this time of year is cranberries. They were in season just a bit ago in late fall, and they keep very well and freeze great.

There is a cranberry thread or two here that will give you some ideas and recipes (ask if you have trouble finding them). What made me think of it is your pear-lemon jam, because Ellie Topp has a lovely, easy Cranberry-Pear-Lemon jam recipe.

So glad you're enjoying canning!

Zabby

I totally enjoy canning. We have an industrial cannery about 20 miles from where I live. It is part of the Hanover County Virginia extension agency. Before my hips and knees went on strike I went there each year in the late summer and put up all sorts of stuff. But inside around boiling hot commercial pressure canners is HOT!! This winter canning in my kitchen is nice. I love cranberries and will find that thread. Had I thought about freezing and then canning I could have had some nice fresh pears from a neighbor's yard. Tis OK because 2008 is here now and thanks to GW and what I have learned here I have a whole new way of thinking :-))

DL

Hello All,

I made a batch of the BBB Apricot Butter recipe a few weeks back and it turned out GREAT, what a decedent treat!

IÂm reviving this post from last year because I have a question about peeling the Apricots. I peeled the Apricots for the Butter recipe but must admit it was a bit of a pain. I couldnÂt seem to get just the skin removed and wasted some of the fruit.

I popped them into boiling water for a minute then transferred to ice water for a couple of minutes before peeling.

Is there a better way?

I recently picked up a food mill (never used one before) for making my tomato sauce this year. Would the food mill do a good job at removing the peel without too much waste? If it would, what would you suggest I do to prep them before putting them through the mill?

Thanks,

Bill

The food mill will make it into a puree. Be sure to remove the stones inside first! Peeling apricots isn't really necessary as they soften and almost dissolve once cooked. I don't think the food mill would remove the skins, but even for that, unless they have lots of blemishes which should be dealth with, the skins do help to set up the fruit. Only about 30-60 seconds is needed in boiling water, but if the skins don't fall off by then, don't bother. Peach skins, on the other hand do fall off and are not very good in a peach product.

Bill,

I just made that myself the other day! I took it off the stove a bit early, I think, before it was QUITE thick enough to be called a "butter" (the BBB said it shd "mound" on a spoon, and mine didn't RUN but didn't mound--it kind of levelled out on the spoon, lol). But it is VERY thick and sweet and LOVELY---it doesn't run in the jar at ALL even if you turn it completely upside-down. I added a bit of frangelico liqueur.

Just had it this morning on pancakes. I'm thinking I would like to try some in thumbrint cookies, maybe with a bit of ground hazelnut in the dough....

I, too, peeled because the BBB said to do so. Then I saw on this thread you resurrected that last year I claimed I DIDN'T peel apricots! It's been two years since I had any to work with so I had forgotten!

I am going to make the rest into simple puree today, without peeling, and I will report back on the results.

Cheers,

Z

Hi Ken and Zabby,

Notes to self:
1) re-read a recipe you only tried once before, donÂt go by memory;
2) re-check GardenWeb posts for replies just before you begin.

Ken, if I had caught your reply before starting it would have clicked that the BBB says be careful not to puree. The food mill did in fact do a good job of producing a puree without skins. Too bad the recipe didnÂt call for a puree LOL.

Zabby, glad yours set up relatively well. My batch is still quite runny. Good suggestion regarding use on pancakes! I was also thinking it would go well over vanilla ice cream.
This year was my first time working with fresh local (ok, provincial) Apricots. One of our local Farmers Markets restricts membership to growers within 100 kilometers. This year they made one exception for a grower from Beamsville to sell fresh produce we just canÂt grow here like Apricots, Cherries, Plums etc. He drives 500 Km to and from Ottawa each weekend and his stand is always crowded. HeÂs not allowed to sell anything we can grow here.

Thanks for the replies,

Bill

If your one to make chocolate layer cakes, spread apricot between the layers. Its UNBELIEVABLE with chocolate!! There is a Manchurian apricot tree that survives Z5 too.

lol Ken... I guess I'm going to be baking a cake!

I'd love to try and grow a Manchurian Apricot tree. Any advice on where to get pit/seed?

Bill

Need to buy a tree, can grow from stones. They offer a 10 foot tall bush type. Two are needed for cross pollination. If you use chocoltae frosting as a filling, spread that apricot on both cake layers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Manuchurian Apricot