OK, it was just re-posted by request July 19, but here it is again: APRICOT AND VANILLA JAM Makes three to four 1-cup jars 2 1/2 pounds apricots 3 3/4 cups sugar 1 cup water 2 vanilla beans, split in half Juice of 1 small lemon 1. Pick: Only perfect and perfectly ripe apricots will do. 2. Array: Assemble your tools: Copper jam pan or other medium-sized heavy low stockpot, canner or large stock pot, ceramic bowl, skimmer, wooden spoon, ladle, sieve, jar-lifter, tongs, candy thermometer, timer, parchment paper, clean dish towel, 4 1-cup Mason jars plus new lids, bands and labels. 3. Macerate: Rinse apricots in cold water. Cut them in half; discard pits. Mix apricots, sugar, water, vanilla beans and lemon juice in the bowl. Cover with parchment paper, pressing gently so paper touches fruit. Refrigerate 1 hour. 4. Simmer: Scrape apricot mixture into the jam pan. Bring to a simmer. Pour back into bowl. Press on parchment paper and refrigerate overnight. 5. Sterilize: Next day, wash jars, bands and lids. Set aside bands. Put lids in a small saucepan. Simmer 5 minutes. Let lids sit in hot water. Set jars in a stockpot. Fill pot with water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Let jars sit in hot water. 6. Boil: Set the sieve over the jam pan. Pour apricot mixture through the sieve. Remove and discard apricot skins; set aside apricot halves. Bring accumulated juices to a boil. Skim thoroughly and continue cooking on high heat until syrup reaches 220 degrees on the candy thermometer. Add the reserved apricot halves. Bring to a boil again and cook 5 minutes. Continue to skim carefully and stir gently. Remove the vanilla beans and cut into 2-inch lengths. 7. Fill: Use jar-lifter to grab 1 jar in its hot water bath. Tilt to empty, carefully. Ladle hot jam into hot jar, right up to the top. Add a length of vanilla bean. Wipe top edge with a clean damp cloth. Use tongs to set 1 hot lid on top. Screw on band. Turn jar upside down to seal and cool.* Fill the rest of jars in the same way, one at a time. 8. Store: When cool, check that the lids are concave, indicating a good seal. Label and store on a cool, dark shelf up to 1 year. -Adapted from "Mes Confitures" by Christine Ferber *The USDA considers inversion canning inferior to this boiling-water process: Follow the recipe above, leaving 1/4-inch headroom in jars. Wipe rim, set on lid, screw band finger-tight. Keep jars upright. Transfer to a canner and process 5 minutes. Lacking canner, set a round cooling rack or several inverted ring bands in the bottom of a stockpot. Fill pot with water. Bring to a boil. Using a jar-lifter, lower filled, sealed jars into the pot until submerged by 1 inch. Cover pot. When water returns to a boil, time 5 minutes. Lift out jars. Cool. Store up to 1 year. For details and high-altitude adjustments, see homefoodpreservation.com. Carol

Slow would have been good, I think, Carol! This is a recipe from 1945. Hand-mincing was all that was possible. They'd have ended up with fewer, larger pieces, and in retrospect, I think that would actually have been better than lots of very tiny ones. You could pick them out. The idea of making the vanilla sugar ahead of time is a good one too. I processed the sugar with pieces of the bean. And processed, and processed. I ended up with sugar so superfine that some of it was powdered, and my whole kitchen was covered with a fine white dust. But the bits of bean were not fine enough. I started the sifting process. Parts passing through the strainer still looked like tiny bugs -- not the look I wanted in my cheesecake! Changing to my finest tea strainer, I couldn't get the sugar to pass through. By that time I just wanted to get finished, and I used Penzey's double-strength vanilla. It was late, I was tired and hungry for dinner, so I was really glad to have the cake in the oven, and glad I had finally made this recipe. Then I saw the cup of sour cream sitting on the counter. Sigh. So I still have not tried Katish's Cheesecake. I'll report back on how Sort-of Katish's Cheesecake tastes. It actually rose to the top of the pan, so the extra cup pof volume might have been a problem (or might just have risen up and stayed okay). Here is a link that might be useful: Katish's Cheesecake

Well mine were in a sealed baggie in a sealed jar..and now they are dried out...I'm going to put them into a bottle of yet to be determined alcohol... They smell good..and I actually used one not to long ago to flavor cream for ice cream. Probably wasn't near as pungent and flavorful as it could have been..but still did the job..now tht used bean is with other used beans in a container of sugar.

I'm planning on blogging the recipe as soon as I get chance. I read a ton of websites/blogs to see the different techniques, and what seemed to work. Found one blog that really spoke to me and I used her recipe and tips. Interesting tips like it really doesn't matter if your egg whites are room temp or not, and you don't really have to let the tray of piped batter sit for an hour before you bake them. She's right! It took me 3 tries to get it, and now I can't stop making them. LOL. On topic: I received my beans from Saradooky on eBay but haven't opened them yet. They look good, though. Bonnie