Apricots - how to freeze, jam, anything else

14 years ago

Our apricot tree has gone crazy this year, and DH and I have her act together with picking them.

I've already made 7 jars apricot jam - tastes good but I have air bubbles, so the next 2 batches I'll be more careful. Will the air bubbles be a problem with the 7 jars I made last weekend? I've made plum jar before and no bubbles, so not sure what I did wrong this time. I've read some posts about making sure jam is still hot and not skinned over - both batches had a skin as soon as I took them off the stove. I was using Ball Pectin No Sugar and I think the boiling for 3 mins after added sugar was too long perhaps. I bought Pomona Pectin and was going to try that for the next 2 batches.

DH wants to keep as many of the apricots as we can. Last year, I froze peaches and plums in a sugar water syrup and I didn't look how they were so mushy when defrosted - I was just using them in pies/cobblers, but I prefer more firm pieces of fruit. Any suggestions on how to freeze the apricots - I did up a batch by brushing on lemon juice, froze on a tray and then in a ziplock bag - don't know if this was correct or not.

I was also thinking of canning some halves in a light syrup to eat just as they are or drizzle on yoghurt/ice cream.

I also bake a lot of pies, and I'll be giving those away to friends/teachers etc. Can I bake and then freeze some baked goods for later on?

Please help as in a month I'm going to have plum and peach overload and I'll be doing all of this all over again.

Thanks.

Comments (5)

canicci
Original Author
14 years ago
Oh, If anyone has any healthy recipes with apricots, please share. Both DH and I have to watch our weight. I can bake, but I don't want too many fattening pies/cakes/slices etc.

Thanks for any suggestions. I have 5 grocery shopping bags full of apricots and I have to deal with them tomorrow...I will give some away too, but I want to keep some for us to eat later on as well.
bejay9_10
14 years ago
We had the apricots in bunches last year. This year, fortunately, the two trees are bearing at different times (whew).

Anyway, I didn't have a lot of time to do all of the load - so just washed them well and froze in a freezer bag. When the rush was over, I defrosted them in a bit of sugar and lemon water, then strained the pulp through a cheese cloth bag. The juice was then tasted for "drinkability" and poured into individual sterilized water bottles. They were then frozen.

My GD is an avid sports body enthusiast - drinks lots of water during exercises. She also loves the nice fruit drinks we freeze to replenish fluids in this way.

I found we use less jam - but we also eat lots of fruit in simple syrup. So I also keep light weight sugar syrup in the fridge - with lemon or lime - and use it for making sauce - either for freezing or canning. We enjoyed the peaches, apricots, apples, pears - done in a bwb in simple syrup last year. (See Ball Blue Book for recipe).

Also apricots are great dehydrated - just cut in two, remove pit and dry (I finally bought the Excaliber dehydrator for my summer fruit drying).

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay
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caavonldy
14 years ago
We have also been freezing lots of apricots. I just cut them in half or quarters, put into a solution with fruit fresh, drain and pack in zip-lock bags until I have time to make jam, pies, cobblers or to use in a fruit salad this winter. I froze some flat on cookie sheets so that they were separate. I packed those in zip-lock bags. That way, we can reach in and get just a few for smoothies or for whatever we might like them for.
Donna
digdirt2
14 years ago
APRICOT STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE

1 (6 oz.) pkg. dried (or equal amts. fresh) apricots, chopped
Boiling water
Streusel (recipe follows at end)
1 3/4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. butter, softened
2/3 c. sour cream
2 lg. eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

In bowl cover apricots with boiling water. Let stand 5 minutes. Drain, place on paper towels, set aside.

Prepare streusel, set aside. In large bowl, sift together flour and next 4 ingredients. Add butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Using mixer at low speed, beat until moistened. Increase speed to medium, beat 2 1/2 minutes.

Spread 2/3 of the batter into greased 9 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan (9 x 13 inch works fine). Toss reserved 3/4 cup pecan mixture from streusel with apricots; sprinkle over batter.

Spoon remaining batter over apricot layer, spread evenly. Sprinkle with streusel crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan.

STREUSEL:

In bowl, mix together: 1/2 c. brown sugar 3 tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Reserve 3/4 cup pecan mixture, set aside. Stir 1/2 cup flour in remaining pecan mixture. Using pastry blender, cut in 1/4 cup butter until coarse crumbs form.

Freezes well.

Dave
leesa_b
13 years ago
Do I need to put them in a citric acid/lemon juice in order to dry them? I want to use them in habanero gold and want to make sure they are safe.
Thanks,
Leesa