Apricot-Ginger Preserves

When I was a kid, we lived on a five-acre truck farm with fruit trees, a huge vegetable garden, and separate flower gardens for my mom, my older sister, and me. My birthday in mid-June was right in the middle of strawberry season, so every morning (er, late morning, or um, maybe noon) when I dragged my teenaged butt out of bed, there was already the sweet perfume of strawberries melting into jam, and a bit extra cooling on a plate in the fridge for my breakfast brunch lunch.

Over the years my love affair with fruit went from strawberries to raspberries to figs, and I flirted briefly with kiwis, but lately I'm enamored of apricots. These fruits seem to appear in the stores for about two weeeks, then disappear for an entire year. They are flavor bombs that you have eat practically the day you buy them, or lose them forever.

Last week Joe and I were magnetically drawn to a luscious pyramid of apricots like a glowing sunset at the grocery store. I wanted them all. But because they ripen and fade so quickly, I decided to buy them at sale price and can them. These preserves are ethereal - sweet-sour, intoxicating, and just a little exotic with the added ginger.

Apricot-Ginger Preserves

Ingredients

1/4 cup water
6 cups apricots, seeded and quartered
2 tbsp grated ginger
2 tsp lime juice
2 cups sugar

Directions

Pour water into a non-reactive saucepan. Add apricots and crush with spoon or potato masher. Add all ingredients and stir well. Heat to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes, until mixture is thick and syrupy with some chunks of fruit.

Sterilize half-pint or pint jars and lids. Heat water in a boiling-water canner until it is at a rolling boil. Fill sterilized jars with preserves, leaving 1/2" room from the rim. Wipe off the rims and screw down the lids until finger-tight.

Boil in a hot-water bath for 15 minutes. Remove from boiler and cool on a towel. Tighten the lids before storing.

Because the recipe does not include any jelling compound, the preserves may be a little juicy, but still delicious.

Makes 4-5 half pint jars.


You can find other canning and preserving recipes in my book, The Complete Guide to Food Preservation: Step-by-step Instructions on How to Freeze, Dry, Can, and Preserve Food