I am always astounded by the number of people who don't like apricots. This could be because the supermarket fruit is picked underripe and is often soft and floury. The taste of a sun-warmed apricot, fresh off the tree, is a strong food memory of mine — biking home from school, grabbing the long bamboo pole and knocking off some ripe warm apricots. Sitting on the cool grass eating the sweet, warm, juicy jewels.

The closest I have come to getting my fix is a ripe Moorpark apricot. Sanjay, our fresh produce market magician, always lets me know when he spots them at the market.

Mum used to free-flow freeze apricot halves, spread on a tray on our large chest freezer, and then bag them to be used in the winter months. Some years they didn't last that long, as a frozen apricot half or two straight from the bag was like an instant apricot sorbet.

Here is my recipe for apricot jam. It can be made with any fresh apricots, but Moorpark are the best. Apricot stones contain a nut, which when cooked in the jam add a delicious dimension to the finished product. The nut contains amygdalin, which is toxic until cooked. Roast the stones in a fan-forced oven at 160°C for 30 minutes, then allow to cool, before cracking open to release the nut from inside the stone.

Using a sugar thermometer is the best way to know if the jam will set.

Enjoy, Julie

Julie's Apricot Jam

Yields 6 x 314ml jars

  • 1kg apricots (Moorpark, ideally)
  • 800g sugar
  • 6 apricot nuts (see note above)
  • 50ml water
  1. Cut the apricots into quarters and remove the stones.
  2. Place into a stainless or glass bowl, add the sugar, mix and leave overnight.
  3. Save 6 stones from the batch, and roast at 160°C for 30 minutes, allowing to cool.
  4. Using a hammer or other device, crack the stones to remove the nuts (do not eat the nuts until they're cooked — these are toxic).
  5. Place the apricots, sugar, apricot nuts and water in a stainless pot, and stir to dissolve the sugar, without boiling.
  6. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, increase the heat.
  7. Bring to a rolling boil for 10 minutes — this can take up to 20 minutes. (Prepare your jars and lids in the meantime.)
  8. Bring to a temperature of 104°C on a sugar thermometer.
  9. Prepare your jars — place clean jars into an oven at 100°C for 15 minutes.
  10. Put your jar lids in a pan of water and bring to the boil. Drain, and leave on a clean tea towel.
  11. Pour the hot jam into the hot, sterile jars, and seal immediately. You can leave the nuts in, or remove — your choice.
  12. Label once cool. These jars will keep for a year — if you don't eat them all before!
"A party without cake is really just a meeting." — Julia Child
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