Wednesday a good friend of mine brought me two big boxes of apricots. It has been very windy around here lately...and these are the ones that hit the ground. I think they call that a wind fall. Regardless, they are just delicious.
This what they look like after they have been cleaned. To clean an apricot, I run water on 'spray' lightly and rub dirt off with my thumb. Then you slice them in half and cut off any spots. Spots where they rubbed branches, or where birds took a bite, or they are bruised, or spoiled. No need to peel. As you can see these are beautiful. After this, you can decide what you want to make. (I usually decide as soon as I get these donations.) These are going to be apricot pineapple jam. Maybe a cobbler. I also want to dehydrate a few, and freeze the rest.
When I make jam, I put them through an old fashioned, hand cranked, meat grinder. I like the way it makes the fruit easy to spread.
When I freeze fruit for jam, I measure it out in one-batch bags, and add lemon juice. Lemon juice is added in the recipe for jam, so I add it in the fruit because it will also keep it from turning brown. Squeeze out all the air, seal tightly, and label bag. I put the date, who gave me the fruit, what kind of fruit, how much (the measure in cups) and how much lemon juice.
When I freeze them in jam-batches I can always have fresh jam whenever I want it. It is easier to freeze the fruit and make the jam later when you have time or all the supplies. Plus, it takes up less space.
You can also lay the apricot halves on a cookie sheet and freeze. When they are frozen, put them in a zip-lock baggie. Then you can pull a few out and add it too your smoothie. When you put frozen fruit in your smoothie, you don't need to add ice. Ice just waters down your drink. If my smoothie is too thick, I just add a little apple juice or coconut milk.
The only thing to watch is that the fruit chunks are not too big. They won't blend up well and you get big chunks. Maybe you like that. It just gets caught in my straw.
Anyway...The jam will be coming later.
When I make jam, I put them through an old fashioned, hand cranked, meat grinder. I like the way it makes the fruit easy to spread.
When I freeze fruit for jam, I measure it out in one-batch bags, and add lemon juice. Lemon juice is added in the recipe for jam, so I add it in the fruit because it will also keep it from turning brown. Squeeze out all the air, seal tightly, and label bag. I put the date, who gave me the fruit, what kind of fruit, how much (the measure in cups) and how much lemon juice.
When I freeze them in jam-batches I can always have fresh jam whenever I want it. It is easier to freeze the fruit and make the jam later when you have time or all the supplies. Plus, it takes up less space.
You can also lay the apricot halves on a cookie sheet and freeze. When they are frozen, put them in a zip-lock baggie. Then you can pull a few out and add it too your smoothie. When you put frozen fruit in your smoothie, you don't need to add ice. Ice just waters down your drink. If my smoothie is too thick, I just add a little apple juice or coconut milk.
The only thing to watch is that the fruit chunks are not too big. They won't blend up well and you get big chunks. Maybe you like that. It just gets caught in my straw.
Anyway...The jam will be coming later.