When apricots come into season with that beautiful pink blush, I just have to make this recipe. It’s smooth, sweet, and bursts with the orange-y-peach flavour that I expect from apricots. Because this is a long-cooking butter, it also has a caramelized flavour that I appreciate.
I constantly get requests for this from friends and family as it really brings back the flavours of summer. Also, it is amazing swirled into a plain New York style cheesecake – yum! Be careful though, it’s addictive!
Original recipe is from the Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving
Silky Apricot Butter
Serves: Approx. 6 x 250 mL jars
Ingredients
- 3 Lbs Apricots, pitted and chopped
- ½ cup Water
- 3 cups Sugar
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
Method
- Combine apricots and water.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring often until apricots are soft, about 20 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, puree apricots until smooth and uniform in texture. Don't liquefy! (You should get about 6 cups pureed.)
- Add the sugar, and stir until dissolved.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
- Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring more and more frequently as it reduces.
- Reduce until you can drop a small amount onto a chilled plate and it holds its shape and does not get a ring of liquid around it. Then I let it go just a little bit longer 🙂
- Stir in lemon juice.
- Put into hot jars leaving ¼ inch head space.
- Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.