Hostesses, even on warm summer days, do not have the right to completely relax, because it is at this time of year that nature gives us fresh fruits, vegetables and berries, which must be processed and made up for the winter.
Mistresses especially appreciate various apricot harvestings. Firstly, thanks to a huge selection of options: preservation of apricots in syrup, in its own juice, preserves and compotes, jams and much more. Secondly, these are one of those fruits that, when boiled, retain their entire useful composition. Vitamins, as well as a unique aroma - all this remains even after heat treatment.
Preservation: apricot compote
One of the most popular recipes is cooking compotes. Fragrant and incredibly tasty drink will give pleasant warm memories of the summer in the harsh winter evening. There is nothing complicated about this recipe. Even a novice housewife will be able to cope with the conservation of apricots and delight their households with a vitamin drink in the winter.
The following ingredients will be required:
- Ripe apricots.
- Sugar at the rate of 250 grams per can of 3 liters.
- Water.
How to cook
For cooking, ripe but still elastic fruits should be selected. Thoroughly washing them, it will be necessary to remove the bones. Of course, the process is quite laborious, especially if you need to process a large number of berries. You can close the compote and with the seeds, but then you still have to get rid of them. Therefore, it is better to do this in advance, spending a little of your precious time. The result, believe me, is worth it.
Arrange the prepared fruits in three-liter jars. Do not fill the jars too much. It is enough to put one third of the fruits of the total container. Pour boiling water into a jar and wait about ten minutes. This time is needed so that the banks are warmed up properly. Now pour the water from the cans into a pre-prepared saucepan. Add the required amount of sugar there and bring the syrup to a boil.
Again, pour boiling water into the jars and close them with lids. It is better if you use metal covers and a special rolling key. In this case, preserving apricot for the winter will not present unpleasant surprises in the form of an exploded lid.
Apricot Jam with Oranges
Another recipe for preserving apricots, which we recommend focusing on, is jam. Of course, modern housewives do not make jam as often as our grandmothers. But those who do this will certainly appreciate the delicious and amazingly fragrant recipe.
Immediately, we note that by the result you will get surprisingly tender, not at all cloying and moderately thick jam. In addition, this recipe for preserving apricots has two other significant advantages: no sterilization and no hours of cooking.
The following products will be required:
- Apricots - 1 kg.
- A small bag of gelatin - 10 g.
- Sugar - 500 g.
- Two large oranges.
Process
If for stewed fruit we took strong dense fruits, then for jam, on the contrary, we choose the most ripe, even too soft apricots. Small or unripe, with spots or dents do not take. Rinse the fruits and remove the seeds. With the help of a kitchen assistant - a blender - we grind apricots and turn them into a homogeneous gruel. If you do not have a blender at hand, then you can use a conventional meat grinder with a fine mesh.
We take two containers. In one rub the zest of two oranges. In another squeeze orange juice. Mix gelatin with granulated sugar, calculating its amount according to the available fruit volume. Add the dry mixture to the pan with apricot puree. Mix. Turn on the medium heat and wait until it boils.
It should be noted that such a recipe for preserving apricots takes a minimum of time, so do not worry that you "sag" with jam in the kitchen all day. As soon as the mass boils, we detect three minutes and add the zest with orange juice. After a couple of minutes, you can turn on the fire. The jam is done.
Preserving apricots with slices
Another interesting blank option. This recipe for apricot jam called “Suns” will take longer to prepare, but as a result you will get amazingly beautiful and amazingly aromatic jam. It will retain the maximum of useful substances that are sometimes so necessary for our body on cold winter evenings. Jam "Suns" can not only be served on the festive table, but also used to make pancakes, pies and pies, cheesecakes and other sweet pastries.
Essential Ingredients:
Sugar is added at the rate of 1 kg of fruit and 0.8 kg of sugar. Depending on the amount of apricots, the amount of the sweet component will also change. Remember that the calculation of the weight of the fruit is already without taking seeds.
Cooking
We start cooking with the usual procedure for washing the fruit and removing the hard core. Divide the fruits into three parts. We put the first part in the container, fill it with one third of the sugar volume. So do the rest of the two parts. It turns out a kind of multi-layer apricot-sugar "pie". Do not forget that there should also be a small layer of granulated sugar on top, so pre-calculate the volume of bulk product.
Cover the dishes with gauze and leave them in a cool dark place for ten to twelve hours. Yes, preserving apricots for the winter takes some time, but, as you can see, it takes almost no effort.
After that, put the dishes on a strong fire and wait for the foam to form. Reduce the flame, remove the foam. Again, make the fire on the stove a little stronger and look forward to a second boil. As soon as the second batch of foam is removed, you can turn off the jam. Leave it to stand and be fed with syrup for another three or four hours. Lays a sweet treat on the banks, close the lids, turn over and wait for it to cool.
Tips
- The conservation of apricots, like other berries and stone fruits, does not tolerate oversights. No rotten or just about to make fruit.
- Wash the fruits well. One piece of dust, earth, a piece of leaf - everything can affect the quality and shelf life of jam or compote.
- You can roll apricots in any jars and under any lids. The main thing is that they are well sterilized, washed with soda and scalded with boiling water before laying the finished product.
- As a rule, citric acid is not put in apricot compotes. Such fruits perfectly tolerate the conservation process. However, too hard water in the tap can cause a "can explosion", so half a teaspoon of citric acid in each three-liter jar will not be superfluous.
- By the way, apricots are fruits that perfectly tolerate freezing. Remove the seeds, rinse and dry the apricots. Lay it out on a tray and place it in the freezer. After complete freezing, put the apricots in bags and put them in the final freezer storage.