Apricot Preserves w/ Bitter Almond
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My favorite way to eat preserves - on bread with cheese!
This recipe is inspired by French country fare. Flavoring the apricots with their own pits (plus some extra almonds) deepens the apricot flavor, plus adds a touch of almond flavor. I also use a mild local honey to impart more flavor that compliments the apricots without overpowering with sugary-sweetness like so many fruit preserves.
But, Constance! Those pits contain cyanide! Is this how you plan to dispense of Marc?
Never fear, friends! I’m not planning an Arsenic & Old Lace situation. Yes, the pits of an apricot (or peach or cherry) contain amygdalin, which breaks down into cyanide, but a) you’d have to consume like 70+ kernels to get sick, and b) heating or soaking eliminates the poison.
The kernel is often referred to as ‘bitter almond’ and it’s used to flavor almond extract & pastes as well as liqueurs like the Italian amaretto & French créme de noyaux. So…why not partake, too? Crack open an apricot pit & check it out. It’s true, it’s true—it tastes like a very potent almond! Plus, I love any recipe that helps me utilize all parts of the fruit. (If you haven’t already guessed, I took the remainder of the pits and began my own brew of bitter almond liquor! More on that soonest.)
The flavor of these apricot preserves reminds me of my childhood. When I was a kid, Santa stuffed our stocking with amardeen, but we just called it “deen.” Amardeen is an apricot paste of apricots, sugar, and olive oil made near Damascus (think the best fruit roll-up ever). And because apricots were not common in the south, the taste of that paste during the holidays was a magical treat!
Pit vs. kernel
Gratefully, the fresh apricots at the farmer’s market are absolutely gorgeous this time of year—they look like pure sunshine—and taste so much better than anything you find in a grocery store. Grab a few pounds and preserve their flavor for winter. Of course you can eat preserves with butter & toast, but my favorite is to pair it with almost any kind of cheese for a snack or charcuterie spread. And if you have someone special with whom you’d like to share (my mother comes to mind!), these little jars of sunshine demonstrate the best of your love!
Smooches, y’all - !
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This is why they’re called preserves
Apricot Preserves w/ Bitter Almond
ingredients
3 lbs fresh apricots
1 ½ c local raw honey
juice of 1 lemon
4 apricot kernels (extracted from the pit)
¼ c raw almonds
method
cut open apricots & remove the pits (if you cut pole to pole, 90 degrees from the “seam” it makes removal of the pits far easier; you can grab the pit without bruising the fruit.) combine apricots halves, honey, & lemon juice in heavy-bottomed sauce pan & stir.
take 4 pits and crack them open with a nut cracker (or hammer, if necessary). remove the kernel (bitter almond) from inside the pit & chop four kernels along with the almonds. wrap them together in a cheesecloth and add the packet to the pan of apricots. let them sit to macerate for about an hour.
after the maceration period, heat the apricots over medium-low heat. stir regularly for 20 minutes until the apricots start to soften. at this point, you can use a potato masher or the back of a spoon to help break them down more. watch the mixture more carefully as it simmers now to determine consistency and stir often to prevent burning. when the spoon or spatula can “clear space” at the bottom of the pan, the preserves are close to done. check how the preserve drops off your spoon; if it’s thick, you are done. (it will thicken even more after you jar them & the mixture cools.)
remove almond packet & ladle preserves into four 8 or 8.5 oz. prepared jars. if you plan to can, wipe the rims, apply lids & rings, and process in water bath for 12 minutes.
makes scant 5 cups
DEEELISH!