12 November 2009

Brandied Apricot Jam

Recently, I was searching for fruit to jam (I no longer had fresh fruit), so I entered the depths of my Grandmother's cold storage (aka, her freezer down in the cellar) and pulled out what looked to be mashed up peaches. I was excited, as earlier this year I learned the wonders of ginger peach jam, but as I got the mush thawed, I couldn't quite place the taste (apricots have, unfortunately, not been a mainstay in my family's fruit selection). However, I had someone at hand that placed it quite quickly: Apricots! And then I was on the search...which yielded a comment on the Simply Recipes page about Apricots! singing the praises of Brandied Apricot Jam as the absolute best the commenter had tasted in her life--good enough for me, I thought, I'm sold. So I followed the directions on my Sure-Jell (R) pectin for apricot jam, with unflavored brandy to taste:

5 cups prepared apricot (mine were quite mushed)
1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh)
7/8 cup brandy (I added by the ounce until I was happy with the taste)
1 box pectin
7 cups sugar

While I may not put it as the best I've ever had, I think that's because I love almost all jams, jellies, etc. that I've ever tasted. The result, though, was very tasty. The unflavored brandy is subtle, but does lend a distinct difference to the taste of the apricot jam. I am curious as to whether the reviewer on Simply Recipes had the jam with unflavored brandy or, say, apricot brandy (that might be something to test next time), but I'm going to call this a success either way.

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