Quick Honeyed Apricot Jam

Here in France, the staple household breakfast  is a couple ‘tartines.’ Basically, bread/toast with butter and jam. And although this is not usually my breakfast of choice, somehow – the French just do it right. Bakery fresh bread, a nice warm bowl of coffee, delicious jams and spreads. Even the here butter taste better.

 A few weeks ago – I was invited to join a couple new friends on a 2 day hike through the French and Swiss Alps. Keen to meet new people and experience new thing – I accepted, even though I wasn’t sure I would be able to keep up. It was so beautiful. Stunning. Gorgeous. Majestic. Whatever you want to call it, the views were spectacular. On the second day we even got a panoramic view of the snow covered peak of the Mont-Blanc.

We stayed the night in a swiss refuge, where the next morning they served breakfast to 30 + people. I was expecting something bland and easy to produce – white sandwich bread with butter. But oh was I happy to be wrong. Freshly baked whole grain loaves with homemade apricot jam served up with coffee and tea. It was indeed simple. But so perfect and so, so delicious. I think I ate 6 slices. They were small, I swear, and I definitely needed the energy!

 A few weeks later now and my blisters have healed – but I am still dreaming about the apricot jam from the refuge. It was so bright and fresh, I could have eaten up with a spoon. So – after a couple trial and errors in the kitchen, I have come up with something that comes pretty close. Well, close enough without having to hike the 25km to get the real deal yourself. Ya – this one will do.


QUICK HONEYED APRICOT JAM

I call this quick jam because it comes together in no time and there is no special preserving required, but I guess its more of a fruit compote. It makes one portion that keeps nicely in a mason jar. I’m sure this would also be delicious with many other fruits; cherries, peaches, plums – whatever is in season – pick your favorite!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pound fresh apricots (about 15 apricots)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon unrefined cane sugar
Juice + zest of a medium orange

Instructions

Peel, pit and slice the apricots. Place all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, bring to a boil.

Let boil for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken and then reduce the heat

Continue stirring so no bits get stuck the to bottom, until the jam has come together in a thick consistency

Remove from heat and let cool

Blend with a hand held immersion blender, leaving some fruit still intact (not so much to make it a puree). This step is totally up to you – if you likes the looks of the jam without doing this, please keep it this way. Its just my personal preferences to blend it up for a second or two.

Spread on toast immediately or just eat with a spoon

Store in the fridge in a sealed container for up to two weeks


Let me in on your kitchen creations – tag your photos #happyheartedkitchen and share the love!

1 Comment

  • Reply
    Oliver Bishop
    January 30, 2017 at 9:39 am

    Wooow.. French guys really know how to college and how to make it beautiful. I really want to try to make such jam. Hope it to be as tasty as beautiful. Of course, if something can distract me from teen webcam site. These guys know how to do their job even better than French can cook.

  • Leave a Reply