Apricot thoughts

[magid]

Two years ago, my neighbor down the street was kind enough to share his apricot bounty when his tree started fruiting exuberantly. It was the first year it had done so since he planted it, and the thought was that it had matured enough to have a crop annually. Except that last year was a bust (not sure how much of that can be laid at the door of the Month o' Rain we had). But this year, it's come back full force, so I'm again with apricot options. Last time I made chutney, jam, and a couple of kinds of liqueurs. This time I started with liqueurs, a plain apricot batch, and another with three green jalapenos I picked on the porch. I'm considering another batch with Pretty in Purple peppers, some of which are still purple, and some of which have ripened to red. Or perhaps apricot-sage, or apricot-basil (other porch herb options include shiso, mint, oregano, thyme, and chives (also marigolds and nasturtiums). And I could use something other than vodka as the base (gin (which I'd have to acquire), or perhaps rum). Other, non-alcoholic possibilities: chutney (with or without cranberries), jam (ditto, or hot peppers for a bit more zing), pickled (with cinnamon in a sweet vinegar solution, a la peach pickles), halved and frozen for later. And of course eating out of hand, or in fresh dishes (such as sea perch stuffed with apricots and scallions, to choose a non-random example). Suggestions? Opinions on herb pairings?

Comments

[queue.livejournal.com]

This made me think of the crabapple tree we had in our front yard in South Bend. It would have a bumper crop every other year. I've always wondered if this was because we never harvested them, and so the bumper crop years would leave a lot on the ground right at the base of the tree, and this somehow signaled the tree that it wasn't worth it to produce so much fruit the next year.

No apricot ideas from me, as I've not really had much experience with apricots other than as store-bought jam.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Or maybe the tree just exhausted itself and needed a year off?

(There's a crabapple tree across the street; I'm considering asking if I can harvest the fruit when it ripens, though I've never used crabapples before.)

[tapuz.livejournal.com]

For me, the alcohol that comes to mind for peaches is amaretto

(really, as a complement, not as an "eeewww there's poison in the pit" reaction!)

[magid.livejournal.com]

Oh, interesting! I'd been using very neutral booze to let the fruit flavors come through, but almond would compliment apricot well. *ponders*

[currentlee.livejournal.com]

can you get some apricots for me, too?

[magid.livejournal.com]

I can likely bring some tomorrow night.

(And can I get a half bushel when you order peach seconds?)

[currentlee.livejournal.com]

sure, that would be awesome.
(oh, and do you have any votes on what flavor of ice cream i should make?)

[magid.livejournal.com]

(no particular flavor comes to mind, but if I bring apricots over earlier, would you like to put them in?)

[currentlee.livejournal.com]

nah, i think i'm going to do double vanilla with dark chocolate flakes.

[magid.livejournal.com]

That sounds fabulous.

[cellio]

I don't think I've encountered pickled fruit before. I assume you do them whole rather than cut?

Brandy works well with both apricots and peaches in my limited experience. (Haven't done either myself but have a friend who's done both and shared.)

I wonder how well apricots would work in a cobbler.

Jam and chutney sound good.

Darn, now I'm hungry. :-)

[magid.livejournal.com]

The pickled apples and peaches I did were in thick wedges; if there were fruit without any seeds inside, I might consider doing them whole.

Apricot cobbler would be yummy, I'm sure (a friend makes apricot pie, and anything that works in pie works in cobbler, I assume).

Hope you have snacks if you want them :-)