My California - Homegrown Apricots

derekrichardson (67)adminin SoCal Steemit • 4 days ago

For this weeks Show Us Your California contest by @socalsteemit I share some pictures from my...

Homegrown Apricots!!

So this year my apricot tree put out an amazing harvest of probably well over 200 tasty apricots!! Unfortunately they all ripen around the same time so I had WAAAAY more apricots than I could ever eat. I gave some away to friends and family when I'd see them, but there was so many that I had to find ways of preserving them so they didn't all just go bad. So I took a bunch of them and sliced them in half and laid them out on trays and filled up my dehydrator and dehydrated them making tasty snacks that will be good for months. Then I decided to try making some apricot jam. It was my first time making jam, but I ended up making a few batches and they all came out great!! It wasn't too hard... I cut up the apricots then threw them in a pot with a little bit of butter and cooked them down for a bit until they were soft. Then I added a little fresh lemon juice and a little fresh orange juice which I am also lucky to have growing here at my home. I brought that to a simmer and then added some water and sugar and then slow cooked it for about 45 minutes or so until it was getting nice and mushy and starting to thicken up. After that I jarred it up in mason jars and put them in my pressure cooker and cooked them for 15 minutes at 15 psi to sterilize them and seal the lids ensuring freshness for several months. I made 2 big quart jars or myself and a bunch of small half pint jars to give away to friends and family. Two of which I've already given out. And with my big jars I've already been making some great peanut butter and apricot jam sandwiches that have been absolutely delicious. So needless to say as long as my apricot tree keeps producing like this I'll be making more jam every year!