2 cup dried apricot halves, halved
2 1/2 cup water
1 juice and grated peel of>>>>
1 orange
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 tbsp brandy or congac
Directions
1) Combine apricots and water in a bowl, cover, and let stand
overnight, or until soft and well plumped--abt 12 hrs. 2) Combine
apricots and their soaking water in saucepan with the orange peel and
juice and simmer for 5 min. 3) Add the sugar and bring to boil,
stirring. Boil gently, stirring often, until the mixture is thick and
shiny anb begins to clear the sides of the pan when stirred. While
mixture thickens, be sure to stir it continually but gently, so that
the fruit does not burn or get squashed. DO NOT ALLOW THE MIXTURE TO
COOK DOWN TO A PUREE; it should retain good-sized bits of apricot.
This step will take abt. 30 min., but will vary. 4) Remove the
preserve from heat and stir in almond extract and brandy. 5) Ladle
into 3 half-pint canning jars, prepared in usual manner and seal with
sterilized 2 pc. screw-on lids. 6) Cool and let mellow several weeks
or more before serving.
Yield: 3 half-pint jars Makes excellent gift !!!
Servings: 3 servings
Brandied Apricot Jam Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fruit
The History of Recipes
We can read the history of `recipes` far back into the far past, in fact as far back into recorded history as the early Egyptians, and possibly even further than that. Having said that, sadly, these old cookbooks were just very simple pictorial recipes for food preparation.
In fact, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to experts is a series of stone tablets in ancient Sumerian which describe the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made people feel blissful. Later on, in Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius created some documents showing how to cook the recipes prepared by his fellow Romans. In his works, Apicius tells us how the meals were divided into starters, main course and dessert, a style of dining still practiced today. Aspicius informs us how the cooks of his times were skilled in the use of many herbs and spices, including many that are still in use today such as basil, mint and parsley. Later on, we find a couple of books dating from the 14th Century - a recipe book called `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, they are not about the indian food that is popular today, but instead recipes for the types of food prepared by the chefs of the upper classes of the time. Later on in the 1400s, people returning from the crusades brought back many new foods, spices and herbs from Arab countries, such as coriander, basil and rosemary. These new spices and herbs was responsible for a torrent in recipe publications, many of which are kept safe in private libraries. For the next few years, the powerful and rich strove to serve the most exotic banquets, and as a consequence, cooks and their recipes became highly prized. Even so, it was during the nineteenth century that haute cuisine and recipe collections reached a high level of popularity. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collating, verifying, and recording the recipes that were being prepared for the better households. By the advent of the twentieth century, cookbooks are starting to become popular due to more people being able to read, people having more free time and disposable income. The introduction of the TV gave us celebrity TV chefs and the accompanying recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everyone to access massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on our web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Brandied Apricot Jam recipe.
