This last couple of weeks have revolved around giving away & processing our bountiful apricot crop. Our apricot tree is the first to bloom in the Spring. Often the blooms are blown off the tree or newly formed buds get frozen. Not so this year. I had to thin the buds just so they would have room to grow. Our tree yields two varieties of apricots: some larger, orange apricots & many more of the smaller, yellow type. They taste about the same, but the yellow ones tend to ripen first. We have learned to pick our fruit before it is fully ripe to beat the wasps, birds & other natural robbers. This year the grasshoppers not only ate almost all of our green bean plants, but flew into the apricot tree to eat the fruit while it was still green. As shown in the picture, we laid the fruit on tarps in a spare downstairs bedroom to ripen. We gave apricots to friends & family and I started canning 7 quarts at a time. I stopped at 50 quarts & began cooking & canning apricot syrup (7 quarts) & jam (2 quarts, 1 pint). All my deserts for the Beth Tephila meals on Shabbat have featured apricots... apricot crisp, apricot bars, plain apricots in bags to take home. Louis & I are fighting diarrhea from eating so many recently. Actually, I don't want to process another apricot for at least a year!!
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Apricots & more apricots
This last couple of weeks have revolved around giving away & processing our bountiful apricot crop. Our apricot tree is the first to bloom in the Spring. Often the blooms are blown off the tree or newly formed buds get frozen. Not so this year. I had to thin the buds just so they would have room to grow. Our tree yields two varieties of apricots: some larger, orange apricots & many more of the smaller, yellow type. They taste about the same, but the yellow ones tend to ripen first. We have learned to pick our fruit before it is fully ripe to beat the wasps, birds & other natural robbers. This year the grasshoppers not only ate almost all of our green bean plants, but flew into the apricot tree to eat the fruit while it was still green. As shown in the picture, we laid the fruit on tarps in a spare downstairs bedroom to ripen. We gave apricots to friends & family and I started canning 7 quarts at a time. I stopped at 50 quarts & began cooking & canning apricot syrup (7 quarts) & jam (2 quarts, 1 pint). All my deserts for the Beth Tephila meals on Shabbat have featured apricots... apricot crisp, apricot bars, plain apricots in bags to take home. Louis & I are fighting diarrhea from eating so many recently. Actually, I don't want to process another apricot for at least a year!!
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3 comments:
Hi CML!
You and my sister! I feel so un-housewifely when I read about all you two do with your preserving! Too much fruit will certainly give the trots! Yikes!
One of our pear trees was loaded this year too. I canned 11 quart jars & then just gave away the rest of the fruit. I "can" so the fruit doesn't go to waste, but it can be a hot & tiring job... whereas making apple cider from our apples is often one of the most fun events of my early Fall. We usually invite one or more couples over to our home to fellowship as we squeeze the apples in the cider press. Maybe I should make the canning more of a fellowship time with others as well. Wish you lived closer, Carol-Ann, so I could invite you to participate.
I'm sure there would be a lot to learn as well as a lot of fun in participating in a jam session, Cary!
Well, our apple activity each year consists of raking hundreds of itty-bitty crabs out of the grass in front of the house! Kinza and I did that chore just the other day and then we attacked the still heavy-laden limbs with rakes! I'm afraid to say I feel like that little apple no-good tree laughs at us each year! We dumped three FULL wheel barrows loads of crabs in the field nearby.
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