Lavender Apricot Preserve Recipe

When I was a young girl, I was the kind that was sent to her grandparent’s house with her sisters and cousins during the summer. To a house high into the Umpqua Valley, with a wire fence, and a lot of property located on the river. We would run away from the bees, catch grasshoppers, and searched for the largest lizards we could find. The sounds of the river would harmonize with the harsh squawking sounds of the turkey vultures in the distance. 

As we explored, my grandparents would tend to their garden full of fresh fruits and vegetables. A hobby they enjoyed together, a way for them to let time pass by. Their hands covered in dirt, sun hats on the top of their heads, and smiles shared in a world so vast, a forest I saw in my naive brown eyes. As I imagined what my reality was, my grandparents spent time in the kitchen preserving and canning their crop from the garden. Not realizing that the sweet taste of homemade jam on buttered toast would one day become a memory and a flavor of a life so simple. A life so pure.

Yields: 16 oz 

Ingredients: 

• 311 grams Fresh Rival Apricots (Pitted and quartered)
• 300 grams Granulated Sugar
• 2 TB Lemon Juice
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp Lavender (Optional)

Method of Procedure:

1. In a bowl, mix the apricots, sugar, and lemon juice together, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to release the fruit’s juices. 
2. Take the mixture and put it in a sauce pan, turn on medium heat, stirring every once in a while, let simmer for 15 minutes. Until soft.
3. Mash the apricots until chunky, but well incorporated. 
4. Add salt and lavender, let simmer until thick, 15 more minutes.
5. Remove from heat, add lemon zest.
6. Let cool, and store in a container.

*Variation:  

1. With  this specific recipe, you can substitute the apricots for peaches, and plums.
2. For other fruit, you can use the same fruit to sugar ratio. 311 g fruit to 300 g granulated sugar.
3. Add any type of citrus juice and zest, such as orange, lime, and grapefruit to brighten up the preserves.  

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