Blog: Got an apricot, plum, or nectarine fruit glut? Try this easy recipe
One of the problems, or delights, with stone fruit (apricots, nectarines, plums, damsons) is that they all tend to ripen at once, leaving you with a glut. Try this easy apricot compote with Northumbrian honey and vanilla.
You can’t eat them all fresh, and they go off quickly. By all means, give them away, but it’s great to be able to preserve the fruits of your labours to eat when shop prices are high. However, jam-making means buying equipment, saving jars, etc, and many people just aren’t comfortable with all of that malarkey (to be honest, I’ve tried, and I’m the only one who eats it, so it’s a waste of time).
However, there is another way. Compotes aren’t as sweet as jam, they’re looser, need no special preserving gubbins and are very easy to make. They don’t keep as long, but will store in the fridge for a couple of weeks and freeze excellently, so that’s what I do.
Apricot compote – Easy and forgiving
This recipe is adaptable to most soft fruits and is very forgiving. I ended up using 7lb of fruit, which fit into a large stockpot. Increase or decrease quantities according to what you have, and don’t be afraid to add more honey or sugar to taste. More fruit compote recipes.
By happy chance, my friend Ian is a beekeeper in Northumberland. You’ll find his honey under the Northumbrian Honey label (other kinds of honey are available, so don’t feel too bad if you can’t get any). To try his honey, visit the online shop at hedgeleyhoney.co.uk. Weights are approximate, but keep the ratio of liquid to fruit the same; otherwise, it might burn or become too watery.
Ingredients
- 7lbs/3kg apricots*
- Approx 8oz/200g Northumbrian honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Zest of one lemon, peeled into large strips
- Juice of one fresh lemon
- 6.5fl oz/200ml water
*Whether the fruit is ripe or slightly unripe will affect how sweet the finished product is and how long it will take to cook. My apricots were still quite firm, so they took longer.
Apricot compote – Method
- Half the apricots and remove the stones and any bad areas, and put them in a large pan as you work.
- Add the honey, vanilla extract, lemon zest, lemon juice and water. Stir on medium-low heat until the apricots begin to release their juices.
- Turn the heat up to medium and gently simmer the apricots, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft (leaving some bits a bit bigger gives a more interesting texture). As I had a large pan of slightly underripe fruit, mine took about 30 minutes to reach this stage – just use your common sense if yours cooks more quickly.
- Have a taste and add more honey if needed. You can remove the lemon zest if you want. Serve warm or cold and it will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge.
- I leave mine to cool in the pan, then spoon it into small sauce/soup freezer bags and freeze it for my breakfast with granola and plain yoghurt.
For more ideas on preserving, read my review of The Jam Maker’s Garden.
this was exactly what I was looking for easy and no refined sugar thanks so much. I will change one thing though sub the honey for maple syrup. Honey unfortunately goes rancid in high heats. I might try cooking with out sugar then add the honey in in the cooling stage just to see what’s happens. 🙂
Thank you – but we don’t have that problem with honey in Northern England! You’d get a richer flavour with maple syrup.