July 30, 2025 • 25 mins
Anna and Jenny talk about how to preserve apricots including freezing, canning, acidifying them to retain color with ascorbic acid, and pureeing. Stay tuned for next week
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the PerfectlyPreserved Podcast.
I'm your host Jenny Gomes.
And I'm Anna Cash.
Here we come together to bringyou a podcast all about
preserving food safely, easily,and dare I say, perfectly.
At home.
We are master food preserversmoms wives, and we love talking
about canning.
ready to can like a masterpreserver.
(00:21):
Let's get into today's episode.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-202 (00:23):
Welcome back to another episode of The
Perfectly Preserved podcast.
I am Jenny and I'm here with myco-host, Anna, and we are here
to talk all things apricots.
And when Anna and I wereplanning this episode, we got so
excited.
We have so many things to share.
Best practices.
We're freezing, canning, purerain, acidifying, keeping that
beautiful golden color.
(00:45):
If you love this episode, besure to tune in next week
because we're gonna have anepisode devoted specifically to
apricot jams and jellies,barbecue sauce, recipe ideas,
how to dehydrate, get them gummysoft.
Stick around.
We have so many great apricotspecific tips and tricks for
you.
And if you haven't left us areview, please take a second and
(01:07):
go to that purple OT podcasticon and leave us a review.
It really helps the show grow.
Anna and I both have resourcesavailable to help you on your
canning journey.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (01:16):
have resources
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (01:17):
Go to smart home canning.com.
Anna has video courses that arevery affordably priced and it'll
be like Anna is in your kitchenwith you I offer my cookbook The
Pressure Canning Cookbook?
And it's available anywherebooks are available.
At an independent bookstore oron Amazon.
Anna and I are so grateful thatyou're here for another season
(01:37):
of Perfectly Preserved.
Anna is arguably an apricotqueen.
She has more apricots growingwhere she lives than I do.
It's definitely a quintessentialAnna specialty.
Anna, tell us all the thingsabout Apricot.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (01:52):
I'm really lucky where I live here
in northern Utah, in Ogden,Utah, there are so many apricot
trees that go unpicked.
I feel a little bit sad thatsome people don't have that
experience, especially canners.
I have people that comment onInstagram all across the country
that are like, oh, can you shipme some apricots?
And I'm like, I love you.
(02:13):
But the answer is no.
It's so much work.
Just today, I dropped off 115pounds of apricots to our local
food bank.
This weekend we were pickinghere in North Ogden and got
about six crates
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (02:29):
Wow.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (02:30):
it feels so good to donate to the
food bank.
That just tells you how muchreadily available apricots there
are in my area.
So I know a little bit aboutapricots.
When we first moved to Ogden in2009 in our front yard was this
gorgeous apricot tree, and itwas really my foray into
canning.
(02:50):
When.
You have a really mature apricottree, it will produce like you
cannot believe.
apricots are a little bitdifferent.
They are a stone fruit and theyrarely take a year off like
some, other fruit trees.
Sometimes they'll have an offyear, right?
Like apples maybe will have anoff year or plums or whatever.
(03:11):
But I found apricots are justpretty much full on all the
time.
Apricots came from China, over4,000 years ago.
Today the United States producesclose to 90% of the world's
apricots most being grown inCalifornia.
Here in northern Utah, I live inan area that used to be orchards
in North Ogden, there wereapricot orchards and there are
(03:34):
still some surviving trees fromthere.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (03:36):
They really are super beautiful.
When I visited Anna I was struckby how many
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (03:44):
How
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (03:44):
fruit trees there were, and
specifically how many apricottrees.
They were just literally inevery yard.
It seemed like.
It seemed like they were just apart of every home.
And being from California, I amvery attuned to the fact that
the state produces a lot of.
They produce a lot ofeverything, but a lot of orchard
crops and a lot of apricots.
(04:05):
But the fact that they're innearly every city lot, It seemed
really That they were a part ofeverybody's yard.
It was really, really commonclearly a stone fruit tree in
many yards.
It was really neat.
When I was in college, I livedin the city of Chico, which is a
small city at the very tip topof the Central Valley in
(04:26):
California.
And while they didn't have quiteas many stone fruit, they had a
ton of pomegranate trees inpeople's yards.
Some citrus trees, some otherfruit trees, it was a little bit
reminiscent of that.
Like the city lot still retainthose fruit trees.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (04:39):
that, like
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (04:40):
Anna is absolutely an apricot expert
and I'm excited to hear from herall the ways to save that golden
delicious flavor.
If you haven't had a freshapricot from a tree, the ones
that get shipped, just aren'tquite as amazing.
They're definitely worth,seeking out at your local
farmer's market, asking aroundwho's got an apricot tree?
(05:00):
'cause they are delicious.
The first method of preservationfor apricots on our list today
is freezing.
So, Anna, talk to us about howto freeze apricots correctly.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (05:10):
so I can tell you what is recommended
to freeze apricots correctly.
I can also tell you two of theways that I would not recommend
freezing apricots and both ofthose I will tell you after I
tell you the right way to do it.
This comes from the USUextension website.
We will have links to both ofthe documents that we will be
talking about in the show notes.
(05:31):
So the first is a syrup pack,you are going to make a simple
syrup, you're gonna take a halfa cup of syrup into your freezer
bag.
It's going to have the additionof three quarters teaspoon
ascorbic acid per quart.
That helps with keeping yourapricots bright orange.
(05:52):
If you've ever had.
Apricots sit out in the sun ormaybe you froze them whole and
then you are thawing them out.
They have a tendency to go brownreally quickly, and so that
ascorbic acid really helps keepthat beautiful yellow color.
You're gonna ladle a half a cupof syrup into freezer
containers, or I use freezerbags.
(06:14):
Make sure that it's cooled.
You don't wanna put any, hot,simple syrup into a plastic bag.
Once you put the syrup in therewith your apricots, kind of
gently shake the fruit around sothat that liquid can coat and
cover your apricots.
You're going to seal, label andfreeze those.
(06:35):
I do them in freezer bags, butyou can also do them in freezer
containers.
The second way to freeze them isto do a, what's called a sugar
pack.
So you thoroughly mix two thirdscups sugar and a quarter
teaspoon ascorbic acid and setthat aside.
Pit your fruit.
The great thing about apricotsis you don't have to peel them
like you do peaches.
They aren't fuzzy.
(06:57):
So you just pit your peeledfruit and you can slice it if
you want, but then you sprinklethat sugar mixture over it and
gently.
Toss the fruit with the sugarand allow that to sit for about
10 minutes or until the sugardissolves.
you'll Pack into freezercontainers.
The third way is to puree it.
(07:17):
So you're gonna put yourapricots in your blender with
two tablespoons of sugar and aquarter teaspoon of ascorbic
acid.
I've also used Lemon juice witha good success for the puree,
then you're gonna puree that inyour food processor or blender.
you're gonna wanna leave a halfinch head space when you put it
(07:38):
into your freezer container.
they recommend putting a pieceof freezer wrap over the puree
to prevent discoloration, andthen you seal, label and freeze.
So those are the three ways thatthey recommend.
And I'm just gonna share withyou the two ways that messed me
up.
So last year was my first yearhaving an upright freezer and I
(07:59):
was trying to pack a ton ofapricot puree in there.
I just think I did not addenough lemon
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (08:06):
Hmm.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (08:07):
Because when I took it out.
It just all turned brown.
And it was so sad because youspend all this time picking
apricots and pureeing and it's along process.
And then I also did the samethis year.
I was in Alaska at the start ofapricot season, and I was
worried that I wasn't gonna beable to get any apricots.
(08:28):
So I commissioned my littleniece to pick apricots and I
would pay her.
the apricots and then put themin a bowl with water and lemon
juice and then put'em in freezerbags.
And what I found as theseapricots started to defrost is
that all turned brown as well.
Not all of it, but it changedthe color of the jam that I was
(08:50):
making to a darker brown.
And when people purchase jams,they wanna see like a bright.
Orange color, and these just didnot have that.
I've gotta figure out some wayto fix that.
I don't know if it's putting iton the stove while it's frozen
and, quickly heating it or, Idon't know.
I I needed troubleshoot this,but Jenny, have you ever tried
(09:12):
doing this with apricots, likefreezing them?
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (09:16):
No, but I think all the times I've
made apricot into jam, I haveused brown sugar We're gonna
mention a, recipe in the nextepisode, but there's a great
recipe we saw that includesplums and that would be another
darker colored fruit.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (09:33):
And that would be
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (09:34):
If I were in your shoes, it's
different because I'm notcreating jam to sell the way you
are, but I might just lean intothe color change and go brown
sugar, I think brown sugar andapricot go together really great
and they're delicious.
I might use those that gotfrozen this way and try a recipe
that has a little bit of darkercolor to it.
(09:55):
Anyway, that's probably what Iwould do.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (09:57):
I also find that when I make jams and I
put in the vanilla bean paste,it turns A little bit brown,
but.
Yeah.
just things that I think aboutbecause I just want people to
eat with their eyes first, youknow?
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (10:09):
Right.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:10):
like a bright apricot.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (10:12):
Right.
And that's so interesting yousay that about the vanilla
because if you were to buy.
A commercially prepared preservewith vanilla bean,
anna_1_07-21-2025_ (10:20):
commercially
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-20 (10:21):
speckles would be visible,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:23):
manila
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (10:23):
I just don't know how you would
get the speckles without thebrown tone,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:27):
I like the flavor
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (10:28):
yeah, I do too.
Like even vanilla ice cream, ifyou think about it, it's bright
white with
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:33):
ice cream,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2 (10:33):
speckles.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:34):
about
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (10:34):
I wonder how they do that.
Not critically important,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:38):
true.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (10:38):
if you are creating jam.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12 (10:40):
important, but
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (10:41):
goal
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:41):
jams,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (10:42):
To sell it and you want it to be
beautiful, and that's a thing tothink about, but
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:45):
If you want
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (10:46):
we digress.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:47):
that's We are gonna move on to the
second part, which is canning.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-20 (10:50):
apricots are naturally high in acid.
They are a fruit that you canpreserve in a variety of
recipes.
Using your water bath or steamcanner.
We have a ton of beginnerfriendly episodes, in season one
that explain in detail thedifference between water bath,
canning and steam canning.
Both are safe, tested, reliablemethods of preservation for high
(11:12):
acid recipes, which would beapricot recipes.
Water bath, canning.
Your apricots is actually prettysimple and they are a fruit that
works up pretty easily, like thepits come out pretty easily.
I would definitely classify anapricot as a beginner friendly
preserve.
As Anna mentioned, you don'thave to peel them, even though
they are a little fuzzy to thetouch, they're not Very fuzzy
(11:36):
the way peaches are or the waypeaches can be.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (11:38):
very
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (11:39):
that's really helpful, so you don't
have to go through the step ofpeeling.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (11:42):
helpful
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-202 (11:42):
they're not super, they don't naturally
have a lot of pectin, which Ithink I'll let Anna speak to.
So we did do some reading on howbest to get your jams and
jellies to set up.
Water bath, canning apricots isalso possible for making
conserves, which are like a jamand nut.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (12:00):
which are like a
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (12:02):
And next episode we'll share some
great recipes for apricotconserve.
There's lots of great ways thatyou can water bath can.
Actually, Anna maybe this wouldbe a good time for you to
mention how you Just canned theapgo and then later made the
jam.
Is that correct?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (12:18):
the Yeah, that'll be in our next
section under puree.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (12:21):
Great.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (12:23):
One way that I utilize apricots for
later in
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-202 (12:26):
Mm-hmm.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (12:27):
when I'm canning apricots, I think
I've done a hot There's two waysto Can do a hot pack or a raw
And that just means that you'reletting the apricots sit in your
simple syrup and maybe cook alittle bit, five, 10 minutes to
kind of release some of that airout of the apricot and absorb
that But I have one little
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (12:47):
Oh, please.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (12:48):
grandpa used to make canned apricot
halves.
He would put a slice of orangein the bottom and it would not
only preserve the color, but italso would give it an additional
bright flavor,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (13:01):
One slice of an orange.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:03):
It's everything that we're talking
about, right?
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (13:04):
Oh yeah.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:05):
it's got that citric
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (13:07):
huh.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:07):
in the orange and it's just a beautiful
little touch.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (13:11):
There you go.
There's the gold of the wholeepisode.
A slice of orange at the bottomand then just water bath,
scanning the rest.
That's such a fantastic idea.
I've never heard of that, butthat is an easy, accessible,
affordable home run win of a wayto water bath can.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:28):
home run
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (13:28):
That's a great idea.
for our listeners
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:30):
a great
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (13:31):
as a refresher a hot pack is
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:33):
as
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (13:34):
for apricots you would have the
fruit in boiling syrup, juice,or water, and then you would
lale them into hot jars and thena raw pack would
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:44):
label them
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-202 (13:44):
filling your warm jars with raw fruit
cut side down, then add the hotjuice, hot water, or hot syrup.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:52):
add the
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (13:53):
And I mentioned juice as the canning
liquid, you can use fruit juice.
I can't say I've ever done thiswith apricots.
Have you done this,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:01):
I can't say I've I've never used a
fruit juice in, apricot cannedapricots.
I've always only done simplesyrup, but I think it would
taste good.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (14:09):
I think the decision is always
like, am I gonna spend the moneyon the juice I think it could be
really cool, you know, you, Youare spending on the sugar to
make the simple syrup.
So
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:19):
were spending on sugar.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (14:20):
In that way, if you're just buying
a juga juice, it would be alittle bit faster
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:23):
just buying
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (14:24):
than assembling the sugar and the
water to make the simple syrup.
But I just, it probably wouldhave to depend for me
personally, on the price of thejuice and how much you needed to
make your syrup or to make yourcanning liquid.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:36):
make
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (14:36):
That is definitely, something you'll
see in lots of canningliterature for water bath
canning
anna_1_07-21-2025_121 (14:40):
something you'll
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (14:41):
is using a fruit syrup,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:42):
bath
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (14:43):
And a fruit dip for dehydrating, or
a liquid
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:46):
a fruit dip
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (14:46):
to dip your dehydrated
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:48):
a
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (14:49):
fruit in before you dehydrated it.
It's a very commonrecommendation and
anna_1_07-21-2025_1 (14:52):
dehydrated.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (14:53):
if you had juice on hand that was a
good flavor that was affordable,I would say try that all day
long because it can add a reallyfun flavor add naturally
occurring Vitamin C.
Be an easy flavor boost.
But in terms of just water bathcanning, I think there's so many
good sets of directionsavailable on cooperative
extension websites and theNational Center for Home Food
(15:15):
Preservation with apricots youcould find good directions, on
either of those websites forsure.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (15:20):
I would add one thing.
If you're doing canned apricotsand you're doing a hot pack,
sometimes you're leftover withsome of that simple syrup that
the apricots have It also has alittle bit of that apricot
flavor.
I've taken that simple syrup andadded it to club soda.
To make a fizzy drink.
It's really nice.
I've done that with peaches aswell.
(15:40):
If you add a little bit of lemonor basil or some fresh herb it's
so delicious for a summer drink.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (15:47):
Do you rot back your apricots?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (15:49):
want It depends how firm they
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (15:52):
Hmm.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (15:53):
So apricots that are very firm, I
will hot pack.
If they're very soft, I will rawpack because at that point, if
I'm cooking them even more, theytend to disintegrate and lose
their shape.
So just depends on if my aresoft or hard.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (16:11):
I was gonna ask do you see when
you're canning, let's say halvesof apricots.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:15):
you see
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (16:16):
Do they have the same trouble with
siphoning that peach halves do
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:20):
have the same trouble?
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2 (16:22):
Sometimes do?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:23):
Yeah, I haven't noticed that as much,
but explain to our listenerswhat is siphoning and why does
it happen with peaches?
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (16:30):
Sure.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:31):
never heard of.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (16:32):
Sure.
When you're water bath canning,I would say the most notorious
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:36):
you're water
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (16:37):
would be peach halves.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121 (16:39):
Something that
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (16:40):
Pull your jars out and it will look
very visibly, very obviously,that the contents inside the jar
have boiled out
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (16:48):
Content
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (16:48):
just created this volcanic.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:50):
out
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (16:51):
Kind of mess inside your canning pot.
You'll wonder, well, are theselids gonna seal?
Sometimes they won't because ithas siphon so much, you'll worry
about the liquid level insidethe jar.
It's not the worst problem.
But it is certainly perplexingfor a new canner.
And it is kind of problematicbecause you end up with not
enough liquid sometimes.
I think one way a person canavoid having this happen with
(17:13):
peaches and apricot haves would,be to not hard boil
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (17:19):
to
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (17:19):
Some people think, which is a smart
mistake to make, but they justturn the pot on as hot as it'll
go and have it boiling as hardas they can for the processing
time, which is completelyunnecessary.
A gentle boil is all you need.
Boiling any harder doesn't makethe temperature go up.
There's no reason to do it, andit actually creates that
siphoning potential.
You don't have to boil likeyou're on a runaway train.
(17:41):
You can just have a gentle boilto avoid that siphoning.
What else can you say aboutsiphoning Anna?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (17:46):
I think that's a great point.
The one thing that I heard inthe Master Food preservers class
is that imagine the items inyour canning jar.
Like they're on a rollercoaster, and if you are boiling
them really hard and thendropping the temperature, just
imagine all of that fruit,coming up or that liquid.
And that's when siphoninghappens is like these massive
(18:07):
temperature fluctuations.
So if you can gently bringthings up to a boil.
And let it sit on the stove, asit cools down.
Or maybe have a place on yourcountertop out of the way of a
fan or cool air coming in That'swhat I've found to be the most
to stop siphoning.
cause it is common.
It's not like it never happensto
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (18:26):
I found that if I just didn't hard
boil, I'd eliminated mostinstances of siphoning.
And then the other issue withpeach halves for sure, and
probably the apricot halves isjust air gets caught.
if the peach hve or the apricothalf is like a canoe upside down
in a lake.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (18:41):
or the
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (18:41):
that air on the underside, and if
you're able to carefully, eitherwith a chopstick or a spoon or
some sort of utensil to makesure there's no air underneath
those little canoes you wantthings to keep as calm as
possible inside the jar.
That's the only other tip that Icould offer on the apricot haves
and avoiding that siphoningproblem.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (19:00):
Okay.
Moving on.
Let's talk about puree andapricot nectar.
Last year I did a ton of apricotpuree.
That was kind of my lifesavertoward the end of apricot
season.
I was just exhausted and I waslike, I know I wanna make more
jam for my Christmas marketlater in maybe September or
October, but I'm just so burnedout right now on apricots.
(19:23):
Sometimes you just need a break.
So I did an apricot puree.
I would fill my blender withabout eight cups of apricot
halves that had been pitted andabout a half a cup of lemon
juice and blend that all up.
Then you process that in yourwater bath canner or steam
canner.
It doesn't take very long.
(19:44):
Maybe 20 minutes for sea leveland up to 35 minutes if you're
6,000 feet or above that was agreat way for me to extend the
harvest.
You can also make puree forsmoothies or things like that,
you could puree it for babyfood.
You could do all kinds With thispuree.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (20:03):
I think that puree is one of the
golden tips of
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:05):
I think that of
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (20:06):
We forget
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:07):
this
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (20:07):
that we can take a step to buy us
time when it comes to foodpreservation.
And that step buys you anindefinite amount of time.
You could preserve that inFebruary.
You could preserve it into nextyear.
You could just open the jar andeat it as is.
You could add a little bit to
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:22):
We
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (20:23):
make muffins all kinds of baked
things.
Swap out an egg.
You could do a lot with thatpuree.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:28):
Swap
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (20:28):
have to know what that is gonna be
just yet.
You could
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:31):
you
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (20:31):
puree 'em up and put'em in court jars,
right?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:34):
Yep.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (20:34):
Easy guys.
You could do a lot or nothingwith those jars of puree.
You could just eat'em as is, oryou could end up turning them
into jam.
You could use them to make someother recipe that you haven't
had time to get all theingredients for that's saving
future you, You could do a lotof things.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (20:48):
apricot sorbet is so good.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (20:50):
I feel like I'm the only person on
earth who doesn't have anappliance that makes ice cream
for them,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:55):
earth who doesn't have
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (20:56):
and
anna_1_07-21-2025_12 (20:56):
appliance.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (20:56):
just reminding me how delicious that
would be.
That would be so fun.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:00):
That
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (21:00):
yeah, there's just a lot you can do in
Future.
And you can do it in those bigcourt jars
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:04):
Thank
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (21:04):
That'd be a good idea.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:05):
Okay, so the last item is nectar.
Jenny, do you wanna talk aboutthat?
Have you ever made fruit
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (21:11):
I have not done apricot nectar.
I've done it for other stonefruits.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (21:16):
nectar.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (21:16):
it's just It's just like a jam.
Not a jam, but a pulpy juice, Iguess the fruit nectar is like,
I did it more when my kids werelittle, when I was really making
a lot of things at home.
And you can add as little or as.
The least amount of sugar as youwant, so you can be a healthy
mom and add very little sugarand maybe no sugar if you're
fruit's sweet enough.
(21:37):
But it's just a, thin smoothie,I guess.
What can you say about nectarAnna?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:41):
Yeah, exactly.
I guess the difference between apuree and a nectar is that
you're gonna use a food mill fora nectar, so it's gonna
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (21:49):
Hmm.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:49):
Peel, and make it
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (21:52):
More drinkable.
anna_1_07-21-2025_1215 (21:53):
smoothie without the chunks,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (21:55):
more drinkable.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:57):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (21:58):
Yeah, I did do it.
I've never done it with Apricot,but I have done it with other, I
think I did like a stone fruitmix
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:04):
done
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (22:04):
for my kids
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:05):
I did like
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (22:05):
it's when they're little and they'll
just drink and eat whatever youfeed them.
It was really satisfying and Iliked it.
I haven't done it in a while,but it's a cool idea and I love
food mills.
it's a great method.
And again, that doesn't takethat long.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:16):
I have a friend that does apricot
nectar and she mixes it withhomemade grape juice, which I
thought was a crazy combination.
I haven't tried it yet,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (22:26):
What color is it?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:27):
those two together.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (22:28):
Is it purple?
anna_1_07-21-2025_1215 (22:29):
Probably brown.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (22:30):
It doesn't matter.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:32):
a gross color,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (22:33):
No, I'm gonna say it's probably
purple.
Oh, that sounds nutritious.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:37):
with chunks.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (22:37):
And honestly, this is not to hate on
elderberry at all.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:41):
Elder.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (22:42):
away from this podcast if you love
elderberry.
But I would argue if you weregonna add.
Apricot and grape together,those are very nutritious, high
vitamin C fruit.
I bet you would get every bit asmuch of a health benefit
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:53):
I
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (22:54):
from that nectar
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:55):
health
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (22:55):
as you would from elderberry.
I think elder Berry's purportedbenefits are probably proven to
be high in vitamin C and that'sthe thing we know for sure.
Elderberry has had great PRright?
If you gave your kids half a cupof that juice every morning,
they'd probably be ready to goface public school germs.
I'm not a doctor.
But, if you're like, oh man, Idon't have any elderberry, I
(23:16):
think you probably going do justas great of a job feeding your
kids the nectar.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (23:20):
I would have to agree.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (23:21):
I think that's so helpful.
And I think when it comes toapricots, I think the step that
everyone skips.
Is the acidifying and the antidarkening step.
If you've never preserved anapricot, they're gonna turn dark
quickly and you should not skip
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (23:34):
they're
jenny-gomes_1_07-21- (23:34):
acidifying or anti darkening step where you
add, either you put them in abath of lemon juice or you add
the ascorbic acid, a crushedvitamin C tablet.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (23:44):
Acid
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (23:44):
to,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (23:45):
C
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (23:46):
as Anna said, the very beginning to
acidify them because I thinkyou'll be sadly.
Disappointed in the color andthe quality, the way it looks.
it's too bad because apricotsare such a beautiful, vibrant
color.
If you prevent them fromdarkening,
anna_1_07-21-2025_1215 (23:59):
vibrant.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (23:59):
think of them like an avocado in that
way.
They go brown pretty quick.
You wanna prevent that if youcan,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121 (24:04):
frequent.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (24:05):
but Anna, your tip about puree is
golden.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (24:07):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (24:08):
That is just so helpful for people to
know that they can just blend itup and put it in a court jar and
think about it another time.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (24:14):
Well, thanks for joining us on this
episode.
We look forward to doing parttwo for apricots next week, so
join us for that.
And as always, please leave us alike review that helps people
find us on the podcast and onYouTube.
We are over there as well.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
We'll see you next week for parttwo.
(24:35):
That's our show.
We don't want you to miss anepisode, so please be sure to
subscribe.
If you found this episodehelpful and informative, please
give our show a rating andreview.
It only takes a few seconds andit really helps our show grow.
Follow us on social media atSmart Home Canning and at the
domestic wildflower.
Email your preserving questionsto Perfectly Preserved
(24:58):
podcast@gmail.com and we will doour best to answer your
questions on the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
Stay tuned for our next episodereleased every week.
That's our show.
We don't want you to miss anepisode, so please be sure to
subscribe.
If you found this episodehelpful and informative, please
give our show a rating andreview.
It only takes a few seconds andit really helps our show grow.
(25:21):
Follow us on social media atSmart Home Canning and at the
domestic wildflower.
Email your preserving questionsto Perfectly Preserved
podcast@gmail.com and we will doour best to answer your
questions on the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
Stay tuned for our next episodereleased every week.
Welcome to the PerfectlyPreserved Podcast.
I'm your host Jenny Gomes.
And I'm Anna Cash.
Here we come together to bringyou a podcast all about
preserving food safely, easily,and dare I say, perfectly.
At home.
We are master food preserversmoms wives, and we love talking
about canning.
ready to can like a masterpreserver.
(00:21):
Let's get into today's episode.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-202 (00:23):
Welcome back to another episode of The
Perfectly Preserved podcast.
I am Jenny and I'm here with myco-host, Anna, and we are here
to talk all things apricots.
And when Anna and I wereplanning this episode, we got so
excited.
We have so many things to share.
Best practices.
We're freezing, canning, purerain, acidifying, keeping that
beautiful golden color.
(00:45):
If you love this episode, besure to tune in next week
because we're gonna have anepisode devoted specifically to
apricot jams and jellies,barbecue sauce, recipe ideas,
how to dehydrate, get them gummysoft.
Stick around.
We have so many great apricotspecific tips and tricks for
you.
And if you haven't left us areview, please take a second and
(01:07):
go to that purple OT podcasticon and leave us a review.
It really helps the show grow.
Anna and I both have resourcesavailable to help you on your
canning journey.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (01:16):
have resources
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (01:17):
Go to smart home canning.com.
Anna has video courses that arevery affordably priced and it'll
be like Anna is in your kitchenwith you I offer my cookbook The
Pressure Canning Cookbook?
And it's available anywherebooks are available.
At an independent bookstore oron Amazon.
Anna and I are so grateful thatyou're here for another season
(01:37):
of Perfectly Preserved.
Anna is arguably an apricotqueen.
She has more apricots growingwhere she lives than I do.
It's definitely a quintessentialAnna specialty.
Anna, tell us all the thingsabout Apricot.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (01:52):
I'm really lucky where I live here
in northern Utah, in Ogden,Utah, there are so many apricot
trees that go unpicked.
I feel a little bit sad thatsome people don't have that
experience, especially canners.
I have people that comment onInstagram all across the country
that are like, oh, can you shipme some apricots?
And I'm like, I love you.
(02:13):
But the answer is no.
It's so much work.
Just today, I dropped off 115pounds of apricots to our local
food bank.
This weekend we were pickinghere in North Ogden and got
about six crates
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (02:29):
Wow.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (02:30):
it feels so good to donate to the
food bank.
That just tells you how muchreadily available apricots there
are in my area.
So I know a little bit aboutapricots.
When we first moved to Ogden in2009 in our front yard was this
gorgeous apricot tree, and itwas really my foray into
canning.
(02:50):
When.
You have a really mature apricottree, it will produce like you
cannot believe.
apricots are a little bitdifferent.
They are a stone fruit and theyrarely take a year off like
some, other fruit trees.
Sometimes they'll have an offyear, right?
Like apples maybe will have anoff year or plums or whatever.
(03:11):
But I found apricots are justpretty much full on all the
time.
Apricots came from China, over4,000 years ago.
Today the United States producesclose to 90% of the world's
apricots most being grown inCalifornia.
Here in northern Utah, I live inan area that used to be orchards
in North Ogden, there wereapricot orchards and there are
(03:34):
still some surviving trees fromthere.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (03:36):
They really are super beautiful.
When I visited Anna I was struckby how many
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (03:44):
How
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (03:44):
fruit trees there were, and
specifically how many apricottrees.
They were just literally inevery yard.
It seemed like.
It seemed like they were just apart of every home.
And being from California, I amvery attuned to the fact that
the state produces a lot of.
They produce a lot ofeverything, but a lot of orchard
crops and a lot of apricots.
(04:05):
But the fact that they're innearly every city lot, It seemed
really That they were a part ofeverybody's yard.
It was really, really commonclearly a stone fruit tree in
many yards.
It was really neat.
When I was in college, I livedin the city of Chico, which is a
small city at the very tip topof the Central Valley in
(04:26):
California.
And while they didn't have quiteas many stone fruit, they had a
ton of pomegranate trees inpeople's yards.
Some citrus trees, some otherfruit trees, it was a little bit
reminiscent of that.
Like the city lot still retainthose fruit trees.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (04:39):
that, like
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (04:40):
Anna is absolutely an apricot expert
and I'm excited to hear from herall the ways to save that golden
delicious flavor.
If you haven't had a freshapricot from a tree, the ones
that get shipped, just aren'tquite as amazing.
They're definitely worth,seeking out at your local
farmer's market, asking aroundwho's got an apricot tree?
(05:00):
'cause they are delicious.
The first method of preservationfor apricots on our list today
is freezing.
So, Anna, talk to us about howto freeze apricots correctly.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (05:10):
so I can tell you what is recommended
to freeze apricots correctly.
I can also tell you two of theways that I would not recommend
freezing apricots and both ofthose I will tell you after I
tell you the right way to do it.
This comes from the USUextension website.
We will have links to both ofthe documents that we will be
talking about in the show notes.
(05:31):
So the first is a syrup pack,you are going to make a simple
syrup, you're gonna take a halfa cup of syrup into your freezer
bag.
It's going to have the additionof three quarters teaspoon
ascorbic acid per quart.
That helps with keeping yourapricots bright orange.
(05:52):
If you've ever had.
Apricots sit out in the sun ormaybe you froze them whole and
then you are thawing them out.
They have a tendency to go brownreally quickly, and so that
ascorbic acid really helps keepthat beautiful yellow color.
You're gonna ladle a half a cupof syrup into freezer
containers, or I use freezerbags.
(06:14):
Make sure that it's cooled.
You don't wanna put any, hot,simple syrup into a plastic bag.
Once you put the syrup in therewith your apricots, kind of
gently shake the fruit around sothat that liquid can coat and
cover your apricots.
You're going to seal, label andfreeze those.
(06:35):
I do them in freezer bags, butyou can also do them in freezer
containers.
The second way to freeze them isto do a, what's called a sugar
pack.
So you thoroughly mix two thirdscups sugar and a quarter
teaspoon ascorbic acid and setthat aside.
Pit your fruit.
The great thing about apricotsis you don't have to peel them
like you do peaches.
They aren't fuzzy.
(06:57):
So you just pit your peeledfruit and you can slice it if
you want, but then you sprinklethat sugar mixture over it and
gently.
Toss the fruit with the sugarand allow that to sit for about
10 minutes or until the sugardissolves.
you'll Pack into freezercontainers.
The third way is to puree it.
(07:17):
So you're gonna put yourapricots in your blender with
two tablespoons of sugar and aquarter teaspoon of ascorbic
acid.
I've also used Lemon juice witha good success for the puree,
then you're gonna puree that inyour food processor or blender.
you're gonna wanna leave a halfinch head space when you put it
(07:38):
into your freezer container.
they recommend putting a pieceof freezer wrap over the puree
to prevent discoloration, andthen you seal, label and freeze.
So those are the three ways thatthey recommend.
And I'm just gonna share withyou the two ways that messed me
up.
So last year was my first yearhaving an upright freezer and I
(07:59):
was trying to pack a ton ofapricot puree in there.
I just think I did not addenough lemon
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (08:06):
Hmm.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (08:07):
Because when I took it out.
It just all turned brown.
And it was so sad because youspend all this time picking
apricots and pureeing and it's along process.
And then I also did the samethis year.
I was in Alaska at the start ofapricot season, and I was
worried that I wasn't gonna beable to get any apricots.
(08:28):
So I commissioned my littleniece to pick apricots and I
would pay her.
the apricots and then put themin a bowl with water and lemon
juice and then put'em in freezerbags.
And what I found as theseapricots started to defrost is
that all turned brown as well.
Not all of it, but it changedthe color of the jam that I was
(08:50):
making to a darker brown.
And when people purchase jams,they wanna see like a bright.
Orange color, and these just didnot have that.
I've gotta figure out some wayto fix that.
I don't know if it's putting iton the stove while it's frozen
and, quickly heating it or, Idon't know.
I I needed troubleshoot this,but Jenny, have you ever tried
(09:12):
doing this with apricots, likefreezing them?
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (09:16):
No, but I think all the times I've
made apricot into jam, I haveused brown sugar We're gonna
mention a, recipe in the nextepisode, but there's a great
recipe we saw that includesplums and that would be another
darker colored fruit.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (09:33):
And that would be
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (09:34):
If I were in your shoes, it's
different because I'm notcreating jam to sell the way you
are, but I might just lean intothe color change and go brown
sugar, I think brown sugar andapricot go together really great
and they're delicious.
I might use those that gotfrozen this way and try a recipe
that has a little bit of darkercolor to it.
(09:55):
Anyway, that's probably what Iwould do.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (09:57):
I also find that when I make jams and I
put in the vanilla bean paste,it turns A little bit brown,
but.
Yeah.
just things that I think aboutbecause I just want people to
eat with their eyes first, youknow?
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (10:09):
Right.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:10):
like a bright apricot.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (10:12):
Right.
And that's so interesting yousay that about the vanilla
because if you were to buy.
A commercially prepared preservewith vanilla bean,
anna_1_07-21-2025_ (10:20):
commercially
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-20 (10:21):
speckles would be visible,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:23):
manila
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (10:23):
I just don't know how you would
get the speckles without thebrown tone,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:27):
I like the flavor
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (10:28):
yeah, I do too.
Like even vanilla ice cream, ifyou think about it, it's bright
white with
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:33):
ice cream,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2 (10:33):
speckles.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:34):
about
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (10:34):
I wonder how they do that.
Not critically important,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:38):
true.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (10:38):
if you are creating jam.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12 (10:40):
important, but
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (10:41):
goal
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:41):
jams,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (10:42):
To sell it and you want it to be
beautiful, and that's a thing tothink about, but
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:45):
If you want
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (10:46):
we digress.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (10:47):
that's We are gonna move on to the
second part, which is canning.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-20 (10:50):
apricots are naturally high in acid.
They are a fruit that you canpreserve in a variety of
recipes.
Using your water bath or steamcanner.
We have a ton of beginnerfriendly episodes, in season one
that explain in detail thedifference between water bath,
canning and steam canning.
Both are safe, tested, reliablemethods of preservation for high
(11:12):
acid recipes, which would beapricot recipes.
Water bath, canning.
Your apricots is actually prettysimple and they are a fruit that
works up pretty easily, like thepits come out pretty easily.
I would definitely classify anapricot as a beginner friendly
preserve.
As Anna mentioned, you don'thave to peel them, even though
they are a little fuzzy to thetouch, they're not Very fuzzy
(11:36):
the way peaches are or the waypeaches can be.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (11:38):
very
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (11:39):
that's really helpful, so you don't
have to go through the step ofpeeling.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (11:42):
helpful
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-202 (11:42):
they're not super, they don't naturally
have a lot of pectin, which Ithink I'll let Anna speak to.
So we did do some reading on howbest to get your jams and
jellies to set up.
Water bath, canning apricots isalso possible for making
conserves, which are like a jamand nut.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (12:00):
which are like a
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (12:02):
And next episode we'll share some
great recipes for apricotconserve.
There's lots of great ways thatyou can water bath can.
Actually, Anna maybe this wouldbe a good time for you to
mention how you Just canned theapgo and then later made the
jam.
Is that correct?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (12:18):
the Yeah, that'll be in our next
section under puree.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (12:21):
Great.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (12:23):
One way that I utilize apricots for
later in
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-202 (12:26):
Mm-hmm.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (12:27):
when I'm canning apricots, I think
I've done a hot There's two waysto Can do a hot pack or a raw
And that just means that you'reletting the apricots sit in your
simple syrup and maybe cook alittle bit, five, 10 minutes to
kind of release some of that airout of the apricot and absorb
that But I have one little
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (12:47):
Oh, please.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (12:48):
grandpa used to make canned apricot
halves.
He would put a slice of orangein the bottom and it would not
only preserve the color, but italso would give it an additional
bright flavor,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (13:01):
One slice of an orange.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:03):
It's everything that we're talking
about, right?
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (13:04):
Oh yeah.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:05):
it's got that citric
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (13:07):
huh.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:07):
in the orange and it's just a beautiful
little touch.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (13:11):
There you go.
There's the gold of the wholeepisode.
A slice of orange at the bottomand then just water bath,
scanning the rest.
That's such a fantastic idea.
I've never heard of that, butthat is an easy, accessible,
affordable home run win of a wayto water bath can.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:28):
home run
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (13:28):
That's a great idea.
for our listeners
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:30):
a great
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (13:31):
as a refresher a hot pack is
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:33):
as
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (13:34):
for apricots you would have the
fruit in boiling syrup, juice,or water, and then you would
lale them into hot jars and thena raw pack would
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:44):
label them
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-202 (13:44):
filling your warm jars with raw fruit
cut side down, then add the hotjuice, hot water, or hot syrup.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (13:52):
add the
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (13:53):
And I mentioned juice as the canning
liquid, you can use fruit juice.
I can't say I've ever done thiswith apricots.
Have you done this,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:01):
I can't say I've I've never used a
fruit juice in, apricot cannedapricots.
I've always only done simplesyrup, but I think it would
taste good.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (14:09):
I think the decision is always
like, am I gonna spend the moneyon the juice I think it could be
really cool, you know, you, Youare spending on the sugar to
make the simple syrup.
So
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:19):
were spending on sugar.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (14:20):
In that way, if you're just buying
a juga juice, it would be alittle bit faster
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:23):
just buying
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (14:24):
than assembling the sugar and the
water to make the simple syrup.
But I just, it probably wouldhave to depend for me
personally, on the price of thejuice and how much you needed to
make your syrup or to make yourcanning liquid.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:36):
make
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (14:36):
That is definitely, something you'll
see in lots of canningliterature for water bath
canning
anna_1_07-21-2025_121 (14:40):
something you'll
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (14:41):
is using a fruit syrup,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:42):
bath
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (14:43):
And a fruit dip for dehydrating, or
a liquid
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:46):
a fruit dip
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (14:46):
to dip your dehydrated
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (14:48):
a
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (14:49):
fruit in before you dehydrated it.
It's a very commonrecommendation and
anna_1_07-21-2025_1 (14:52):
dehydrated.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (14:53):
if you had juice on hand that was a
good flavor that was affordable,I would say try that all day
long because it can add a reallyfun flavor add naturally
occurring Vitamin C.
Be an easy flavor boost.
But in terms of just water bathcanning, I think there's so many
good sets of directionsavailable on cooperative
extension websites and theNational Center for Home Food
(15:15):
Preservation with apricots youcould find good directions, on
either of those websites forsure.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (15:20):
I would add one thing.
If you're doing canned apricotsand you're doing a hot pack,
sometimes you're leftover withsome of that simple syrup that
the apricots have It also has alittle bit of that apricot
flavor.
I've taken that simple syrup andadded it to club soda.
To make a fizzy drink.
It's really nice.
I've done that with peaches aswell.
(15:40):
If you add a little bit of lemonor basil or some fresh herb it's
so delicious for a summer drink.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (15:47):
Do you rot back your apricots?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (15:49):
want It depends how firm they
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (15:52):
Hmm.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (15:53):
So apricots that are very firm, I
will hot pack.
If they're very soft, I will rawpack because at that point, if
I'm cooking them even more, theytend to disintegrate and lose
their shape.
So just depends on if my aresoft or hard.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (16:11):
I was gonna ask do you see when
you're canning, let's say halvesof apricots.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:15):
you see
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (16:16):
Do they have the same trouble with
siphoning that peach halves do
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:20):
have the same trouble?
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2 (16:22):
Sometimes do?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:23):
Yeah, I haven't noticed that as much,
but explain to our listenerswhat is siphoning and why does
it happen with peaches?
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (16:30):
Sure.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:31):
never heard of.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (16:32):
Sure.
When you're water bath canning,I would say the most notorious
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:36):
you're water
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (16:37):
would be peach halves.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121 (16:39):
Something that
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (16:40):
Pull your jars out and it will look
very visibly, very obviously,that the contents inside the jar
have boiled out
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (16:48):
Content
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (16:48):
just created this volcanic.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (16:50):
out
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (16:51):
Kind of mess inside your canning pot.
You'll wonder, well, are theselids gonna seal?
Sometimes they won't because ithas siphon so much, you'll worry
about the liquid level insidethe jar.
It's not the worst problem.
But it is certainly perplexingfor a new canner.
And it is kind of problematicbecause you end up with not
enough liquid sometimes.
I think one way a person canavoid having this happen with
(17:13):
peaches and apricot haves would,be to not hard boil
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (17:19):
to
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (17:19):
Some people think, which is a smart
mistake to make, but they justturn the pot on as hot as it'll
go and have it boiling as hardas they can for the processing
time, which is completelyunnecessary.
A gentle boil is all you need.
Boiling any harder doesn't makethe temperature go up.
There's no reason to do it, andit actually creates that
siphoning potential.
You don't have to boil likeyou're on a runaway train.
(17:41):
You can just have a gentle boilto avoid that siphoning.
What else can you say aboutsiphoning Anna?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (17:46):
I think that's a great point.
The one thing that I heard inthe Master Food preservers class
is that imagine the items inyour canning jar.
Like they're on a rollercoaster, and if you are boiling
them really hard and thendropping the temperature, just
imagine all of that fruit,coming up or that liquid.
And that's when siphoninghappens is like these massive
(18:07):
temperature fluctuations.
So if you can gently bringthings up to a boil.
And let it sit on the stove, asit cools down.
Or maybe have a place on yourcountertop out of the way of a
fan or cool air coming in That'swhat I've found to be the most
to stop siphoning.
cause it is common.
It's not like it never happensto
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (18:26):
I found that if I just didn't hard
boil, I'd eliminated mostinstances of siphoning.
And then the other issue withpeach halves for sure, and
probably the apricot halves isjust air gets caught.
if the peach hve or the apricothalf is like a canoe upside down
in a lake.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (18:41):
or the
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (18:41):
that air on the underside, and if
you're able to carefully, eitherwith a chopstick or a spoon or
some sort of utensil to makesure there's no air underneath
those little canoes you wantthings to keep as calm as
possible inside the jar.
That's the only other tip that Icould offer on the apricot haves
and avoiding that siphoningproblem.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (19:00):
Okay.
Moving on.
Let's talk about puree andapricot nectar.
Last year I did a ton of apricotpuree.
That was kind of my lifesavertoward the end of apricot
season.
I was just exhausted and I waslike, I know I wanna make more
jam for my Christmas marketlater in maybe September or
October, but I'm just so burnedout right now on apricots.
(19:23):
Sometimes you just need a break.
So I did an apricot puree.
I would fill my blender withabout eight cups of apricot
halves that had been pitted andabout a half a cup of lemon
juice and blend that all up.
Then you process that in yourwater bath canner or steam
canner.
It doesn't take very long.
(19:44):
Maybe 20 minutes for sea leveland up to 35 minutes if you're
6,000 feet or above that was agreat way for me to extend the
harvest.
You can also make puree forsmoothies or things like that,
you could puree it for babyfood.
You could do all kinds With thispuree.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (20:03):
I think that puree is one of the
golden tips of
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:05):
I think that of
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (20:06):
We forget
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:07):
this
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (20:07):
that we can take a step to buy us
time when it comes to foodpreservation.
And that step buys you anindefinite amount of time.
You could preserve that inFebruary.
You could preserve it into nextyear.
You could just open the jar andeat it as is.
You could add a little bit to
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:22):
We
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (20:23):
make muffins all kinds of baked
things.
Swap out an egg.
You could do a lot with thatpuree.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:28):
Swap
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (20:28):
have to know what that is gonna be
just yet.
You could
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:31):
you
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (20:31):
puree 'em up and put'em in court jars,
right?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:34):
Yep.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (20:34):
Easy guys.
You could do a lot or nothingwith those jars of puree.
You could just eat'em as is, oryou could end up turning them
into jam.
You could use them to make someother recipe that you haven't
had time to get all theingredients for that's saving
future you, You could do a lotof things.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (20:48):
apricot sorbet is so good.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (20:50):
I feel like I'm the only person on
earth who doesn't have anappliance that makes ice cream
for them,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (20:55):
earth who doesn't have
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (20:56):
and
anna_1_07-21-2025_12 (20:56):
appliance.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (20:56):
just reminding me how delicious that
would be.
That would be so fun.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:00):
That
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (21:00):
yeah, there's just a lot you can do in
Future.
And you can do it in those bigcourt jars
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:04):
Thank
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025 (21:04):
That'd be a good idea.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:05):
Okay, so the last item is nectar.
Jenny, do you wanna talk aboutthat?
Have you ever made fruit
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (21:11):
I have not done apricot nectar.
I've done it for other stonefruits.
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (21:16):
nectar.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (21:16):
it's just It's just like a jam.
Not a jam, but a pulpy juice, Iguess the fruit nectar is like,
I did it more when my kids werelittle, when I was really making
a lot of things at home.
And you can add as little or as.
The least amount of sugar as youwant, so you can be a healthy
mom and add very little sugarand maybe no sugar if you're
fruit's sweet enough.
(21:37):
But it's just a, thin smoothie,I guess.
What can you say about nectarAnna?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:41):
Yeah, exactly.
I guess the difference between apuree and a nectar is that
you're gonna use a food mill fora nectar, so it's gonna
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (21:49):
Hmm.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:49):
Peel, and make it
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (21:52):
More drinkable.
anna_1_07-21-2025_1215 (21:53):
smoothie without the chunks,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (21:55):
more drinkable.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (21:57):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (21:58):
Yeah, I did do it.
I've never done it with Apricot,but I have done it with other, I
think I did like a stone fruitmix
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:04):
done
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (22:04):
for my kids
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:05):
I did like
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (22:05):
it's when they're little and they'll
just drink and eat whatever youfeed them.
It was really satisfying and Iliked it.
I haven't done it in a while,but it's a cool idea and I love
food mills.
it's a great method.
And again, that doesn't takethat long.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:16):
I have a friend that does apricot
nectar and she mixes it withhomemade grape juice, which I
thought was a crazy combination.
I haven't tried it yet,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (22:26):
What color is it?
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:27):
those two together.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (22:28):
Is it purple?
anna_1_07-21-2025_1215 (22:29):
Probably brown.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (22:30):
It doesn't matter.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:32):
a gross color,
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (22:33):
No, I'm gonna say it's probably
purple.
Oh, that sounds nutritious.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:37):
with chunks.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (22:37):
And honestly, this is not to hate on
elderberry at all.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:41):
Elder.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (22:42):
away from this podcast if you love
elderberry.
But I would argue if you weregonna add.
Apricot and grape together,those are very nutritious, high
vitamin C fruit.
I bet you would get every bit asmuch of a health benefit
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:53):
I
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (22:54):
from that nectar
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (22:55):
health
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (22:55):
as you would from elderberry.
I think elder Berry's purportedbenefits are probably proven to
be high in vitamin C and that'sthe thing we know for sure.
Elderberry has had great PRright?
If you gave your kids half a cupof that juice every morning,
they'd probably be ready to goface public school germs.
I'm not a doctor.
But, if you're like, oh man, Idon't have any elderberry, I
(23:16):
think you probably going do justas great of a job feeding your
kids the nectar.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (23:20):
I would have to agree.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1115 (23:21):
I think that's so helpful.
And I think when it comes toapricots, I think the step that
everyone skips.
Is the acidifying and the antidarkening step.
If you've never preserved anapricot, they're gonna turn dark
quickly and you should not skip
anna_1_07-21-2025_12152 (23:34):
they're
jenny-gomes_1_07-21- (23:34):
acidifying or anti darkening step where you
add, either you put them in abath of lemon juice or you add
the ascorbic acid, a crushedvitamin C tablet.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (23:44):
Acid
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (23:44):
to,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (23:45):
C
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_111 (23:46):
as Anna said, the very beginning to
acidify them because I thinkyou'll be sadly.
Disappointed in the color andthe quality, the way it looks.
it's too bad because apricotsare such a beautiful, vibrant
color.
If you prevent them fromdarkening,
anna_1_07-21-2025_1215 (23:59):
vibrant.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_ (23:59):
think of them like an avocado in that
way.
They go brown pretty quick.
You wanna prevent that if youcan,
anna_1_07-21-2025_121 (24:04):
frequent.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_11 (24:05):
but Anna, your tip about puree is
golden.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (24:07):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_1_07-21-2025_1 (24:08):
That is just so helpful for people to
know that they can just blend itup and put it in a court jar and
think about it another time.
anna_1_07-21-2025_121524 (24:14):
Well, thanks for joining us on this
episode.
We look forward to doing parttwo for apricots next week, so
join us for that.
And as always, please leave us alike review that helps people
find us on the podcast and onYouTube.
We are over there as well.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
We'll see you next week for parttwo.
(24:35):
That's our show.
We don't want you to miss anepisode, so please be sure to
subscribe.
If you found this episodehelpful and informative, please
give our show a rating andreview.
It only takes a few seconds andit really helps our show grow.
Follow us on social media atSmart Home Canning and at the
domestic wildflower.
Email your preserving questionsto Perfectly Preserved
(24:58):
podcast@gmail.com and we will doour best to answer your
questions on the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
Stay tuned for our next episodereleased every week.
That's our show.
We don't want you to miss anepisode, so please be sure to
subscribe.
If you found this episodehelpful and informative, please
give our show a rating andreview.
It only takes a few seconds andit really helps our show grow.
(25:21):
Follow us on social media atSmart Home Canning and at the
domestic wildflower.
Email your preserving questionsto Perfectly Preserved
podcast@gmail.com and we will doour best to answer your
questions on the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
Stay tuned for our next episodereleased every week.
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