Apricots Coming Out of My A%$

Apricots are plentiful in my area of the Rocky Mountains. Last year, a friend of mine graciously gave me what can only be described as a copious amount of apricots. I would guess that she gave me at least thirty pounds!

Here is the tricky thing: my household consists of my husband and myself. Thirty pounds of apricots is at least a year’s worth of fruit for us. So, naturally, I decided to can the apricots. I did not have a recipe, which is always risky business. I decided to make an apricot ice cream topping.

My husband graciously agreed to help me pit the apricots. Luckily, the fruit was very soft so we were able to gently squeeze the pit out of each piece of fruit. 

​After the pits were removed, I put the 30 pounds of apricots into a large pot on the stove. I turned the heat to low and added half a bottle of brandy and a few tablespoons of honey. In hindsight, I would probably suggest a cup or two of honey. I brought the mixture to a low boil and prepared the jars.

I decided to can the apricots in pint jars because a quart is a large quantity of ice cream topping. I added boiling water to top off the mixture. I pressure canned the mixture at 15 PSI for 35 minutes.
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I was a little overwhelmed when I received an unexpected thirty pounds of apricots. And, honestly, I do not love apricots anyway.

But, the apricot ice cream topping was absolutely delicious. Throughout the winter, I warmed up the apricot mixture and served it on vanilla ice cream. It was a complete success.

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​Canning thirty pounds of apricots when they were ripe was well worth it and it was super delicious throughout the cold winter! ​