From the back yard
California, July 2000

They were possessed of incredible color and fragrance; there is truly nothing in this world like the aroma, both floral and fruity, and somehow faintly evoking almonds. There were four of us, and it seemed that we ate as many as we pitted, but there's still going to be a lot of jam on the shelf this winter.

Sitting in the back yard on a warm summer evening redolent with the fragrance of apricots, we were overcome by the thought of apricot cobbler. In half an hour's time, we were eating it, warm and golden, sweet fruit and pudding-y crust draped over it with rivulets of cream flowing down the peaks and valleys. In that half-hour the chill of the Pacific had entered the back yard. Hot dessert was a perfect nightcap and a fitting reward for our work.

In January, when the bitter damp of the Pacific winter keeps us inside, we sit at the corner window of the kitchen and eat apricot jam on our toast. Or, warmed, on our waffles or ice cream. It's as if we bottled the best days of summer, golden and sweet. We puzzle over the fragrance: at its best, apricot jam seems to have the same exotic fragrance as very good black tea leaves.

No-Trouble Recipe for Apricot Jam

• Wash, pit, and halve fresh apricots. Weigh them and add sugar at 75% of that weight, along with the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon. (We think leaving in a pit or 2 as it cooks enhances the flavor.) Cover and leave it to sit overnight in a cool room. ññ

• Within a day, cook them while stirring attentively with a wooden spoon over medium heat in a wide-bottomed non-aluminum pot (the wider the pot, the more surface area to transmit heat and the faster they'll cook). Before you start, put the jam jars and lids through a hot cycle in your dishwasher to sterilize them.

• When you think the jam has finished cooking, take a teaspoon-full and drip it onto a clean dry saucer, and then tilt the saucer. If the jam runs down the tilt, it's not ready. Pour it back into the pot (if you can resist eating it) and continue to cook and stir. If it doesn't run, it's time to pour the jam into the sterile jars. Use a wide-mouth funnel. Fill each jar almost full and immediately seal very tightly (this is a good time to ask someone to help!). Use folded dishtowels to protect your hands when you seal the jars, which will be very hot from the jam.

• The air that is sealed inside while the jam is still very hot expands to make a seal that should see the winter through. There's no need to put the jars through a further heat process. But our German tante slides a scant teaspoonful of good schnapps into each jar before she lids it; she says it makes a sterile, mold-resistant surface (schnapps is alcohol, after all). At least, it provides an extra kick on a cold morning! But the flavor of apricots still shines, and the pure gold of summer sun.

Menu with apricots:

Bitter-Greens Salad (chicory, curly endive) with chopped scallions and simple vinaigrette dressing

Breast of Chicken Ana Luisa with Madeira Sauce

Boulanger Potatoes (peel, thinly slice, place in buttered baking dish and lightly season with salt and pepper, just cover with chicken stock and bake till fork-tender and golden in the same oven with the Chicken Ana Luisa)

Vanilla Ice Cream with Warmed Apricot Jam

If you have any experiences you'd like to share, write us at info@dinnerdirect.com.

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