Culinary highlights: The apricot
Over 86 family-run farms cultivate around 200 hectares of orchards, either as their main or secondary source of income. The fruit is used in various ways. Some farmers turn it into delicious jams and juices, whilst others use it to produce schnapps, fine spirits and liqueurs. A good place to buy fresh fruit in the Hall-Wattens region is at the farmers’ markets or directly from the farmers themselves, such as at the Surerhof in Thaur. In the Hall-Wattens region, there are a total of four schnapps distilleries.
The Apricot
Alexander the Great brought the apricot from China to Europe. Like its botanical relatives, the peach and the almond, it belongs to the rose family. Locally grown apricots are only available for a short time. With their vibrant orange colour, they are one of the highlights of the summer fruit season. Although apricots can sometimes taste very sweet, their sugar content is actually quite low. On the other hand, they are very rich in carotenoids, vitamins and minerals. Apricots do not ripen further after picking, so it is essential to harvest them when they are ripe.
Today we’re focusing on apricots and taking a look at the wonderful dishes you can conjure up with this sweet little fruit.
Apricot cake
Of course, there are countless ways and variations for baking an apricot cake. In the recipe below, we’ll show you how to make a simple tray bake that takes just a few minutes to prepare:
INGREDIENTS AND METHOD
- 5 eggs
- 300 g plain flour
- 300 g sugar (feel free to use less, depending on how sweet the apricots are!)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- vanilla sugar
- grated zest of half an organic lemon
- 1/8 l water
- 1/8 l organic sunflower oil
- 1.5–2 kg apricots
Beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla sugar until frothy. Mix in the water and oil. Mix the flour with the baking powder and add to the mixture. Alternatively, you can grind the seeds just before adding them. Add the lemon zest. Spread the mixture onto a baking tray and top with the pitted apricots. Then bake at 160 degrees on the fan setting for approx. 40 minutes.
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Apricot jam
INGREDIENTS AND METHOD
- 1.5 kg apricots
- 500 g organic preserving sugar (2:1)
Wash and stone the apricots. Purée a third of the apricots with the jam sugar. (Alternatively: if you want the jam to be very smooth, purée all the apricots beforehand and pass them through a sieve.) Add the remaining apricots and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Then boil for about 4 minutes. Immediately fill sterile jars to the brim with the hot jam and seal them tightly.
TIP: If you stand the jars upside down on their lids after filling them, the jam will keep for longer.
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Both recipes are also available as videos so you can try them out for yourself: Have fun and good luck :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HleJuluUjE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZxswSGSh2s