Today I picked up a Kilo of Apricots from the Wednesday market in Wells, and was delighted that they were put into a paper bag....not the 5 or 6 to a plastic tub with film that is not recyclable which have been the only source from Tesco's recently. The only way forward to try to buy unpackaged fruit.
I have yet to decided which jam to make: will it be Apricot and Ginger, Apricot and Orange Marmalade, or Apricot and Pistachio? Which reminds me...I have yet to post the recipe for Apricot and Lemon Verbena Jam which I recently made.
Lemon Verbena is my recent most favourite herb picked from the garden. I have the mother plant bought back in 2015, which having outgrown its pot is now in the garden, a second one from a cutting taken last year, and several more cuttings hopefully growing little roots . It is delicious just chopped up on fruit like pineapple, melon, etc. I love to make a cup of hot tea too with its crushed leaves.
This is a straight forward apricot jam, to which I add the blanched kernels, and about six leaves of lemon verbena finely chopped at the time I added the sugar to the cooked fruit. Delicious. Next time I would, in addition, add the same amount of chopped leaves a minute or two before taking the jam off the heat, to add that bright green speckle.
