Temptation for most people is symbolized by the apple and the serpent, but for a wide-eyed six-year-old boy living in central France six decades ago, temptation was the apricot. I was old enough to admire but too young to participate in what seemed to me an enormously daring adventure with a handful of luscious ripe apricots as its objective.
Our school was a small one, and we had only five teachers. But the grounds were spacious, and in one section of them the headmaster cultivated x splendid garden and orchard. He was inordinately proud of this garden, and looking back, I admit that he had reason to be, for it was a beautiful, fruitful spot. The headmaster's special pride was the espaliered fruit trees that grew on the south side of the garden wall. He tended them assiduously, pruning them regularly, pinching off unsymmetrical new shoots at the right moment, tying the flexible young branches to shape the growing trees to his liking. There were plum trees, apple trees, peach trees; and apricot trees, and the finest of them all was the apricot.
The blossoms were shining white, the foliage a luxuriant dark green that made a perfect foil for the orangy-yellow fruit, blushing rosily on the side that faced the sun. The apricot was the prettiest tree in the garden. And its fruit, the first to ripen, was the most luscious fruit in the garden. So luscious, that the boys were willing to risk the hold venture of slyly picking and eating the first ripe fruit before the headmaster could get it it himself. The apricots surely spelled temptation to all of us.
The culprits were always discovered, of course, and I remember vividly the punishment they earned. The heinous offense was described before the whole school, play periods were sacrificed for two long weeks, and, worst of all, each scoundrel was obliged to conjugate the verb voler, in all its inflections, once for each apricot he had enjoyed. Pages and pages were covered with the moods and lenses of the verb to steal … the rascals would remember that arduous and tiresome task, at least until the next year brought the apricot trees to flower and fruit again. For the rest of us, non-participants, apricots became unforgettably the most desirable and templing of all fruits.
The apricot must have seemed a very desirable fruit even in the Middle Ages, for travelers though! it worth carrying great distances in a time when carrying perishables from one country to another was far from an easy matter. And they went to considerable trouble, as well, to nurture the fruit in new locations, From China, the place of its origin, the apricot went to the Caucasus and Armenia and then, in the fifteenth century, to North Africa and to southern Europe. Southern Europe was as hospitable to the apricot as it was to the grape. And the volcanic soil, warm suns, and gentle rains of the Auvergne region of France have produced several varieties of apricots which are exceptionally fine in flavor. If you should happen to travel in this part of Europe in the early months of summer, remember to try the fresh, ripe apricots that grow there in such abundance. Clermont-Ferrand, largest city in the Auvergne, is the seat of a major industry. There they make fruit pastes, from the apricot and other fruits, whose fame is world-wide.
It is America's great good fortune that the mission fathers, carrying their faith to southern California from Spain, also carried with them the apricot tree. In California, one can enjoy to the full the wonderful flavor of tree-ripened apricots. But in states not possessing the warm and temperate climate that favors the apricot tree, the canned and dried apricots hear a closer resemblance to the fruit at its best than does the fresh fruit, plucked green and ripened in transit. Happily, a great portion of the apricot crop of California is canned and dried so that we can enjoy an excellent product which is at the same lime relatively inexpensive.
There were apricot trees growing against the Stone wall that bordered our garden at home, and I well remember my mother's drying the surplus fruit for winter. Maman would split the apricots and remove the pits; then she would spread them on wicker trays to dry in the sun, as she had been taught to do on her mother's farm. Later, they were finished in the gentle warmth of the kitchen stove. We also dried the fruit from our plum trees and, more often than not, combined the dried apricots and prunes to make tarts and other good desserts. I still consider prunes and apricots one of the very best fruit combinations. Maman also made an abricot confit eau-de-vie, a kind of brandied apricot preserve. The apricots were blanched, covered with sugar syrup for three or four days, and drained. Then the syrup was mixed with neutral alcohol and poured over the fruit in jars. These were sealed and stored for a couple of months until the confit was mellow and flavorful.
But perhaps one of the most important uses of apricots in la euisile française is the making of apricot sauce, used in scores of ways. It is spread over fruit tarts and other fruit desserts for its attractive gilding and its bright, fresh flavor and is a favorite sauce for many puddings, fritters, and sweet omelettes—wherever its fruity tartness is appropriate.
I learned the importance of apricot sauce when I was an apprentice chef. And learned, too, the hazards of making apricot sauce and apricot paste, which is the sauce reduced until most of the moisture is evaporated. The hot, syrupy paste must be stirred constantly as it bubbles; it cannot be left for a minute because the mixture is so heavy that it scorches readily, and even the slightest scorching ruins the flavor of the whole batch. The newest boy in the kitchen, you may be assured, was given the task of pushing the wooden spatula around the big copper pan. Every apprenti got his baptism of apricot paste that jumped out of the pan in thick, hot bubbles. Par bleu, ce sirop êtait brûlant! How I remember!
Apricot sauce can be made from apricot jam or from dried apricots; it is good either way. And it may be flavored with liqueccccur. The sauce will keep for several weeks in a closed jar if a little liqueur is poured over the remaining sauce each time some of it is used.
Apricot Sauce and Glaze
Wash ½ pound of dried apricots, cover them with 2 cups water, and soak for several hours. Bring to a boil and simmer until the apricots are soft. Rub the fruit and water together through a sieve and add ½ cup sugar to the puree. Cook until the sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Use to glaze tarts or pastries. To make a dessert sauce, thin the glaze to the desired consistency by adding hot water.
Apricot Jam Sauce
Mix together in a saucepan 1 ½ cups apricot jam, ½ cup water, and 2 tablespoons sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Rub the sauce through a sieve and add 1 or 2 tablespoons kitsch or other liqueur.
Apricot Preserves
For each pound of fruit, put ¾ pound of sugar in a saucepan with enough water to dissolve it. Bring the syrup to a boil and cook until it reaches 238° F. on a sugar thermometer, or until a little dropped in cold water forms a soft ball.
Meanwhile, cut fresh apricots in half and remove the pits. Do not peel the fruit, but if it is large, cut it into quarters. Add the fruit to the syrup and cook for about ½ hour, or until just tender. Remove the fruit from the pan with a skimmer and pack it into sterilized glasses so that each is about 2/3 full. Crack a few of the apricot pits, remove the almondlike kernels, and put one in each glass. Cook the syrup again until it reaches 238° F. on a sugar thermometer, or until a little dropped in cold water forms a soft hall, and pour the hot syrup over the fruit. Fill the glasses to overflowing and seal them.
Apricot Paste (From Dried Apricots)
Wash 2 pounds of dried apricots, cover them with 2 quarts water, and soak for several hours. Bring to a boil and simmer until the apricots arc soft. Rub fruit and water together through a sieve, measure the purée, and add an equal quantity of sugar. Bring to a boil and cook until the mixture is very, very thick, stirring constantly and vigorously toward the end of the cooking to prevent scorching. An asbestos or metal plate under the pan will help in this, as will the use of a very heavy, thick pan. Line a shallow pan with heavy wax paper and pour in a layer of paste almost 1 inch thick. Cool and wrap the sheet of apricot paste in wax paper. Store in a cold place, where it will keep almost indefinitely. When ready to use, cut it into ½-or 1-inch squares and roll each square in granulated sugar. Serve on the plate with bonbons or petits fours.
There are many ways to use apricots in cooking other than in desserts. Apricots go very well with duckling, with breast of guinea hen, and with chicken. They also make a good stuffing of fresh, unusual flavor for poultry. The following are some of the recipes that I have found to be popular.
Spring Duckling with Apricots
Clean and singe a duckling weighing5 to 6 pounds and truss to hold the legs and wings close to the body. Season it with a little salt and roast it in a hot oven (450° F.) for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the skin is golden-brown, Remove the duck and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan. Add and mix 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon Hour and cook until the roux is golden-brown. Stir in gradually 1 cup stock or water and 4 ounces white wine and cook, stirring briskly, until the sauce is smooth and thickened, Re turn the duckling to the pan, cover, and roast it in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until done.
While the duckling is cooking, peel the zest of 1 or 2 oranges (the thinnest layer of outside skin minus the white part) and cut it into fine julienne. Boil the strips in water to cover for 2 or 3 minutes and drain. Remove the duckling from the pan and cook the sauce until it is reduced to about 1 cup. Cook I tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon water or apricot juice in a small pan to a light caramel color. Strain the reduced sauce into this syrup and stir over the fire until well combined. Add the julienne of orange peel, ¼ cup apricot juice, and salt to taste. Carve the duck and arrange it on a warm serving platter. Arrange 8 heated apricot halves around it, alternating with segments of orange, and pour the sauce over the duckling.
Breast of Chicken or Guinea Hen Gloria
Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a large, shallow saucepan and add the breasts from 3 chickens or guinea hens, seasoned with a little salt. Cook the skin side until golden-brown, turn them, and cook the other side over a low heat for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the breasts arc tender. Remove them and sauté 6 generous slices of ham in the pan. Arrange the chicken or guinea hen on the slices of ham on a warm serving platter.
Again in the same pan heat 12 whole cooked apricots, pits removed, or 18 to 24 halves. Add 2 ounces brandy and ignite. When the flame burns out, stir in ½ cup apricot juice. Arrange the apricots around the chicken breasts. Make a sauce in the pan by adding a little veal or chicken gravy or some meat extract and swirling in 1 tablespoon butter to thicken it. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
Apricot Stuffing for Poultry
Cook ½ cup wild rice or ¾ cup white rice in boiling salted water for 30 or 45 minutes and drain. This will give about 1 ½ cups cooked rice. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan and add the rice, Mix well and season with salt and pepper. In another pan, sauté 2 tablespoons raisins in a little butter until they become puffy and stir them lightly into the rice. Slice about 12 apricot halves, using canned apricots or dried ones soaked and cooked until soft. Add the apricots to the rice with 2 or 3 tablespoons beef gravy or beef extract and 3 tablespoons chicken velouté (see May 1951). Mix all the ingredients lightly.
There are many, many apricot desserts, but I have selected the following group because it may include some that arc new to you. They arc all popular French dishes.
Omelette à la Confiture Abricol Flambée (Apricot Omelette Aflame)
Prepare a plain omelette and when it is half cooked, put 1 or 2 tablespoons apricot jam in the center. Roll the omelette, finish the cooking, and sprinkle the top with powdered sugar. Pour over it a pony of warmed mm or kirsch and ignite. Or score the top by drawing a piece of red-hot iron at intervals across the omelette, sprinkle with liqueur, and ignite. Serve while flaming.
Beignets d'Abricots (Apricot fritters)
Drain stewed or canned apricot halves and dry them well on a paper towel. Sprinkle them with a little kirsch and put them aside for 30 minutes. Dip each piece in fritter batter and when thoroughly coated, fry them, a few at a time, in hot deep fat (370° F.) for 3 to 5 minutes, or until brown. Drain on a paper towel. Place them on a platter, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and glaze under a hot broiler flame. The fritters may be served without glazing. Serve with kirsch-flavored apricot sauce.
Fritter Batter for Fruit
Sift together ½ cup flour and ¼ teaspoon salt. Beat 1 egg lightly with 1 tablespoon melted butter and stir it into the flour. Add gradually ½ cup beer, stirring only until the batter is smooth. Let it stand in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours to become light and foamy. Before using, fold in 2 stiffly beaten egg whites.
Crêpes aux Abricots (Apricot French Pancakes)
To make thin French crêpes, mix 2/3 cup flour and a pinch of salt, Beat together 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks and stir them into the dry ingredients. Add gradually 1 ¾ tups milk, stirring until the batter is smooth. Add 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1 teaspoon cognac or rum. Strain the batter through fine sieve and let it standi for about 2 hours.
Put just enough butter in a hot skillet to grease it well and pour in a very thin layer of the crêpe batter. Cook until the Crêpe is set and brown on the underside, or for about a minute, turn, and cook the other side brown. Have the pan very hot because the more quickly these thin crêpes cook, the better and more delicate they are. When each crêpe is done, spread it with apricot jam and roll it up. Arrange them all on a platter and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Brown them, if desired, under the broiler flame or in a very hot oven.
Apricot Charlotte
Cut bread into thin ¼-inch slices. Remove the crusts and dip each slice into melted butter. Cover the bottom and sides of a charlotte mold or any deep, round mold with the bread, overlapping the slices to make a firmer support for the tilling. Peel, core, and slice 2 large or 3 small apples. Meat 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan and add the apple slices and an equal amount of welldrained canned or stewed apricots. Cook until this mixture is soft and most of the moisture cooked away. Add the juice of ½ lemon. Fill the center of the mold with this mixture. Bake the mold on a baking sheet in a hot oven (425° F.) for 40 or 45 minutes, or until golden-brown. Invert on a serving dish and serve with apricot sauce.
Croûtes aux Abricots Flambés
Cut stale brioche or coffeecake into slices about ¼ inch thick. Place the slices in a baking pan, sprinkle with a little sugar, and brown them under the broiler flame or in a hot oven. Put a piece of canned pineapple on each slice, spread with apricot same, fluid top with half a cherry, maraschino or glacéed. Arrange the pieces in a circle, overlapping them to make an attractive ring. Heat whole small apricots or halves of large apricots in a kirsch-flavored apricot same and fill the center with them. Sprinkle with hot kirsch or rum and ignite. Serve aflame.
Abricots Flambés (Apricots Blazed with Kirsch)
Heat 1 cup apricot sauce with 2 ounces kirsch. Drain I can of small apricots and add them to the sauce. When the apricots are hot, sprinkle with 2 ounces heated kirsch and ignite. Serve aflame on vanilla or coffee ice cream.
Abricots à la Ménagère (Apricot Meringue Pudding)
Put 1 cup washed rice in a saucepan and cover well with water. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, and let the rice stand for 5 minutes. Drain it in a sieve and rinse well with cold water. Put the rice back in the pan with 2 ½ cups scalded milk, 6 tablespoons sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a piece of vanilla bean (or add vanilla extract at the end of the cooking). Bring to a boil and add 1 tablespoon butter. Cover the pan and simmer the rice very gently for about ½ hour, or until tender. Or cook in the top of a double boiler for about 45 minutes. Toss the rice with a fork to separate the grains and combine it with 3 slightly beaten egg yolks. Spread a 1-or 1 ½-inch layer of this mixture in an ovenproof serving dish. Drain apricot halves, canned or stewed, and arrange them on the rice. Cover with a meringue made by beating ½ cup sugar gradually into 2 stiffly beaten egg whiles, making attractive swirls or designs. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and brown for 15 minutes in a moderate oven (350° F.). Decorate between the meringue swirls with melted red currant jelly, alternating with thick apricot sauce forced through a paper cone with a small opening.
Abricots Bourdaloue (Apricots with Almond Cream)
Make a crème Bourdaloue (almond cream) as follows: Blanch ½ pound of shelled almonds, discard the skins, and dry the nuts very thoroughly. Crush or run them through a food chopper, adding very gradually 2 cups water until the liquid becomes milkycolored and almond-flavored. Strain through a cheesecloth. Or use 1/3 cup almond paste instead of the crushed blanched almonds; however, this will make an almond milk which is less white.
Mix together 1 whole egg, 2 egg yolks, and ¾ cup sugar. Stir in 3 tablespoons rice flour. Scald the almond milk and add it, little by little, to the egg mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until it approaches the boiling point. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes without letting it boil. Remove the cream from the fire and stir in 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon kirsch.
Bake a spongecake in a ring mold and remove it from the pan to cool. Drain canned or stewed apricot halves and dry them on a paper towel. Overlap them On top of the cake and fill the tenter with the crème Bourdaloue. Sprinkle with chopped almonds or macaroon Crumbs and with a little melted butter and brown the dish under the broiler flame. Spread the apricots with apricot sauce and decorate with maraschino or glacéed cherries.
Abricots Hélène (Apricot Mold)
Soak ¼ pound stale ladyfingers in 1 ½ cups hot milk for about 10 minutes. Press the mixture through a sieve and add 4 tablespoons sugar and 4 eggs, beaten. Pour the batter into a buttered and sugared mold and hake in a pan of hot water in a moderate oven (350°F.) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the pudding is set. Invert on a serving dish and arrange well-drained canned or stewed apricot halves, rounded side down, around the pudding. Fill the hollow of each apricot with a piece of glacéed marron or cherry and coat with apricot sauce.
Apricots en Surprise
Drain a can of apricot halves and pat them dry. Make about 1/3 the amount of the same rice mixture used for apricots ménagère and mix this with glacéed cherries or pineapple cut in small pieces. Fill the hollows of the apricots with this rice and press two halves together. Dip the fruit in Hour, in beaten egg, and in fine, fresh bread crumbs. Fry the apricots in hot deep fat or oil (370° F.) for 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden-brown. Drain on absorbent paper, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and arrange on a hot serving dish. Serve with sabayon sauce (December, 1950) or any fruit sauce.
Compote of Apricots
Cook whole or half fresh apricots in a light syrup with a little piece of anilla bean until they are soft. The halves from which the pits have been removed are called oreillons d'abricots, or apricot earpieces.