Many years ago I met Chloe, we never knew much about her or how old she was but the one thing that we did know was that she was French and very fussy about her food, specifically her cheeses. Chloe would arrive at the strike of 9 in the morning just as our store was opening for the first of the days baguettes and then off to the cheese case she would run. If you had a wild unexpected racy little french cheese she would relax and tell you a story. If not, she would get a slice of Conte and retreat with her hot baguette till the next week.
Over the years we learned that she was a war bride and had been relocated to a very small town in Maine. She had a lackluster relationship with her husband, bore one son who moved away after high school to become an engineer in Connecticut and he was very busy and visited rarely. She was pencil thin with the most gorgeous out of place red hair, she could be very tender or she could cut glass with her disapproving stare. After many years she started bringing us a “very small” jar of apricot jam in the early summer. With no fanfare she would just reach into her oversized pocketbook and take out a tissue wrapped jar after she had checked out, hand it to my sister or me and leave with any further communication. The thank you’s would have to wait till next weeks visit.
In the later years of her life she would come in and just speak French to us, very fast as we struggled with translating the last sentence she would be prattling on a lightning speed. Then she missed a week, we called her at home to make sure that she was all right, she answered and said that she had been a little sick but she was fine and would see us soon and I was to have tea waiting for her.
One day she arrived with a piece of paper and announced that she had an important gift for us. There on a lined notebook paper was her apricot jam recipe and she wanted us to have it and carry it on. Her handwriting was beautiful and old fashioned with the little loops on her r’s and proper s’s. There was her recipe that she had from her grandmother in Marseilles France from the late 1800’s one of the few treasures that this young bride brought with her and she wanted us to have it. We were tearful and honored and then she turned to leave and scolded us for not having made jam already for our store.
We had three or four more visits with Chloe and then she was gone...
When ever anyone asks what is the “best” jam that I make I always tell them I enjoy making apricot the most. Why not, I pit the best apricots that I can get, measure my sugar, squeeze lemon juice over the mixture and I can see Chloe’s arthritic fingers doing the same. I let this sit overnight to marry the flavors and then I take my well worn copper confiture pot off the pot rack and start cooking. It is the most beautiful site to see apricot jam forming in my copper pot and I can still see the red of Chloe’s hair and she knows that it all lives on in a simple recipe.
Chloe's Apricot Preserves
4 lbs. fresh ripe apricots, organic if possible
Juice of one lemon
6 cups of sugar
Cut the apricots in half, pour sugar and lemon juice over fruit, stir well and let sit overnight in the refrigerator. The next day cook the apricot mixture in a wide jam pot for 45 to 50 minutes, skimming off the foam that forms regularly. When the jam starts to thicken keep your eye on it and stir regularly. I freeze a plate and when i think it is getting to a "jam consistency" I put a spoonful of the jam mixture on the plate, wait for it to get cold and then I run my finger through the jam, it should not be runny, but thickish like a french jam.
Have ready jam jars and lids that have been boiled for 10 minutes, take out of the boiling water and fill with the just finished apricot preserve. Fill to within a half inch of the rim of the jar, clean the rim of the jar well with a moist towel for a good seal, cap with lid till snug. Place in a water bath that covers the jars by at least 2 inches, boil for 10 minutes and remove from water. The jar tops should be indented when a proper seal is attained, if they don’t seal keep in your refrigerator. This jam will keep for at least 2 years in a dark, cool place if it last that long without disappearing.
If I lived in california I would have a larder full of jars of all the apricot varieties preserved.
Thank you Chloe!
Brenda Athanus runs a small gourmet food shop in Belgrade Lakes, Maine with her sister Tanya called the Green Spot.
The Green Spot
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