Apricot Paste is a traditional British recipe, based on Robert Kemp Philp's recipe of 1859, for a classic method of preserving apricots by making a fruit leather from boiled apricots mixed with sugar and oven baked until leathery. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Apricot Paste.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Apricot Paste that's derived from Robert Kemp Philp's 1859 volume, The Dictionary of Daily Wants. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
Put any quantity of fruit required into a stewpan, stew it till tender then remove the stones, and pass the fruit through a hair sieve; add an equal weight of clarified sugar; mix well together and dry in a very slow oven.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
12 ripe apricots
4 tbsp water
granulated sugar
Method:
Halve the apricots then place (with their stones) in a pan. Add the water, bring to a simmer the cover and cook gently for about 40 minutes, or until the fruit are soft and pulpy. Remove the stones with a slotted spoon then pass the apricot flesh through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down with the back of a spoon to extract as much of the pulp as possible.
Weight the apricot purée then transfer to a bowl and stir in an equal weight of granulated sugar. Spread the mixture in a buttered baking dish then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 90°C and bake slowly for about 6 minutes, or until dry and leathery.
