You know, apricot jam. Most folks probably just slap it on some toast and call it a day. And yeah, it’s good for that. But I found myself in a bit of a jam situation, literally, a while back. My wife’s cousin, bless her cotton socks, has this apricot tree that goes absolutely wild every summer. And she makes jam. Tons of it. So, she gifted us this massive jar. I mean, you could’ve used the thing as a doorstop, it was that big.
At first, I just shoved it in the back of the pantry. I like apricot jam okay, but I’m not gonna eat it by the spoonful for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It just sat there, you know, collecting dust, probably feeling a bit unloved. But the thing is, I really hate letting food go to waste. It just grinds my gears. So, that jar became a personal mission. I wasn’t going to be defeated by a mountain of preserved fruit.
So, I started thinking. What else could you do with this stuff? Turns out, quite a bit. It wasn’t just about finding ways to smear it on bread. I got down to business. My kitchen basically became an apricot jam lab for a week or two. My main goals were simple: use the jam, and make something decent to eat. Here’s what I ended up doing quite a bit:
- Whipping up quick glazes for chicken or pork.
- Using it as a super easy filling for little baked things.
- Sometimes stirring a bit into a sauce for a bit of a sweet tang.
The first big win was the glaze. I had some chicken pieces, nothing fancy. Just mixed a good couple of spoonfuls of that apricot jam with a bit of soy sauce, a dash of vinegar – apple cider, I think – and some garlic powder. I don’t really measure stuff like that, just kinda go by feel. Whisked it all together, brushed it all over the chicken, and threw it in the oven. The kitchen started smelling pretty good. And let me tell you, it came out all sticky, sweet, and a little bit tangy. Even the picky eaters in my house cleaned their plates. That was a good sign.
Then, I remembered my kiddo loves anything that looks like a little pie. I had some of that ready-made puff pastry in the freezer. Yeah, the store-bought stuff. No shame in my game. I just thawed it, cut it into squares, plopped a teaspoon of jam in the middle of each one. Folded them over into triangles, crimped the edges with a fork so the jam wouldn’t ooze out everywhere – though a little ooze is always nice, right? Baked them till they were puffed up and golden brown. Super simple apricot turnovers. They disappeared in about five minutes flat. Not bad for something that took almost no effort.
Honestly, once I started looking at apricot jam as an ingredient instead of just a spread, it opened up a lot of doors. It’s not just for breakfast anymore, not in my house anyway. That giant jar? Yeah, we actually finished it. And I might even buy another one. On purpose, this time.
