How to Make Delicious Soft Candied Apricots - Mytour

• 2kg of apricots
• 700g of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of fine salt
• 1 ginger root, julienned
• Lime (optional): 50g

Photo by Ha Nguyen

Steps to Make Whole Apricot Preserves Hanoi Style

Step 1: Prepare the Apricots

• Wash apricots thoroughly and let them drain. Use a knife to score apricots in a clamshell shape. Score apricots into slices along parallel lines. This method helps extract more juice from the apricots. However, avoid scoring too thinly to prevent the apricots from becoming mushy when drying. 
• Dissolve lime in clean water, let it settle for a while, then pour off the lime water. Then soak the apricots completely in the lime water for about 4 to 5 hours. This process helps reduce the sourness and bitterness of the apricots, and the scored apricot wings will also become firmer and more beautiful, preventing them from crumbling when dried.
• After soaking for enough time, rinse the apricots again and let them drain.
• Pour all the prepared sugar into the apricots, soak for 2-3 hours. When the sugar has dissolved completely, add a little fine salt to soak.

Photo by Tran Thu

Step 2: How to Make Dried Apricot Preserves - Drying the Apricot Preserves

• Use a juicer to extract ginger juice for drying apricots, separate the ginger residue into small pieces and dry.
• After the sugar has dissolved and soaked into the apricots, put the apricots in a pan to dry. Add ginger juice or thinly sliced ginger to the pan. Use a spoon to gently stir and flip the apricots, avoiding the use of chopsticks as they may crush the apricots.
• Dry over low heat for about 40 - 50 minutes until the apricots turn translucent, then turn off the heat, pour the liquid into a separate bowl to make apricot syrup.
• Scoop the apricots onto a tray to drain and cool. Gently press the apricots to release excess water, separate the scored areas of the apricots to make them look nicer.
• When the apricots have cooled, place them in a non-oil frying pan or oven. Set the temperature to 100 degrees Celsius and dry for 60 minutes. If the weather is sunny, you can sun-dry them for about 2 days. This method of making apricot preserves using an oil-free frying pan has been widely adopted and successful!
• Once dried, let the apricots cool and then place them in glass jars for storage in the refrigerator. You can sprinkle dried ginger on top of the apricots for extra fragrance.

Photo by Tran Thu

Finished Product: Red Apricot Preserves

Red apricot preserves can be stored for up to 6 months after making. The apricots remain firm and intact, retaining their original shape without becoming mushy. They have a sweet, chewy taste, with a fragrant ginger aroma and no sour or bitter taste. This is a popular snack that is essential during the Tet holiday and is loved by many.

Apricot syrup is also a great refreshing drink for the summer days. The syrup can be stored in a glass bottle in the refrigerator. You can make apricot soda by mixing the syrup with ice according to the following recipe: 1 glass of ice + 3 tablespoons of syrup + 2/3 can of soda.

Ingredients:

Photo credit: Collected

Method:

Step 1: Prepare the ingredients

Place a pot on the stove, pour plum water in, scrape vanilla seeds and add to the plum water, then add 5g of salt for rich flavor. Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes until the mixture thickens.

Step 4: Making plum jam for bread

Ingredients to prepare

3kg of plums 1kg of sugar 1 teaspoon of fine salt

Steps to make plum jam

Clean the plums, soak them in a diluted saltwater solution for about 15 minutes to remove all dirt. After 15 minutes, remove the plums and let them drain.

Photo by Loan Tran

Finished plum jam

Depending on the initial tartness of the plums, you can adjust the amount of sugar accordingly. When making plum compote, you can add a few drops of lime juice and vanilla extract to enhance the aroma. For the syrup, it's recommended to use brown sugar or palm sugar for a sweet, mellow taste, rather than white sugar.

Photo by Loan Tran

Above are some ways to make plum compote that Mytour Blog would like to share with you. Let's get started and make a few jars of compote now!

In addition to plum compote, check out how to make other delicious preserves, cakes, and candies for enjoyment:

• How to Make Persimmon Compote
• How to Make Nougat Candy