Given that peaches are far better than apricots, why is peach jam/preserves so hard to find?

As every good and thoughful person knows, apricots are the sad, unlovable cousin of the peach. In “Happy Days” terms, peaches are Fonzie and apricots are Ralph Malph.*

So why is peach preserves/jam so hard to find? For every peach jam, there’s like 10 apricot ones.

And apricot glaze is a given for a crapload of recipes. Why? Why not peach?!

This is a grave injustice and unless there’s a good reason for this, I suggest we riot in the streets.

So…is there a reason?
*:wink:

I don’t know… peach preserves seem pretty easy to find here. I can usually find Smuckers or Bonne Maman, and depending on the pricey food store, they may also have some kind of local Texas peach preserves like Fischer-Wieser or Fredericksburg Farms.

FWIW… I’ve subbed in peach preserves for apricot preserves before, and usually can’t tell much difference overall.

Peaches are so tasty, they’re eaten long before they can be made into jam. Apricots are made into jam out of pity.

Personally, I find apricots better than peaches in terms of preserves and making into brandy/schnapps. Tarter, less sweet, and firmer fruit seem to be better suited for these sorts of things. I’d say the same about the desserts I’ve had made with one or the other. I Peaches are better for eating out of hand, though I like apricots, too.

When I have asked myself this same question, that was the answer I gave myself. We have plenty of use for fresh peaches but the poor little apricots won’t get eaten unless we cook them up. Why they can’t just grow more peaches I do not know.
The only people I have known to eat apricots are the same people who would eat prunes. An older generation.

When I was a kid my mother canned fruit like crazy. Stuff would come into season and she’d put up quarts of it, and make jams like the Soviet Union was about to aim all their nukes at America’s orchards.

I certainly had more than my share of peach jams, and to my memory, peaches just weren’t as good as the other jammed fruits. I think** TroutMan** has it right, fresh peaches are just too good to waste in jam.

I have always thought that the main reason is the effect that cooking has on the respective fruits. Apricots become far more delicious when cooked but peaches become far less delicious. Most cooked peach concoctions, even canned and bottled, are sweeter than a natural peach but not as tasty.

Pretty much. I mean, look at a fruit like quince or crabapples, which are pretty much useless if you try to eat it in its fresh state, but make for excellent jams.

Actually, I may be incorrect about calling apricots “less sweet.” For some reason, I’m thinking of them as less sweet, as they have a more sour component to them usually, but apparently they do have more sugar than peaches. They are definitely firmer, though, and the acidity + firmness makes for better preserves, in my opinion.

Boy, do I wish I could have a fresh stone-fruit banquet with you people. While y’all were clawing one another’s eyes out for possession of the last squishy peach, I would be over in the corner happily devouring ALLLLLLLL THE APRICOTS.

I’m not that much of a devotee of fruit preserves of any kind, but fresh apricots, that tangy little love-child of the peach and the lemon, are just ambrosial.

I buy Smucker’s peach preserves all of the time. I get the no sugar added preserves.

I’ve heard of worse reasons for rioting. I’ll bring a baseball bat.

FRESH APRICOT PIE

5 cups small apricots, sliced in half and pitted
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup cold water
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups apricot liquid

In a saucepan combine the apricot liquid with the sugar and salt. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil. Mix the cornstarch with the cold water, being sure to dissolve the cornstarch. Slowly add this paste to the apricot liquid mixture, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the liquid is clear. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter, allow the mix to cool a bit. Place the apricot halves, cut side up, in an unbaked pie crust, and pour the thickened liquid over them. Top with a standard or lattice crust. If using the former, brush with an egg wash glaze and sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 55 minutes, or until the crust is a golden brown.

Apricot liquid

2 pounds fresh apricots
2 tablespoons cornstarch
9 cups water
2 tablespoons cold water
½ cup sugar

Place the fresh apricots in a saucepan and pour over them the water. Bring to a boil over high heat., the reduce the heat to low and simmer the fruit uncovered for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until fruit is tender. With a strainer remove the apricots from the pan and puree in a blender or food processor. Blend sugar into the puree and return it to the water in saucepan, bringing it to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to moderate and stir in the cornstarch, which has been dissolved in the cold water. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until the puree just reaches the boil and thickens slightly. This recipe makes enough liquid for several pies, so whatever is left over may be frozen. Thaw before using.

Peaches make a good butter too. I’ve seen it jarred but it’s easy enough to make. Just puree some peaches and sweeten or spice how you like.

Until this very moment, I considered you the perfect poster. Now that my dream has been dashed, I’ll have to search for another, much like more peach preserves. :wink:

Clowns?
And I’m with Fenris. Peaches are wonderful in all their incarnations, so we should want more to be spreadable, right?

Peaches are juicier and more acidic than apricots, but apricots make better jam due to their higher sugar and dry matter content.

I’ve bought peach(melocoton) jam in Spain. It’s sort of a bit watery and insipid compared to the intense, sticky sweetness of apricot. The delicate aroma that makes fresh peaches so good doesn’t survive the boiling process very well.

Jams made from plums or cherries are very good.

Because local markets; in Spain it’s pretty much the jam you need to wade through to get to the rest. The other two superpopular kinds are strawberry and green plum.

Mangetout, which brand, if you remember? There’s a ridiculous difference in quality even within the major ones.

makes a note: bring good peach jam for presents if ever going back to the US…

Apricots just haven’t been the same since they changed the name from apricocks.

Next time you have apricots, spear a knitting needle through each one once or twice, put them in a quart mason jar, cover with vodka, put the lids on, and wait a month or so.

Drink the vodka and serve the apricots (sliced and pitted) over ice cream.

I make my own peach jam and it is quite excellent. If you drop by some time, I’ll offer you some toast and peach jam. Or strawberry jam. Or blackberry jam.

I like jammin’!