Apricot Riesling Jam

Please welcome Garrett McCord, who shares with us his latest jam recipe. ~Elise

I’m surprised that the food obsessed don’t consider Ernest Hemingway a proper food writer. Go pick up a copy of A Farewell to Arms or “Big Two-Hearted River” and pick any random page and the characters are either drinking or eating, though it’s more likely the former. He even titled his memoir, A Moveable Feast.

Recently I was working on a paper for a class in my Master’s program that was discussing the use of food and drink in Hemingway’s works as a form of escapism. Now after so much reading and writing I usually have to escape myself and do so through food, which proves once again that life imitates art (and academia, apparently). However after all this food lit. study I decided to see if I could cook up something inspired by Hemingway.

I decided to make a jam since Catherine in the novel A Farewell to Arms is pining for it as she crosses into Switzerland in a paddle boat in the middle of a storm to escape the Italian army. As for using apricots, Nick in “Big Two-Hearted River” downs a few cans of them in his pastoral journey for inner peace.

Finally, since it was Hemingway I was dealing with, booze had to be used, no question. Finding a nice Riesling that paired well with the apricots I was all set to go. The result was a jam that I’m sure Catherine, Nick, Hemingway himself, or any literature lover will find perfect for smearing over some warm bread. The perfect accompaniment to your Summer reading.

Apricot Riesling Jam Recipe

Most of the alcohol cooks out and leaves a delightful flavor that I encourage you try, but if you don't want to use wine, just substitute with water. This recipe can be easily doubled; if doubling, use an 8-quart pot.

Ingredients

• 5 cups of chopped apricots, pits discarded*
• 2 + 3/4 cups of sugar
• 1/3 cup of Riesling (or Gewürztraminer)
• 5 tablespoons of lemon juice

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