1- First wash your apricots, remove the pits and keep them in halves.
2- In a large saucepan, pour the sugar and water, the half lemons, the pods and vanilla seeds and cook until 121°(soft ball)*.
3- Then add your apricots, cook for 20 minutes, if you add the Mandarine Napoléon do it 5 minutes before the end of cooking.
4- Be sure to skim well, then at the end of cooking remove vanilla sticks and lemon.
Then fill your jars to the brim, close them and turn them over while waiting about 15 minutes, then place them in a basin full of cold water and ice cubes, then after 10 minutes wipe them and place them in a dry place away from light.
With my thanks to my late friend Francis Miot triple world champion who initiated me to this revolutionary technique.
*Cooking sugar to soft ball - 121° is said when a drop of syrup falling into cold water forms a ball.
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