flipProvençal Apricot Compote in Jars
Provençal Apricot Compote in Jars
Why this dish? In Arles and Saint-Rémy, Van Gogh painted the orchards in bloom in spring 1888, dazzled by the apricot and peach trees of the South: “a whole burst of flowers.” Putting these apricots in jars was a way to keep a little of that sun and those colors for the bad season.
A compote of ripe apricots cooked with sugar and potted — the gold and orange of the Provençal orchards preserved for winter, to spread on morning bread.
In spring, here, the apricot trees explode in pink and white blossoms, and I covered entire canvases with them, so moved was I. When summer comes and the fruits hang, golden and warm from the sun, you cook them with sugar until they set, and you seal them in glass jars. Thus, my friend, when the gray winter descends on the South, you open a jar and suddenly find all the orange and all the sun of my orchards in bloom. It is a way of painting, deep down — keeping the light for dark days.
- •Ripe Provençal apricots — a large basket (fruit, fruity signature)
- •Sugar — almost as much as the fruit (preservation and sweetness)
Provençal Apricot Compote in Jars
A compote of ripe apricots cooked with sugar and potted — the gold and orange of the Provençal orchards preserved for winter, to spread on morning bread.
Why this dish? In Arles and Saint-Rémy, Van Gogh painted the orchards in bloom in spring 1888, dazzled by the apricot and peach trees of the South: “a whole burst of flowers.” Putting these apricots in jars was a way to keep a little of that sun and those colors for the bad season.
In spring, here, the apricot trees explode in pink and white blossoms, and I covered entire canvases with them, so moved was I. When summer comes and the fruits hang, golden and warm from the sun, you cook them with sugar until they set, and you seal them in glass jars. Thus, my friend, when the gray winter descends on the South, you open a jar and suddenly find all the orange and all the sun of my orchards in bloom. It is a way of painting, deep down — keeping the light for dark days.
Ingredients (period version)
- Ripe Provençal apricots — a large basket (fruit, fruity signature)
- Sugar — almost as much as the fruit (preservation and sweetness)
Ingredients
- Very ripe apricots — 1 kg, pitted (tart fruit)
- Sugar — 700 g (preservation and sweetness)
- Lemon juice — 1 tablespoon (acidity and setting)
Method
- Wash, pit, and halve the apricots.
- Mix them with the sugar and lemon juice, let macerate for 1 hour.
- Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes, skimming.
- Check the set on a cold plate: a drop should gel.
- Pour boiling hot into sterilized jars, seal, and turn upside down until cool.
How it was made : Before refrigeration, preserving fruit as jam was the common 19th-century method of storing summer harvests. In Provence, apricots and figs were cooked with sugar and stored in stoneware or glass jars to last through winter.
The contemporary twist : Label the jars “Orchards of Arles, 1888” and top them with a square of sunflower-yellow fabric tied with string — a gift that smells of the South.
Vincent van Gogh · Charactorium
