Appelkoos Konfyt

Cape Malay whole apricot preserve: small apricots with their kernels re-inserted and cooked whole in a clear, lightly spiced sugar syrup until translucent and jewel-like in the tradition of the Cape Dutch confituriers of the Boland

Origin: Cape Colony, South Africa

From the journey of Apricot.

The konfyt (the Afrikaans word derived directly from the French confit and the Dutch confijt, via the Huguenot settlers who came to the Cape after 1688) is the great preserve tradition of the Western Cape kitchen. The French Huguenots who settled the Franschhoek valley and the wider Boland brought both their expertise in fruit cultivation and their skill in the confiturerie tradition, which found in the Cape's extraordinary apricot orchards a fruit ideally suited to the konfyt treatment. The Cape apricot (descended from the cultivars planted by VOC gardeners from 1652 onward, developed over two centuries in the deep soils and hot summers of the Boland) became the foundation of an entire Western Cape preserving culture. The appelkoos konfyt (apricot konfyt, appelkoos being the Afrikaans word for apricot, from the Dutch abrikoos) is made in two distinct ways: as a smooth jam, glad konfyt; and as a whole-fruit preserve, heel konfyt. The version given here is the whole-fruit variety: small apricots are blanched and skinned, the kernel cracked out and returned inside the cavity, and the whole fruit cooked slowly in a light syrup until translucent and jewel-like, each apricot a tiny globe of concentrated sweetness with the bitter kernel at its centre providing the characteristic Cape counterpoint. Served with soft white bread and butter, or alongside a slice of mature Boland cheese, it is the taste of the Western Cape summer.

Ingredients

Fruit

  • 1.5 kg small, firm apricots (ideally Cape apricots, 4–5 cm diameter); stones reserved

Sweet

  • 1.2 kg white sugar

Liquid

  • 500 ml water

Flavouring

  • 2 strips lemon rind (pith removed)

Spice

  • 1 stick cinnamon (about 5 cm)

Method

  1. Score a small cross in the base of each apricot. Lower in batches into boiling water for 30 seconds, then lift directly into iced water. The skins will slip off easily. Peel all the apricots and set aside.
  2. Crack the reserved stones with a nutcracker and extract the kernels. For each peeled apricot, use a small sharp knife to open the cavity left by the stone and push one kernel back inside. Close the fruit gently around it.
  3. Combine the sugar, water, lemon rind, and cinnamon stick in a wide preserving pan. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add the prepared apricots in a single layer (cook in two batches if necessary) and simmer very gently for 20–25 minutes until beginning to turn translucent.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat. Allow the apricots to steep in the hot syrup overnight, covered. This long steeping draws the syrup deep into the fruit and produces the characteristic translucent, jewel-like quality of a proper whole-fruit konfyt.
  5. The next day, bring the pan back to a gentle simmer and cook for a further 20–25 minutes until the fruit is fully translucent and the syrup has thickened to a lightly set consistency. The apricots should appear luminous and amber when held to the light.
  6. Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon rind. Ladle the apricots and their syrup into warm, sterilised jars, ensuring each jar receives an even distribution of whole fruit and syrup. Seal immediately. The konfyt will keep for 12 months in a cool, dark place; refrigerate once opened.

Notes

The size of the apricots matters: small, firm Cape-style apricots (the old Rosy, Bulida, or Peeka cultivars if available) are far better for this preparation than large commercial varieties, which are too big to preserve whole and tend to collapse. If only large apricots are available, halve them and proceed without the kernel re-insertion; the preserve will be less traditional but still excellent. The konfyt is served at the Cape table with cheese and bread, alongside cold meats in a ploughman-style spread, or as a condiment alongside the Cape Malay curries, where its sweetness provides a classic counterpoint to the savoury heat.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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