On the weekend, our sweet, elderly landlords (who live next door) gifted us with a huge bag of apricots from their backyard tree. I’ve been wary of fruit for the last year or so, as they all seem to give me an allergic reaction these days in raw form.

However, I’ve never made jam before (jam in German is Marmelade, hence the title 😛 ) and was determined to at least try.

The fruit was so ripe it required almost no added sugar at all. I added some spices – cinammon, star anise and long black pepper just to jazz it up a bit. With a little help from my beloved Stephanie Alexander, I made three little jars of delicious jam.

I gave one jar to our downstairs neighbours who said they looked forward to trying it on crêpes, and we’ve already started one jar ourselves. I know my landlady will already be making her own, so I’ll have to think of something else to say thanks to her!