Preserved Apricot

1. Raw material selection: Choose green apricots with a diameter of more than 2 cm, whose flesh is turning white and whose pits have hardened (i.e. 50-60% ripe). Varieties with thick flesh and small pits should be used, and windfallen, defective, red-haired, scarred, over-unripe, overripe or rotten apricots should be discarded.

2. Making the base: Rinse the selected fresh apricots clean with clear water, then add 12-16% salt. While the rinsed green apricots are still not dry, preserve the green apricots by sprinkling salt in layers. After preserving for 7-10 days, take them out and sun-dry them; once dried, the apricot base is ready.

3. Desalting: Rinse the apricot base with clear water to remove salt, soak for 40-50 minutes, then change the water and rinse 1-2 times. Then take out the fruit base and sun-dry it until almost dry, then collect it and put it into a soaking vat.

4. Preparing the soaking liquid: Take 800-1200 g of licorice root, add 15-20 kg of clear water, heat and boil until the water volume is reduced by 30%, then stop the heat and add citric acid equal to 0.12-0.16% of the weight of the green apricots, then filter and clarify.

5. Soaking: Use 60% of the soaking liquid, heat it to about 85°C, add 1-2 kg of white granulated sugar and 25-30 g of sodium cyclamate, and after they dissolve, pour it over the desalted and sun-dried apricot base to soak. During soaking, stir frequently so that the apricot base absorbs the soaking liquid evenly. Soak for 12 hours, or after all the licorice soaking liquid has been absorbed, take out the apricot base, spread it out and sun-dry it; when it is half-dry, put it back into the soaking vat. Take it out, add 1 kg of white granulated sugar, 20 g of sodium cyclamate, 40 ml of vanilla essence, or add vanillin and 20 g of spice powder; after dissolving, pour it into the half-sun-dried preserved apricot product and stir evenly. When the soaking liquid has been fully absorbed, it can be taken out, and baked or sun-dried into the finished product.

6. Packaging: After the finished product is sorted and graded by weight, pack it in measured quantities in non-toxic plastic bags, seal them, and store them in boxes.