What Are Apricot halves, canned and How Can I Use Them?
If apricot halves, canned have turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use them with confidence and how to choose them, cook them, store them, what to substitute, and 28 recipes to try them in.
Key Points
- Pitted apricot halves packed in syrup or juice; tangier and more assertive than canned peaches.
- Their faint tartness makes them a glaze workhorse for brisket, pork, and chicken.
- Drain before baking; reduce fruit and syrup until it coats a spoon for glazes.
- Apricot preserves substitute well in glazes since they are already thick and concentrated.
- Unopened cans keep a year-plus; refrigerate opened fruit in its liquid for 5 to 7 days.
What is apricot halves, canned?
Canned apricot halves are ripe apricots that have been pitted and packed in liquid, then sealed and heat-processed for a long shelf life. The fruit comes split into halves, sitting in a sugar syrup or in fruit juice, with the skins left on.
Apricots are a smaller, tangier stone fruit than peaches, and canning keeps that edge. Where canned peaches read as pure sweetness, apricots hold a faint tartness that cuts through sugar and fat. That acidity is exactly why they turn up so often in glazes for meat.
Buy them and you've got soft, sweet-tart fruit ready any month of the year, no peeling and no waiting for a short fresh season.
Using Canned Apricot Halves
Drain them first. The packing liquid is sweet and watery, and it will loosen a batter or thin a sauce, so tip the can into a sieve and let it run off before you start.
The halves hold their cup shape well, which makes them a natural for upside-down cakes and tarts where you want neat fruit on top. Apricot Up-Side Down Cake and Pear-And-Apricot Tart both arrange the drained halves cut-side down so they caramelize.
For a crumble topping, Hayes Street Grill Apricot Crisp leans on that same soft texture.
Their real signature is the glaze. Pureed or chopped apricot, often with a little of its syrup, brushes onto roasting meat and sets into a sweet-tart lacquer.
Glazed Barbecued Beef Brisket and Clove Apricot Glaze both work this way, and the same fruit drives saucy mains like Apricot Chicken and Chinese Fruited Pork.
Don't waste the syrup. Reduce it into the glaze, blend it into a drink like Pineapple-Apricot Crush, or spoon it over the cake for extra moisture.
Pairing and Common Mistakes
Apricots have an affinity for warm spice and a savory counterpoint. Clove and cinnamon deepen them, while a hit of mustard or vinegar in a glaze balances their sugar against roasting meat.
On the sweet side they take well to almond, which is a botanical cousin, and to cream cheese in no-bake desserts.
The classic mistake is treating canned apricots like canned peaches and assuming they're interchangeable. They're more acidic and more assertive, so a swap can throw off a delicate custard. Taste as you go.
The other slip is skipping the drain and ending up with a watery glaze that slides off the meat instead of clinging. A glaze needs to be thick, so reduce the fruit and syrup until it coats a spoon.
Substitutes
Canned peaches are the closest swap, sweeter and milder, so cut back any added sugar and add a squeeze of lemon to mimic the apricot tang. Canned pears work in baked desserts, though they're blander.
For glazes, apricot preserves or jam are arguably better than the canned fruit. They're already concentrated and thick, so you skip the reducing step. Use them spoon for spoon where a recipe calls for pureed canned apricot.
Dried apricots, simmered in water until soft and then blended, give the most intense apricot flavor of all. Fresh apricots only make sense in their short early-summer window, and they need pitting and a little cooking to match the canned texture.
Buying and Storing
Read the pack on the label. Syrup-packed apricots carry the most added sugar, while "in juice" or "in light syrup" versions let the fruit's own tartness come through, which is the better choice for glazes where you control the sweetness.
An unopened can stored in a cool, dry cupboard keeps well past its best-by date, often a year or more. Skip any can that's bulging, leaking, or dented on a seam, since those signal a compromised seal.
After opening, transfer the apricots and their liquid to a sealed container and refrigerate, never leaving them in the can. They'll keep about 5 to 7 days.
For longer storage, drain and freeze the halves on a tray, then bag them once solid. They hold up for several months and go straight into baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup, halves (219g)Quick facts
Where to find apricot halves, canned: Apricot halves, canned is usually found in the canned goods section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
Food group: Apricot halves, canned is a member of the Fruits and Fruit Juices US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.
- In Chinese
- 杏半，罐头
- British (UK) term
- Apricot halves, canned
- en français
- moitiés d'abricots en conserve,
- en español
- mitades de albaricoque, en lata
How much does apricot halves, canned weigh?
| Amount | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1 cup, halves | 219 grams |
| 1 cup, whole | 182 grams |
Related
Fruits and Fruit Juices
Recipes using apricot halves, canned
There are 28 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Poppy-Seed Cake with a Lemon Glaze
A light, fat-free poppy seed bundt cake built on apricot puree and egg-white meringue, finished with a tangy lemon glaze. A clever lower-cal cake that doesn't taste compromised.
Pineapple-Apricot Crush
Pineapple apricot crush blends canned apricots with pineapple juice and ice into a tropical slushy drink. Three ingredients, ready in 5 minutes.
Glazed Barbecued Beef Brisket
Glazed barbecued beef brisket simmered fork-tender then finished on the grill with your choice of three glazes: honey-spice, apple-mustard, or apricot. A two-stage method for smoky, glossy brisket.
Poppy-Seed Cake with Lemon Glaze
Poppy seed cake with lemon glaze baked in a bundt pan. Pureed apricots replace butter for moisture, egg whites provide lift, and a tangy lemon glaze drizzles over the top. No butter, no yolks.
Chinese Fruited Pork
Tender pork stir-fried with sweet apricots and crisp snow peas in a glossy soy-based sauce. This sweet-savory Chinese dish is ready in 30 minutes, perfect over steamed rice.
Pork St. Tammany
Pork St. Tammany: Louisiana-style rolled pork loin stuffed with rice, apricots, pecans, and mushrooms, wrapped in bacon and slow-roasted. Creole holiday centerpiece with sweet, nutty stuffing.
Apricot Creme Tart
Crispy phyllo crust filled with tofu-apricot cream spiked with honey, topped with glazed canned apricots and optional chocolate drizzle.
Friendship Fruit Starter
Friendship fruit starter ferments pineapple, peaches, apricots, and cherries in brandy and sugar for three weeks. A boozy heirloom base for cakes, ice cream, or gifting.
Roast Pork & Sauerkraut
Roast pork and sauerkraut braises a pork loin low and slow in apple juice with sauerkraut, caraway, and onions, served with a warm applesauce-apricot sauce. Old-world Eastern European Sunday dinner.
Pear-And-Apricot Tart
Pear and apricot tart layers fanned pears and apricot halves over almond paste filling in a buttery almond pastry, then glazes with apple jelly. A bakery-worthy fruit tart for special occasions.
Curried Beef with Fruit
Slow cooker curried beef with pineapple, orange juice, apricots, and crunchy peanuts served over rice. Sweet-and-spicy set-it-and-forget-it crockpot dinner with curry-braised beef chunks.
Friendship Cake-Amish
Amish friendship cake with brandy-soaked fruit starter, warm spices, and pecans in a bundt pan. A share-with-friends chain recipe where the fermented fruit starter grows and gets passed along.
Chilled Apricot-Pear Soup
A silky no-cook chilled soup blending canned apricots and pears with yogurt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Light, refreshing, and ready in minutes. The perfect summer starter.
Apricot Cheese Pie
Creamy cottage cheese and cream cheese filling flavored with dates and orange zest in an oat crust, topped with glazed apricot halves.
Honey-Apricot Dressing
Creamy honey-apricot salad dressing blended with sour cream and a squeeze of lemon. A sweet, tangy fruit dressing ready in minutes for green salads, fruit salads, or grain bowls.
Pat's Friendship Cake Brandied Starter
Brandied fruit starter with pineapple, peaches, apricots, and maraschino cherries soaked in brandy and sugar. A living friendship cake starter you keep and share.
Chocolate Upside Down Apricot Cake
Upside-down chocolate cake baked over a brown-sugar caramel with apricot halves and maraschino cherries. Cocoa-rich cake flipped onto the platter for a glossy fruit top.
Clove Apricot Glaze
Clove apricot glaze blends canned apricots with vinegar, oil, and ground cloves for a sweet-tart blender sauce. Five minutes start to finish, perfect for ham, pork, or roasted poultry.
Quick Sweet & Sour Chicken with Apricots
A quick and succulent dish that brings some variety to dinner and a tantalizing flavor everyone will enjoy!
Apricot Chicken
Chicken pieces simmered in apricot nectar with canned apricots and onion soup mix for a sweet-savory dinner that's retro and comforting.
Hayes Street Grill Apricot Crisp
Hayes Street Grill apricot crisp tops tart apricots with a cinnamon brown-sugar crumble and bakes until the fruit bubbles golden. San Francisco restaurant classic dessert in under an hour.
Apricot Up-Side Down Cake
Light upside-down cake with canned apricot halves on the bottom, topped with a sponge-like batter made from separated eggs and bread crumbs.
Chocolate Apricot Upside-Down Cake
Chocolate apricot upside-down cake with a caramelized brown sugar base, tender apricot halves, and pecans beneath a cocoa-rich batter. Served with cinnamon whipped cream.
Fresh Apricot Pie
Fresh apricot pie with a double crust, lemon juice, cinnamon, and butter. A classic fruit pie showcasing apricots at their peak with a flaky golden top crust.
Apricot Pineapple Pie
No-bake pie with crispy rice cereal crust filled with tapioca-thickened apricot and pineapple in cinnamon-spiced fruit juice.
Apricot Cheesecake(No Bake)
Silky no-bake cheesecake flavored with puréed apricots and set with gelatin in a chocolate crumb crust for an easy make-ahead dessert.
Double Apricot Bread
Love apricots, and this double apricot bread was right up to my ally. The bread was so moist and delicious. Breakfast, snack, or dessert. Yum, yum!
