A lesson in Culture while buying Apricots

On Friday, even though I had already been to the market on Monday, I got side-lined by an organic market close to my mother’s house.  I rolled my pram through the market, making an agreement with myself that there was nothing else I could buy that would possibly fit in my mother’s fridge or my stomach. Pfffttt!  As if I have any self control when it comes to markets and food.  

I had apricots at home, lots of them and I had only eaten about a handful, even though they were the most fragrant ones I had tasted for quite a long time.  In London, I always avoid stone fruits as they are positively abysmal – watery, grainy and totally lacking in flavour and strangely smell. 

I explained to the fruit seller as he thrust half an apricot under my nose that I had apricots at home, lots of them and would not be buying any more.  ”Ok, fine” he smiled “but you can still try this one”.  So I did.  Yum.  I needed to buy some of these apricots as well.  He informed me that all I needed to do was to leave them out of the fridge for half a day and they would turn to honey.  I remarked that I quite like them firm and sour.  ”Ahh, of course.” said a man who had been listening in on our conversation “Aristotle said that the body is always in search of balance and you need the sour to balance the sweet.”  

I was and am utterly dumb founded by that remark. Only in Greece can an impromptu visit to the market end with a man quoting Aristotle. 

I ended up with way too many apricots and made a delicious and gorgeous bright orange jam as per the recipe on the Little Green Cottage Designs Blog, which I found by doing a random search on Google. I just added a quarter of unripe fruit and doubled the lemon juice and voila! A jam so good my mother suggested I take it with me to Berlin.

Where I am due to arrive on the 5th of July!

Any recommendations from Nurseries? or Language Schools? And of course, wonderful, original foodie places to visit?