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Mebos (Karoo salted apricot sweets)
Sweet-sour apricot paste rolled into sugared balls or thin squares
Mebos belongs to the dry Karoo and the orchards of the Western Cape, where summer apricots were salted, sun-dried and pounded into a paste that lasted the year. Today it is a car-trip and school-holiday treat, bought from farm stalls and passed around with afternoon tea. The flavour is bright and tart, then sweet, with a little salt that makes the apricot taste even stronger; the texture is dense and chewy, like a soft fruit leather. Eat it on its own, with a cup of rooibos, or chopped over plain yoghurt. This version starts from dried apricots, so it can be made at any time of year. It is naturally egg-free: the apricots' own pectin and fibre, thickened with sugar in the pan, hold the paste together with no other binder. Chef's tip: measure the salt; the common mistake is adding it by feel, which turns a sweet-sour sweet into a salty one.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb dried apricotsthe tart, orange kind if you can find them
- 2 cups warm water
- ¾ tsp fine salt
- 3 ½ oz white sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 5 ½ oz caster sugarfor rolling
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Put 1 ⅛ lb dried apricots in a bowl with 2 cups warm water and ¾ tsp fine salt and leave to soak for 1 hour, until plump and soft.
60 minStep 2: Drain the apricots, keeping 3 tbsp of the soaking water. Blend the apricots with the reserved water to a thick, fairly smooth paste.
Step 3: Scrape the paste into a non-stick pan with 3 ½ oz white sugar and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, for 15-20 minutes, until it darkens slightly, turns glossy and pulls away from the sides of the pan in one mass.
20 minStep 4: Spread the paste on a plate and leave to cool for 20 minutes, until you can handle it and it no longer sticks badly to your fingers.
20 minStep 5: For balls, wet your hands and roll the paste into 15 g balls, then roll each one in 2 ⅝ oz caster sugar.
Step 6: For the flat kind, roll the rest of the paste between two sheets of baking paper dusted with 2 ⅝ oz caster sugar to 5 mm thick, peel off the top sheet and cut into 3 cm squares.
Step 7: Leave the mebos on a rack for at least 30 minutes, uncovered, until the surface feels dry. Store in an airtight tin between layers of paper for up to 1 month.
30 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 185 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mebos (Karoo salted apricot sweets) take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 95 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of white sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of lemon juice?
- Lime juice, same amount.
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