Mebos
Aperçu
Mebos is one of the oldest sweets of the Cape: ripe apricots cured in brine, dried in the sun, and packed in layers of sugar until they carry salt and sweetness at the same time. The combination is unusual in European confectionery and entirely normal in the Cape, where the preserving traditions of several continents met and stayed. Its name records that meeting. Mebos is generally traced either to the Japanese umeboshi, the salted pickled plum, or to the Arabic mishmish, meaning apricot, and both routes point to the maritime trade that shaped Cape food. Either way the word arrived from outside and the thing itself became local. It is preserving food rather than confectionery in the modern sense. Apricots have a short season and mebos extends it by months, which is why the Cape's fruit growing districts produced it in quantity long before sugar was cheap. South Africans still carry it on hikes and long drives for exactly the reason it was made: it keeps, it needs no refrigeration, and a small piece goes a long way. The word is also applied loosely to other dried fruit sweets, which is a modern imprecision rather than the original meaning.
Note de Patrimoine AFN
Mebos is documented as one of the oldest sweet preserves of the Cape, and its name is traced either to the Japanese umeboshi, a salted pickled plum, or to the Arabic mishmish, meaning apricot. Both derivations point to the maritime trade routes that connected the Cape to Asia and the Indian Ocean.
Ingrédients
Les mentions alimentaires sont fournies par les contributeurs à titre indicatif. Elles ne sont pas vérifiées par AFN et dépendent des produits que vous achetez. En cas d’allergie grave, vérifiez vous-même chaque ingrédient. Cuisine, allergies et votre propre jugement
Préparation
- 1
Make a brine solution using 250 grams of salt to 2 litres of water.
- 2
Soak the apricots overnight, then remove the skins the next day.
- 3
Leave the apricots in the sun for a day to soften, then gently squeeze out the stones.
- 4
Shape into flat rounds. If the apricots are small, press 2 or 3 together into a single flat round.
- 5
Spread out on racks in the sun, covered with muslin, and leave for 4 to 6 days.
- 6
Turn the fruit regularly and make sure air circulates freely around it.
- 7
Bring the racks inside overnight. Alternatively, dry the mebos in a cool convection oven at 60°C for 6 hours, turning occasionally.
- 8
Pack the dried mebos into small boxes and sprinkle with sugar, using about 750 grams of sugar per 500 grams of mebos.
Notes de l’Africook
Notes personnelles de Nympha Nzeribe- The muslin is not optional if you are drying outdoors. It keeps insects off fruit that is sticky, sweet and sitting in the open for the better part of a week.
- Turn the fruit every day and keep the pieces separated. Anything that stays damp against a rack or against its neighbour will spoil rather than dry.
- A convection oven at 60°C with the door slightly ajar is the reliable route in a humid climate. Six hours gets you close to what four days of dry Cape sun does.
- The sugar layer is part of the preserve and not a coating. It draws out remaining moisture and is what lets mebos keep for months in a sealed box.
- Bring the racks in overnight when drying outdoors. Night humidity undoes a day of progress.
Questions fréquentes
Why is mebos both salty and sweet?
Because it is cured twice. The apricots first sit overnight in a salt brine, which draws out moisture and seasons the fruit, and they are packed in sugar after drying. Neither step cancels the other, so the finished mebos carries both. That sour salt edge against the sweetness is what distinguishes it from ordinary dried apricots and is the whole reason people either love it or leave it.
Can I make mebos without sun drying?
Yes. A convection oven set to around 60°C with the door slightly open will dry the fruit in about six hours, and that is the practical method in a humid or cold climate. Sun drying over four to six days gives a slightly different texture and is how it has always been made in the Cape, but the oven version is a legitimate shortcut rather than a compromise.
How long does mebos keep?
Several months in a sealed container in a cool dry place, which is the entire point of making it. Both the salt cure and the sugar packing are preservation steps. If the pieces feel damp or tacky rather than pliable, they were not dried far enough and should go back on the rack, because incompletely dried fruit will mould in storage.
Can I use other fruit instead of apricots?
The word mebos is now applied loosely to a range of dried fruit confections, including minced fruit squares and fruit rolls, but that is a modern broadening of the term. Mebos proper is apricot. Other stone fruit can be treated the same way and will give you a good salted dried fruit, though it will not be mebos in the original sense.
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tried making this during the hot week here in ohio using produce market apricots. squeezing out the pips after that first day softening in the sun was so easy once the skin was peeled off. the brine salt ratio sounded crazy high at first but it really balances that sharp sweet-sour taste oo. just make sure your muslin cloth is stretched tight or insects will bother it.
Reminds me of my ouma's pantry back in the day. Proper lekker salty-sour taste! Just a tip: make sure you buy completely unblemished fruit, if there is a bruise the brine won't save it and it rots during the 5 days on the rack. Used 750g sugar per 500g of the dried rounds and packed them in layers. Spot on recipe.
Dallas summer sun dried these flattened apricots in just four days sha! i pressed two or three together for each flat round because the ones from H-E-B were a bit small. my husband was doubtful about the heavy salt water soak at first but e sweet bad! perfect chewy texture.
Abeg is 250g salt for 2 litres of water not too much? I left the apricots overnight as stated and skinned them, but when I tasted a bit before laying them on racks under muslin cloth it was just way too salty for me. Hoping the 750g sugar at the end covers it sha.
The dry heat here in Tamale dried mine completely in four days paa. Soaking in that strong brine overnight made slipping the skins off the next morning so smooth, no knife needed at all. We enjoy this sweet and salty dried fruit treat very much oo.