The Return of the Apricot: Making Jam with the Tk’emlúps Tree That Refused to Quit

There’s an old apricot tree in Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc territory that doesn’t care about your plans. Doesn’t care about your timelines. Doesn’t give a damn about frost warnings or city schedules. It just grows. Wild, resilient, heavy with fruit like it’s trying to prove a point. And we've loved coming back to it year after year.

But last year, the apricot season in British Columbia was just a brutal disappoint. A snap frost rolled through and wiped out every stone fruit bloom in the region. Apricots, peaches, cherries—gone. The tree stayed standing, of course. But the fruit never came. We shelved our dreams of making anything with that ancient gold, and we waited.

This year, though? They came back swinging.

Apricots in full force. Glowing, sun-kissed, heavy with juice. The kind of fruit that makes you pull over on the side of the road just to pick one from a stranger’s yard. The kind of fruit that makes stories. And jam.

Welcome to the origin story of our Tk’emlúps Apricot Ginger Jam: a limited-engagement specialty menu item that’s as much about memory and place as it is about flavor.

A Tree with History and Too Much Fruit

There’s a joke in Kamloops that if you have to pay for apricots, you’ve got no friends. Fortunately, we’ve got friends in the right places—namely, Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc territory. That’s where we found the tree. You know the type. Branches so heavy with fruit they’re propped up by two-by-fours, looking like the legs of an old table groaning under the weight of a feast.

We drove from Vancouver, not for business or ceremony—but for apricots. No middlemen. No trucks. No distributors. Just family, tradition, and a little sweat under the July sun.

We picked until our hands were sticky and our shoulders ached. And still, we barely made a dent. The rest? They became quiet little gifts on the doorsteps of neighbours up and down the street. That’s how it works in Kamloops. You give, you receive. That's community.

Why Apricots Matter (Beyond the Flavour)

Let’s talk medicine. Real medicine. Not the pill bottle kind—but the type that grows from the earth and whispers stories while you eat it.

Apricots have been considered a superfood for centuries, and not just because they taste like the sun bottled into flesh. They’re low in calories, high in fiber, and loaded with beta-carotene, vitamin C, and potassium. Good for your eyes, immune system, and heart.

But more than that, they’re tied to place. To community. To the land that gave them life. When you eat them like this—raw, cooked, or preserved—you’re tasting time, weather, and tradition. You’re tasting a year that tried to kill the harvest and failed.

Food is Medicine, with a Modern Twist

Of course, we couldn’t just stop at apricots. Not in our kitchen. We needed something with heat. A modern twist with a little bite. Something that would dance with that golden fruit and turn it into more than just nostalgia in a jar.

So we brought ginger to the party.

Ginger doesn’t play nice, and that’s exactly why we chose it. Sharp, spicy, medicinal. It comes with its own resume—gingerol, shogaol, anti-inflammatory superpowers, digestive fire, antioxidant glory. In short, it brings the edge.

The result? A Tk’emlúps Apricot Ginger Jam that’s both sweet and defiant. This is not your Kokum's jam, though she would probably approve.

From Wild Fruit to Charcuterie Icon

This isn’t just jam. This is a chapter in our story at Tawnshi Charcuterie.

Our boards don’t just feed people—they talk. And when this jam hits the plate alongside fresh bannock, sharp cheeses, and smoked salmon so rich it makes you want to weep? That’s when you understand what food is really for.

It’s for remembering. For sharing. For reclaiming something you didn’t even know you lost.

And while this jam is a limited specialty menu item, its impact lingers. Like that perfect bite you remember long after the plate is cleared.

Why You’ll Want to Taste This (Before It’s Gone)

We don’t make food to fill space. We make it to tell stories. This jam—this Tk’emlúps Apricot Ginger Jam—is a love letter to resilience. To Indigenous land. To ancestral trees and roadside generosity. To driving five hours for fruit that felt lost last year.

So if you’re lucky enough to catch it on one of our Tawnshi Charcuterie boards, slow down. Take a bite. Let it hit the roof of your mouth and stay there for a second.

You’re not just eating jam. You’re tasting Tk’emlúps.

One Tree. One Season. One Chance.

This isn’t about mass production. There’s no factory here. No supply chain wizardry. Just one ancient tree, one harvest, and a handful of people who believed this year would be different.

And it was.

So if you're the kind of person who appreciates a good story—one that comes with sticky fingers and a sharp ginger finish—this jam is for you.

Come taste it before it disappears.