Apricot and Vanilla-Bean Preserves

Fresh apricots eaten out of hand—at least ones sold in this country—are almost always a little disappointing. This is true even of ones you pick yourself and let ripen on the counter for a few days, until they’re just soft to the touch. (I was told by growers in Washington state that apricots are never picked ripe, as they’re too fragile to travel.) While I wouldn’t say that fruit in general can be improved by preserving, even supermarket apricots, in a preserve like this one, become