PRUNUS ARMENIACA 

APRICOTS, like peaches, originated in China. Today there are over 2,000 varieties of apricots in that country. Like so many fruits and vegetables from that region, apricots were carried west along the ancient Silk Road, reaching Persia and the Middle East, then Europe, being finally brought across the Atlantic to the Americas.

Apricots are freestone fruits, meaning the pits come out easily (unlike cling fruits—such as certain peaches—where the flesh binds tightly to the pits). Don’t be tempted to eat the apricot kernels inside the pits as many varieties contain an enzyme that produces poisonous prussic acid in the human digestive tract.

THE ORGANIC FACTOR

Apricots, like their close relatives peaches and nectarines, host a wide range of diseases and pests. Organic growers are faced with the same problems as conventional farmers but use nontoxic controls such as planting disease resistant varieties, using parasitic wasps and sex pheromones to interrupt the mating of the oriental fruit moth—a major pest—and spraying the developing fruit with elemental sulfur, among other methods.

NUTRITION

Apricots are nutritious; about 31⁄2 ounces—two apricots—contain 2,612 international units of vitamin A and 10 milligrams of vitamin C, along with 296 milligrams of potassium and 21⁄2 milligrams of dietary fiber.

TYPES

Today there are a few dozen varieties sold in the United States. But keep an eye out for new varieties of apricot, which are continually being bred.

SEASONALITY

Apricots are summer fruit, and they ripen best when the season is hot and dry and farmers can let the fruit ripen and develop its sweetness on the tree without fear of rot. The window of opportunity with this fruit is narrow. Don’t jump the season by buying early apricots in May or early June. The early varieties have been bred for a market hungry for summer’s fresh fruits. But these varieties usually lack flavor and have little real apricot character. The best varieties come in July and August.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Keep your eyes peeled for good apricot years. At farmers’ markets and roadside stands look for ripe apricots that are beginning to soften but haven’t turned to mush.  They will be fragrant with an almost citrusy, cinnamony, rich apricot smell, their flesh will be juicy and sweet with a fine texture, and their flavor will match the fragrance. If you take home an unripe apricot it will get softer but not sweeter. When fully ripe, apricots are nearly 10 percent sugar and only then develop their inimitable flavor.

Outside of the prime season, consider buying organic dried apricots. These have been picked at a peak ripeness and have better apricot flavor than most fresh early season apricots. The dried fruit can be chopped and added to couscous or rice or reconstituted by simmering in water.

USES