Earthbound Farm Organic | Ingredient Archive

July's featured ingredient: Fresh Apricots

Why Choose Organic?

Commercial stone fruits like apricots are often coated with a petroleum-derived wax impregnated with fungicide to prolong their shelf life; it penetrates the skin and flesh of the fruit and can’t be washed off. Choosing organic apricots, when possible, ensures that the fruit has been grown without synthetic chemicals and carries no synthetic coatings or additives. Organic produce is raised with methods that build vibrant soil ecosystems and protect our air and water. It’s better for the environment, and we think organic tastes better, too!

• Almond Cake with Apricots
• Apricot and Raspberry Gratins
• Apricot Cobbler
• Apricot Custard Tart
• Cherry & Apricot Crisp
• Fresh Apricot Granita
• Homemade Apricot Brandy
• Poached Apricots with Ginger and Mascarpone Cream
• Summer Stone Fruit Crumble

When spring turns to summer, fresh apricots enter their finest hour. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to taste a ripe apricot just plucked from a tree, still warm from the sun, you’ll understand what all the fuss is about. Sadly, fresh-picked apricots — luscious, sweet and fragrant, bursting with juice — are a far cry from most supermarket specimens. The fact is that apricots are extremely fragile, perishable, and they don’t travel well; to withstand the rigors of shipping, then, they’re often harvested before maturity. In addition, the season is short and production is small. All these factors make tree-ripened apricots rather precious. If you don’t have a backyard tree, look for fresh apricots at farm stands or farmer’s markets; tree-ripened apricots are the only kind worth eating.

Selecting Apricots

Generally, the deeper its color, the riper and sweeter an apricot will be.

Smell the fruit. If it doesn’t have a distinct apricot aroma, it won’t have much flavor, either.
Look for plump fruits that are just soft to the touch, with rich, vibrant color.
For cooking, a slightly firmer apricot is desirable, because it will hold its shape better.
To ripen apricots, set them in a single layer at cool room temperature for a few days, until they soften. To hasten ripening, place the fruit in a closed paper bag with an apple or banana; the other fruit’s ethylene gas hastens the apricot’s ripening.
Ripe apricots can be stored in a plastic bag for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. They taste best at room temperature, though, since cold masks their fragrance and flavor.

Apricots originated in China and have been cultivated for more than 4,000 years. They’re now grown in most of the world’s temperate zones, with California producing about 95 percent of the American crop. The apricot is a stone fruit, a cousin of the peach; apricots come in a wide range of colors and sizes, but in general they’re smaller than peaches, with smooth skins and smooth, oval pits that separate easily from the flesh. There are hundred different varieties worldwide, but the most commonly encountered in the US are Blenheim and Royal Blenheim, Earlicot, Patterson, and Golden Sweet. Fruit breeders have also developed several hybrids, marrying plums and apricots in varying percentages. Plumcots are 50 percent each plum and apricot; Apriums are roughly 75 percent apricot and 25 percent plum; Pluots are about 75 percent plum and 25 percent apricot. These new hybrids are more durable than apricots and have extended the fruit’s season.

Apricots are at their very best eaten out of hand, but they make a terrific addition to desserts and salads, and they’re also delicious in savory recipes. Apricots are often combined with lamb, chicken, or rice in Arab and Mediterranean cuisine. There is no need to peel apricots. Apricot flesh oxidizes and discolors when exposed to air, so cut the fruit just before serving. To pit, simply cut the fruit along its natural crease, circling the pit, and twist the halves gently in opposite directions; pull the fruit apart and remove the stone.

A word about apricot pits: the kernel inside the stone has a delicate almond flavor. Like bitter almonds, those kernels contain a small amount of prussic acid, which is a mild form of cyanide; however, using a few of the kernels for flavoring jam, syrups or poaching liquid is harmless.

Enjoy fresh apricots while you can — the season is oh, so brief. If you have enough apricots for cooking, check out this month’s featured recipes for great ideas featuring one of summer’s most prized and delectable fruits.

Sweet and Nutritious

Fresh apricots offer good nutrition along with delicious flavor:

Good source of vitamins A and C
Good source of dietary fiber and potassium
Low in calories: 3 fresh apricots have only 50 calories, making them a perfect snack – as sweet as candy, but more nutritious!