Apricots

Apricots+Almonds+Cream+Sugar
Apricots+Almonds+Meringue+Moscato d'Asti
Apricots+Cranberries+White Chocolate
Apricots+Oranges+Sugar+Vanilla+Walnuts
Apricots+Apples+Pine nuts+ Rosemary

Description

Apricot tree in central Cappadocia, Turkey

It is a small tree, 8–12 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter and a dense, spreading canopy. The leaves are ovate, 5–9 cm long and 4–8 cm wide, with a rounded base, a pointed tip and a finely serrated margin. The flowers are 2–4.5 cm diameter, with five white to pinkish petals; they are produced singly or in pairs in early spring before the leaves. The fruit is a drupe similar to a small peach, 1.5–2.5 cm diameter (larger in some modern cultivars), from yellow to orange, often tinged red on the side most exposed to the sun; its surface is usually pubescent. The single seed is enclosed in a hard stony shell, often called a "stone", with a grainy, smooth texture except for three ridges running down one side.^[2][3]

Apricot and its cross section

[edit] Cultivation and uses

[edit] History of cultivation

Apricots drying on the ground in Turkey.

Apricots, raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	201 kJ (48 kcal)
Carbohydrates	11 g
Sugars	9 g
Dietary fiber	2 g
Fat	0.4 g
Protein	1.4 g
Vitamin A equiv.	96 μg (11%)
- beta-carotene	1094 μg (10%)
Vitamin C	10 mg (17%)
Iron	0.4 mg (3%)
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient database

Apricots, dried

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	1,009 kJ (241 kcal)
Carbohydrates	63 g
Sugars	53 g
Dietary fibre	7 g
Fat	0.5 g
Protein	3.4 g
Vitamin A equiv.	180 μg (20%)
- beta-carotene	2163 μg (20%)
Vitamin C	1 mg (2%)
Iron	2.7 mg (22%)
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient database

The apricot was known in Armenia during ancient times, and has been cultivated there for so long it is often thought to be native there.^[4][5] Its scientific name Prunus armeniaca (Armenian plum) derives from that assumption. For example, De Poerderlé, writing in the 18th century, asserted "Cet arbre tire son nom de l'Arménie, province d'Asie, d'où il est originaire et d'où il fut porté en Europe ..." ("this tree takes its name from Armenia, province of Asia, where it is native, and whence it was brought to Europe ...").^[6] An archaeological excavation at Garni in Armenia found apricot seeds in an Eneolithic-era site.^[7] However, the Vavilov center of origin locates the origin of the apricot's domestication in the Chinese region, and other sources say the apricot was first cultivated in India in about 3000 BC.^[8]
Its introduction to Greece is attributed to Alexander the Great,^[8] and the Roman General Lucullus (106–57 B.C.) also exported some trees – the cherry, white heart cherry, and apricot – from Armenia to Europe. Subsequent sources were often confused about the origin of the species. Loudon (1838) believed it had a wide native range including Armenia, Caucasus, the Himalaya, China, and Japan.^[9]
Today the cultivars have spread to all parts of the globe with climates that support it.
Apricots have been cultivated in Persia since antiquity, and dried ones were an important commodity on Persian trade routes. Apricots remain an important fruit in modern-day Iran where they are known under the common name of Zard-ālū (Persian: زردآلو).
Egyptians usually dry apricots, add sweetener, and then use them to make a drink called "'amar al-dīn."
More recently, English settlers brought the apricot to the English colonies in the New World. Most of modern American production of apricots comes from the seedlings carried to the west coast by Spanish missionaries. Almost all U.S. production is in California, with some in Washington and Utah.^[10]
Many apricots are also cultivated in Australia, particularly South Australia, where they are commonly grown in the region known as the Riverland and in a small town called Mypolonga in the Lower Murray region of the state. In states other than South Australia, apricots are still grown, particularly in Tasmania and western Victoria and southwest New South Wales, but they are less common than in South Australia.

Apples

Apples+Almonds+Caramel
Apples+Almonds+Armagnac+Creme Fraiche+Raisins
Apples+Apricots+Pine Nuts+Rosemary
Apples+Brown Sugar+Cream+Walnuts
Apples+Calvados+Cranberries+Maple Syrup
Apples+Caramel+Cinnamon
Apples+Caramel+Cinnamon+Dates+Lemon Confit+Quince+Ras el hanout+Vanilla
Apples+Ginger+Hazelnuts
Apples+Raisins+Rum
Apples+Red Cabbage+Cinnamon

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family (Rosaceae), and is a perennial. It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans.
The tree originated in Western Asia, where its wild ancestor is still found today. There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples, resulting in a range of desired characteristics. Cultivars vary in their yield and the ultimate size of the tree, even when grown on the same rootstock.^[2]
At least 55 million tonnes of apples were grown worldwide in 2005, with a value of about $10 billion. China produced about 35% of this total.^[3] The United States is the second-leading producer, with more than 7.5% of world production. Iran is third, followed by Turkey, Russia, Italy and India.
The center of diversity of the genus Malus is in eastern Turkey. The apple tree was perhaps the earliest tree to be cultivated,^[9] and its fruits have been improved through selection over thousands of years. Alexander the Great is credited with finding dwarfed apples in Asia Minor in 300 BCE;^[4] those he brought back to Macedonia might have been the progenitors of dwarfing root stocks. Winter apples, picked in late autumn and stored just above freezing, have been an important food in Asia and Europe for millennia, as well as in Argentina and in the United States since the arrival of Europeans.^[9] Apples were brought to North America with colonists in the 17th century,^[4] and the first apple orchard on the North American continent was said to be near Boston in 1625. In the 20th century, irrigation projects in Washington state began and allowed the development of the multibillion dollar fruit industry, of which the apple is the leading species.^[4]
Until the 20th century, farmers stored apples in frostproof cellars during the winter for their own use or for sale. Improved transportation of fresh apples by train and road replaced the necessity for storage.