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.