Sequel to the just-beginned Fruit Talkabout, we are also Orientating you on another fruit, Apricot.
Description
Apricots are small, golden orange fruits, with velvety skin and flesh: not too juicy but definitely smooth and sweet. Their flavor isalmost musky, with a faint tartness that is more pronounced when the fruit is dried. Some people think of the flavor as being somewhere between a peach and a plum, fruits to which they're closely related.
History
Apricots are originally from China (China again ?, these guys are the original producers of Rice, Apples and Silk) but arrived in Europe via Armenia, which is why the scientific name is Prunus armenaica. The apricot tree came to Virginia in 1720 but its appearance in the Spanish missions of California around 1792 marked the fruit's real arrival. The climate there is perfectly suited to apricot culture, and apricots in the United States are grown primarily in the sunny orchards of California.
How they are eaten
Apricots are enjoyed as a fresh fruit but also dried, cooked into pastry, and eaten as jam.
The fruits are also distilled into brandy and liqueur. Essential oil from the pits is sold commercially as bitter almond oil. Turkey, Italy, Russia, Spain, Greece, U.S.A. and France are the leading producers of apricots.
0 comments:
Post a Comment