How to choose apricots? The color must be vivid, going from yellow to orange.
Origin
Apricot is a fruit that can be found from June till August and has ancient origins in China: 4000 years. From there, it spread thanks to Arabs in Persia and Armenia, where it got the name Prunus Armenica. It arrived in the Mediterranean area thanks to Alexander the Great. Very appreciated by Romans and not much during the Middle Ages, apricot became very popular, again, in the Mediterranean from the XV century thanks to Arabs and it is still cultivated now a day in USA, Italy, Spain, Greece and Turkey. In Italy, there are many Slow Food Presidia varieties like: Galàtone, Valleggia and Scillato apricots.
Cookit
To buy good apricots, choose the velvet ones, with a rich fragrance and a vivid color that goes from yellow to orange. Perfect to prepare syrups, marmalades and juices, in patisseries they are used for ‘apricottare’, the technique of spreading fruity jelly on desserts. Because of its sweet taste and the fact that it’s full of vitamins, refreshing and hydrating properties, it is perfect to be combined with different plates and tastes like chicken, rice and fish. In England, they prepare wine and Brandy: apricot wine and apricot brandy.
Did you know
In northern Pakistan lives the ultra-centennial population of Hunza. It seems that the secret to live such a long life lays in the apricots, the basic ingredient of their low calories diet. Not only they eat the fruit, but they also extract from the seeds an oil that, according to modern studies, has anti-tumor properties.
