Organic Food 101: Spotlighting the amiable apricot and the plummy pluot

June 6, 5:17 PMOrganic Food ExaminerNatalie Rotunda

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Organic apricot. Photo by H. Rotunda

Whether you choose your fruits for the sheer joy of eating something fresh and real, or you're looking for a specific set of nutritional goodies, remember the Amiable Apricot! These yellow-orange orbs will likely vanish from your organic food co-op or farmers markets shelves around the Fourth of July, so enjoy them now. You’ll be glad you did! They’re loaded with beta-carotene, a nutrient that supports good eye health and protects against macular degeneration, the sight thief. But that’s not all they'll do for you.

Apricots provide a good source of dietary fiber which makes them ideal for constipation sufferers; they’re also said to be a good defense against intestinal worms. Vitamins A and C-rich, they also contain a healthy source of iron, manganese, potassium, magnesium, and sodium. While they pack all of that goodness, you may be surprised to learn that three medium-sized apricots contain just 50 calories. Think snack food!
When the season for fresh apricots ends, you’ll still be able to buy them either as dried fruit or in cans (stick with organic, if at all possible).

My earliest remembrance of apricots was as a young kid back home in Illinois. Our neighbors were wonderful people, and my brother and I enjoyed hanging out with their four kids who were close to our ages. Barbara, Betty, Brad and I rode bike, pretended we were trapeze artists when we dressed up in old clothes from their two large trunks…and lived in their apricot and cherry trees in the summer. Perched on sturdy branches, we’d fill our bellies with those sun-ripened apricots, haphazardly dropping the stones onto the ground below for later pick-up. I kept a decades-old bellyache after those apricot-raiding parties until recently when I bought a dozen apricots at the organic food co-op we belong to. Happy memories flooded my mind with my first bite.

The store buys its apricot supply from California, where 95% of the country gets theirs, since apricots aren't local crops in the Upper Midwest where we live. Apricots first grew in China, but early Spanish explorers brought them to North America shores.

What to look for and ways to use them

When you buy them, look for blemish-free, firm, fuzzy apricots. Skip the ultra-hard ones, though the not-quite-ripe ones will be ready to eat within a few days if kept in a paper bag on your countertop. It’s okay, too, to halve the fruit, remove their stones, then freeze them, but, bear in mind, as they thaw, the fruit will be soft and best used in cooked dishes. They're so versatile you'll be able to make homemade jams, ice cream, or add pitted apricots to smoothies.

Eating apricots---or any fresh fruit, for that matter---in its raw state is the way I like them best, either as a snack or in fruit salads. They add a nice texturural difference that blends well with berries, melon, and apples.

The blood type connection

“Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type” devotees know that apricots fall into their eating plan's Highly Beneficial category, but only for Type A. For all other blood types, they're a Neutral fruit.

Plums are Highly Beneficial for every blood type. Pluots, the new variety ithat arrived in store fruit bins in 1989, offer another yummy fruit that may appeal to fruit-lovers. What are theyt? A hybrid---not genetically modified---developed by fruit breeder Floyd Zaiger. Seventy percent plum, thirty percent apricot, the texture says apricot while their appearance shouts I’m-a-plum. You may recognize them by another name, Dinosaur egg, because of their dappled look. The name is now trademarked by one California grower.

Pluots are low in fat, but free of both sodium and cholesterol. Eat the flavorful fruit from late May into September, and enjoy the goodness they offer---Vitamin C, low in sodium, cholesterol, and fat content.
 

Organic apricots and pluot. Photo by H. Rotunda