Aprium Apricots
Inventory, 8 lbs : 0
This item was last sold on : 01/17/10
Seasons/Availability
Check for availability.
Description/Taste
This amazing apricot hybrid produces a dark colored skin, a physical trait inherited from its black plum parentage, and covered with a pale colored scant fuzz inherited from its other parent, the apricot. Offering a dense texture similar to a plum, this plump tasty fruit's tender skin is mellow in flavor, scrumptiously attributed to the apricot's side of the family.
Nutritional Value
Low in fat, apriums are saturated fat-free, sodium-free, cholesterol-free, high in vitamin A and vitamin C and a good source of potassium.
Applications
Seriously sweet with its bold apricot overtones and a hint of plum, enjoy simply out of hand for a tasty treat. An excellent addition to pies. Enhance fruit salads. Make yummy preserves and jam. Make succulent sauces or use as a natural sweetener. Flavor quick breads. Rather delicate, handle with care to avoid bruising. A "climacteric fruit", meaning apriums continue to ripen after picking, do not store near bananas as bananas release ethylene gas which hastens ripening. If apriums are slightly underripe, put in a paper bag and keep at room temperature until ready to enjoy. Refrigerate ripe fruit one to two days for optimum quality and flavor.
Geography/History
Apriums were produced in the late 1980s by Floyd Zaiger of Zaiger Genetics, located in Modesto, California, and are rather complex crosses of plums and apricots. Genetically one-fourth plum and three-fourths apricot, the aprium, also known as the Black Velvet Apricot, was successfully developed from another hybrid fruit called a plumcot. Not an easy task, apriums required several generations of breeding. Apriums, as well as pluots, are defined as "interspecifics" which are complex hybrids of plums and apricots and characteristically produce a higher sugar content. Typically this fruit is available from specialty growers at Farmers Markets.
