An apricot (US: /ˈæprɪkɒt/ⓘ, UK: /ˈeɪprɪkɒt/ⓘ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus Prunus. Usually an apricot is from the species Prunus armeniaca, but the fruits of the other species in Prunus sect. Armeniaca are also called apricots.[1] In 2022, world production of apricots was 3.9 million tonnes, led by Turkey with 21% of the total.
Prunus armeniaca was domesticated in ancient times in Central Asia and China. Cultivation of the tree then spread across Eurasia and to North Africa and Japan. The fruit is consumed both fresh and dried. Apricots are used in dishes including cakes, tarts, and jam, and in savoury dishes, for example in stuffing. In Austria, they are the basis of Marillenknödel, sweet apricot dumplings.
Etymology
Apricot first appeared in English in the 16th century as abrecock from the Middle Frenchaubercot or later abricot,[2] from Spanish albaricoque and Catalana(l)bercoc, in turn from Arabic الْبَرْقُوق (al-barqūq, 'the plums'), from Byzantine Greek βερικοκκίᾱ (berikokkíā, 'apricot tree'), derived from late Greek πραικόκιον (praikókion, 'apricot') from Latin [persica ('peach')] praecocia' (praecoquus, 'early ripening').[3][4][5]
Map of the etymology of "apricot" from Latin via Late and Byzantine Greek to Arabic, Spanish and Catalan, Middle French, and so to English
Description
The apricot is a small tree, up to 8 metres (26 ft) tall, with a round canopy and a spread similar to its height. The flowers are white or pinkish, about 2 centimetres (0.79 in) wide, appearing before the leaves early in the spring. The fruit is a succulent orange-yellow drupe (a stonefruit) tinged with red.[6] The single seed (kernel or stone) is enclosed in a hard shell (exocarp).[7]
Apricots are species belonging to Prunus sect. Armeniaca. The taxonomic position of P. brigantina is disputed. It is grouped with plum species according to chloroplast DNA sequences,[8] but more closely related to apricot species according to nuclear DNA sequences.[9]
The most commonly cultivated apricot Prunus armeniaca was known in Armenia during ancient times, and has been cultivated there for so long that it was previously thought to have originated there, hence the epithet of its scientific name.[10] However, this is not supported by genetic studies, which instead confirm the hypothesis proposed by Nikolai Vavilov that domestication of P. armeniaca occurred in Central Asia and China.[11][12] The domesticated apricot then diffused south to South Asia,[11] west to West Asia (including Armenia), Europe and North Africa, and east to Japan.[12]
Cultivation practices
Apricots have a chilling requirement of 300 to 900 chilling units. A dry climate is good for fruit maturation. The tree is slightly more cold-hardy than the peach, tolerating winter temperatures as cold as −30 °C (−22 °F) or lower if healthy, with large differences between cultivars.[13] They are hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8. A limiting factor in apricot culture is spring frosts: They tend to flower very early (in early March in western Europe), and spring frost can kill flowers or before flower buds in different stages of development.[13] Furthermore, the trees are sensitive to temperature changes during the winter season. In China, winters can be very cold, but temperatures tend to be more stable than in Europe and especially North America, where large temperature swings can occur in winter. Hybridization with the closely related Prunus sibirica (Siberian apricot; hardy to −50 °C (−58 °F) but with less palatable fruit) offers options for breeding more cold-tolerant plants.[14] They prefer well-drained soils with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0.[15]
Apricot cultivars are usually grafted onto plum or peach rootstocks. The cultivar scion provides the fruit characteristics, such as flavor and size, but the rootstock provides the growth characteristics of the plant. Some of the more popular US apricot cultivars are 'Blenheim', 'Wenatchee Moorpark', 'Tilton', and 'Perfection'. Some apricot cultivars are self-compatible, so do not require pollinizer trees; others are not: 'Moongold' and 'Sungold', for example, must be planted in pairs so they can pollinate each other.[16]
Diseases of apricots vary with climate. In California's hot Central Valley, pit burn, a condition of soft and brown fruit around the pit, is common.[18] Bacterial diseases include bacterial spot and crown gall. Fungal diseases include brown rot caused by Monilinia fructicola late in the season. In periods of heavy rain, the flowers can suffer from blossom wiltwhere the flowers and young shoots turn brown and die; the twigs die back in a severe attack. Dieback of branches in the summer around pruning wounds can be caused by the fungus Eutypa lata.[19][20] Other fungal diseases are black knot, Alternaria spot and fruit rot, and powdery mildew.[21] Unlike peaches, apricots are not affected by leaf curl, and bacterial canker (causing sunken patches in the bark, which then spread and kill the affected branch or tree) and silver leaf are not serious threats, which means that pruning in late winter is considered safe.[19]
In 2022, world production of apricots was 3.86 million tonnes, led by Turkey with 21% of the total (table). Other major producers (in descending order) were Uzbekistan, Iran, Italy, and Algeria.[22]Malatya is the center of Turkey's apricot industry.[23]
Toxicity
Apricot kernels (seeds) contain amygdalin, a poisonous compound. On average, bitter apricot kernels contain about 5% amygdalin and sweet kernels about 0.9% amygdalin. These values correspond to 0.3% and 0.05% of cyanide. Since a typical apricot kernel weighs 600 mg, bitter and sweet varieties contain, respectively, 1.8 and 0.3 mg of cyanide.[24]
Uses
Fruit
Fresh apricots can be cooked in dishes such as cakes and tarts, or made into jam.[25] Dried apricots can be used in similar ways, and included in stuffing for meat dishes, stews, granola, and muesli.[26] In Austrian cuisine, Marillenknödel are dumplings stuffed with apricots, garnished with breadcrumbs fried in butter and dusted with sugar.[27] In Mediterranean cuisine, a cooling drink is made by dissolving apricot paste in water.[28]Barack is a Hungarian apricot brandy.[29]
Due to their natural amygdalin content, culinary uses for the kernel are limited. Oil made from apricot kernels is safe for human consumption without treatment because amygdalin is not oil soluble. Ground up shells are used in cosmetics as an exfoliant.[30] As an exfoliant, it provides an alternative to plastic microbeads.[31]
The kernels can be made into a plant milk.[32]
In a reference amount of 100 g (3.5 oz), raw apricots supply 48 Calories and are composed of 11% carbohydrates, 1% protein, less than 1% fat, and 86% water (table). Raw apricots are a moderate source of vitamin A and vitamin C (11% of the Daily Value each).
Dried apricots are a type of traditional dried fruit. Dried apricots are 63% carbohydrates, 31% water, 4% protein, and contain negligible fat. When apricots are dried, the mass fraction of micronutrients is increased, with vitamin A, vitamin E, and potassium having rich contents (Daily Values above 20%, table), at the cost of decreasing their per-calorie ratios.
The Chinese associate the apricot with education and medicine. For instance, the classical word 杏壇 (literally: "apricot altar") (xìng tán 杏坛) which means "educational circle", is still widely used in written language. Zhuangzi, a Chinese philosopher in the fourth century BC, told a story that Confucius taught his students in a forum surrounded by the wood of apricot trees.[40] The association with medicine in turn comes from the common use of apricot kernels as a component in traditional Chinese medicine, and from the story of Dong Feng (董奉), a physician during the Three Kingdoms period, who required no payment from his patients except that they plant apricot trees in his orchard upon recovering from their illnesses, resulting in a large grove of apricot trees and a steady supply of medicinal ingredients.[41]
The short and unreliable apricot season in Egypt has given rise to the common Egyptian Arabic and Palestinian Arabic expression filmishmish ("in apricot [season]") or bukra filmishmish ("tomorrow in apricot [season]"), uttered as a riposte to an unlikely prediction, or as a rash promise to fulfill a request.[42][43]
In the U.S. Marines it is considered exceptionally bad luck to eat or possess apricots,[47] especially near tanks.[48] This superstition has been documented since at least the Vietnam War and is often cited as originating in World War II. Even calling them by their name is considered unlucky,[49] so they are instead called "cots",[50] "Forbidden fruit" or "A-fruit".[51]
^Ingels, Chuck; et al. (2007). The Home Orchard: Growing Your Own Deciduous Fruit and Nut Trees. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. p. 27. ISBN978-1-879906-72-3.
^ abHessayon, D.G. (2004). "Tree Fruit: Apricots". The Fruit Expert. London: Expert Books.
^Southey, Flora (14 May 2021). "Are fruit seeds the new nuts?". foodnavigator.com. Food Navigator. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
^Lehmann, Maike (2015). "Apricot Socialism: The National Past, the Soviet Project, and the Imagining of Community in Late Soviet Armenia". Slavic Review. 74 (1): 13. doi:10.5612/slavicreview.74.1.9. S2CID155915149. The apricot, being the Armenian national fruit...
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