Anapricot (US:/ˈæprɪkɒt/ⓘ,UK:/ˈeɪprɪkɒt/ⓘ) is afruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genusPrunus. Usually an apricot is from the speciesPrunus armeniaca, but the fruits of the other species inPrunus sect.Armeniaca are also called apricots.[1] In 2023, world production of apricots was 3.7 milliontonnes, led byTurkey with 20% of the total.[2]
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 includingcakes,tarts, andjam, and in savoury dishes, for example instuffing. In Austria, they are the basis ofMarillenknödel, sweet apricot dumplings.
Apricot first appeared in English in the 16th century asabrecock from theMiddle Frenchaubercot or laterabricot,[3] from Spanishalbaricoque andCatalana(l)bercoc, in turn from Arabicالْبَرْقُوق (al-barqūq,'the plums'), from Byzantine Greekβερικοκκίᾱ (berikokkíā,'apricot tree'), derived from late Greekπραικόκιον (praikókion,'apricot') from Latin [persica ('peach')]praecocia' (praecoquus,'early ripening').[4][5][6]
Map of theetymology of "apricot" from Latin via Late and Byzantine Greek to Arabic, Spanish and Catalan, Middle French, and so to English
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-yellowdrupe (a stonefruit) tinged with red.[7] The singleseed (kernel orstone) is enclosed in a hard shell (exocarp).[8]
Apricots are species belonging toPrunus sect.Armeniaca. The taxonomic position ofP. brigantina is disputed. It is grouped withplum species according to chloroplast DNA sequences,[9] but more closely related to apricot species according to nuclear DNA sequences.[10]
The most commonly cultivated apricotPrunus armeniaca was known inArmenia 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.[11] However, this is not supported by genetic studies, which instead confirm the hypothesis proposed byNikolai Vavilov that domestication ofP. armeniaca occurred inCentral Asia andChina.[12][13] The domesticated apricot then diffused south toSouth Asia,[12] west toWest Asia (including Armenia), Europe andNorth Africa, and east to Japan.[13]
Apricots have a chilling requirement of 300 to 900chilling units. A dry climate is good for fruit maturation. The tree is slightly more cold-hardy than thepeach, tolerating winter temperatures as cold as −30 °C (−22 °F) or lower if healthy, with large differences between cultivars.[14] They are hardy inUSDA zones 5 through 8. A limiting factor in apricot culture is springfrosts: 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.[14] 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 inEurope and especiallyNorth America, where large temperature swings can occur in winter.Hybridization with the closely relatedPrunus sibirica (Siberian apricot; hardy to −50 °C (−58 °F) but with less palatable fruit) offers options for breeding more cold-tolerant plants.[15] They prefer well-drained soils with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0.[16]
Apricot cultivars are usuallygrafted onto plum or peach rootstocks. The cultivarscion provides the fruit characteristics, such as flavor and size, but therootstock 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.[17]
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.[19] Bacterial diseases include bacterial spot and crown gall. Fungal diseases include brown rot caused byMonilinia 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 fungusEutypa lata.[20][21] Other fungal diseases areblack knot,Alternaria spot and fruit rot, andpowdery mildew.[22] Unlike peaches, apricots are not affected byleaf 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.[20]
In 2023, world production of apricots was 3.7 milliontonnes, led by Turkey with 20% of the total (table). Other major producers (in descending order) wereUzbekistan,Iran,Italy, andAlgeria.[2]
Malatya is the center of Turkey's apricot industry.[23]
Apricot kernels (seeds) containamygdalin, 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% ofcyanide. Since a typical apricot kernel weighs 600 mg, bitter and sweet varieties contain, respectively, 1.8 and 0.3 mg of cyanide.[24]
Fresh apricots can be cooked in dishes such ascakes andtarts, or made intojam.[25] Dried apricots can be used in similar ways, and included instuffing for meat dishes,stews,granola, andmuesli.[26] In Austrian cuisine,Marillenknödel are dumplings stuffed with apricots, garnished with breadcrumbs fried in butter and dusted with sugar.[27] InMediterranean cuisine, a cooling drink is made by dissolving apricot paste in water.[28]Barack is a Hungarianapricot brandy.[29]
Due to their natural amygdalin content, culinary uses for the kernel are limited because of the risk ofcyanide poisoning.[30] Oil made from apricot kernels is safe for human consumption without treatment because amygdalin is not oil soluble. Ground up shells are used incosmetics as an exfoliant.[31] As an exfoliant, it provides an alternative to plasticmicrobeads.[32]The kernels can be made into aplant milk.[33]
A raw apricot is 86% water, 11%carbohydrates, 1%protein, and less than 1%fat (table). In a reference amount of 100 g (3.5 oz), a raw apricot supplies 48Calories and is a moderate source ofvitamin A andvitamin C (11% each of theDaily Value, DV), with no othermicronutrients in significant content (less than 10% DV, table).
Dried apricots are a type oftraditional dried fruit. Dried apricots are 31% water, 63% carbohydrates, 4% protein, and contain negligible fat (table). When the water content of apricots is decreased by drying, themass fraction of micronutrients is increased, such as for vitamin A,vitamin E, andpotassium, each having higher contents than in raw fruit (DVs above 20%, table).
The Chinese associate the apricot with education and medicine. For instance, the classical word杏壇 (literally: "apricotaltar") (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 thatConfucius taught his students in a forum surrounded by the wood of apricot trees.[41] The association with medicine in turn comes from the common use of apricot kernels as a component intraditional Chinese medicine, and from the story of Dong Feng (董奉), a physician during theThree 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.[42]
The short and unreliable apricot season in Egypt has given rise to the commonEgyptian Arabic andPalestinian Arabic expressionfilmishmish ("in apricot [season]") orbukra filmishmish ("tomorrow in apricot [season]"), uttered as ariposte to an unlikely prediction, or as a rash promise to fulfill a request.[43][44]
In theU.S. Marines it is considered exceptionally bad luck to eat or possess apricots, especially near tanks.This superstition has been documented since at least theVietnam War and is often cited as originating inWorld War II. Even calling them by their name is considered unlucky,[48][49] so they are instead called "cots",[50] "Forbidden fruit" or "A-fruit".[48]
^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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