Apricot Spot

Chef Kaviraj Khialani talks about Apricots, the small round soft fruit with a pale orange furry skin extensively used in various cuisines across the world

The apricot, also known as prunus armeniaca belongs to the rose family and is closely related to the plum, peach, cherry and almond families. The fruit is now widely grown in the warmer temperate parts of the world. In Latin, apricot means 'precious' a label earned because it ripens earlier than other summer fruits. A relative of the peach, the apricot is smaller and has a smooth, oval pit that falls out easily when the fruit is halved.

Tracing Its Orgins

Apricots originally came from China. This golden fruit has been around for more than 4,000 years. Apricots progressively made their way through the Persian Empire to the Mediterranean, where they were then culitivated. Spanish explorers introduced the apricot to the new world, and they were planted in the gardens of Spanish missions all over California. The first recorded major production of apricots in America was in 1792 south of San Francisco.

Selection And Storage

Look for plump apricots with as much golden orange colour as possible. Stay clear of fruit that is pale yellow, greenish-yellow, very firm, shrivelled, or bruised. Apricots that are soft ripe have the best flavour, but they must be eaten immediately.

Apricots will ripen at room temperature. To help them ripen, place them in a paper bag with an apple. When they yield to gentle pressure, they are ready to eat. Refrigerate ripe apricots, unwashed, in a paper or plastic bag up to two days. Wash them before eating. They are a perfect fast food anytime. To cut fruit, slice around its seam, twist it in half, and lift out the pit.

Varieties

There are many varieties differing in size, colour and flavour. The diversity that is found in the great apricot belt includes white, grey, black, and pink apricots, from pea to peach sized, with equally varied flavours. In the Near East white apricots are common with pale skin and pink blush. Their translucent flesh resembles that of a white peach, and is of surpassing delicacy and sweetness.

Dried apricots contain beta-carotene and niacin that are concentrated in the dried form rather than in fresh apricots. Dried apricots also have a higher sugar content. Apricots that are not treated with sulfur dioxide for colour preservation will be brown, not orange and are available specifically for people who are allergic or sensitive to sulfites.

Other species and hybrids such as P mume (now Armeniaca mume), commonly known in the West as the 'Japanese flowering apricot' are noteworthy. Some apricots are unusually dark in colour, for example, the 'black apricot' found in North India called Armeniaca x dasycarpa, which looks like a purplish-black plum but has a true apricot flavour.

A few plum-apricot hybrids with velvety purple skin, scarlet flesh, and an apricot aroma have been developed recently in California, bearing names like plumcot and aprium.

Preparation

Apricots are usually eaten raw, but they do well when cooked. These are some common cooking methods:

Broiling and grilling: Try threading the apricots (whole or halved) on skewers. Brush them with a little honey, and grill until semi-soft. Broiling apricots is easy. Simply halve the apricots; place them on a cookie sheet. Skin, cut side-up and heat for seven to 10 minutes.

Poaching: It is a great method for making a sauce. Simply place the apricots with their skins intact into simmering water or fruit juice, and cook until tender. Adding spices such as cinnamon or cloves enhances the taste. When the apricots are tender, the poaching liquid can be used as a sauce. Poaching takes about six to eight minutes.

Culinary Uses

Apricots have a variety of culinary uses, some of which are listed below:

• Slice them up for fruit salads.
• Purée apricots for sauces that are especially good to compliment pancakes, desserts, or meat.
• Use apricots whenever a recipe calls for peaches or nectarines.
• Add apricots to baked desserts low fat cottage cheese or fruit smoothies.
• Turkey produces the so called 'apricot leather' dried apricot flesh in the form of thin sheets, which is melted down for use. These have a highly concentrated flavour.

Turkey produces the so called 'apricot leather', which is dried apricot flesh in the form of thin sheets. Chefs find a variety of uses for these sheets by melting them down for use. These sheets have a highly concentrated flavour. Meebos is an unusual S African conserve made from ripe but firm apricots are brined, then stoned and pressed flat, salted and part dried in the sun over several days. The resultant sheets are stored in jars with layers of sugar between them and on top and keeps for months.

• In China apricots were preserved using various methods including drying, salting and even smoking. The black smoked apricots of Hupei were famous.
• Apricot jam made from fresh or dried fruit is not only a good spread but also an important ingredient in various kinds of confectioner. It is used as a sweet adhesive in cakes such as 'Sachertorte' and in diluted form as apricot glaze, which adds a finishing touch to various confections.
• In Middle Eastern cookery apricots are also used in sweetmeats, for example stoned and stuffed with almonds or almond paste, the two flavours that complement each other perfectly.
• Apricots are also used in savoury dishes, to give a 'sweet-and sour' effect. The fruit blends particularly well with lamb, as in the Arab mishmishiya.
• Apricot kernels are similar to almonds and contain small amounts of prussic acid, which is destroyed by roasting them. They are used in making apricot brandies and liqueurs.

(The author is head of department, food production, Kohinoor College of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Mumbai. He can be contacted via e-mail at kaviraj21@hotmail.com)