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Apricot (Prunus armeniaca)Stephen Dalton/EB
Inc.(Prunus armeniaca), stone fruit of
the family Rosaceae that is cultivated
throughout the temperate regions of the world.
Apricots are eaten fresh or cooked and are
preserved by canning or drying. The fruit is
also widely made into jam and is often used to
flavour liqueurs. Apricot trees are large and
spreading with broad, ovate leaves that have
pointed tips. The leaves are bright green in
colour and are held erect on the twigs. The
flowers are white in full bloom and borne singly
or doubly at a node on very short stems. The
apricot sets fruit after self-pollination of its
blossoms. The pit, or stone, is large, flat, and
smooth. The fruit is nearly smooth, round to
oblong in some varieties, somewhat flattened,
and in general more like the peach in shape, but
with little to no hairiness when ripe. Its flesh
is typically a rich yellow to yellowish orange.
The kernels of some varieties are sweet, though
they are poisonous until roasted.Native to
China, the apricot is cultivated in all of
Central and Southeast Asia and in parts of
southern Europe and North Africa. It was
doubtless among the fruits brought into southern
California early in the 18th century by Spanish
missionaries. The American Pomological Society
lists 11 varieties grown in the United States in
1879.Apricots are propagated by budding on peach
or apricot rootstocks, and the peach, plum, and
apricot may be readily intergrafted. The tree
succeeds in a well-drained loamy soil,
preferably light rather than heavy. Most
varieties withstand winter cold as well as
peaches, but the blossom buds, opening earlier
than those of the peach, are frequently killed
by late freezes. The trees are quite
drought-resistant and under favourable growing
conditions are long-lived, some living 100 years
or longer. |
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The leading country in apricot production is
Spain. Other important producers are Iran,
Syria, the United States, France, and Italy. |
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Size:
The size of the fruit can be determined by
measuring weight, diameter or volume. Most
commonly size categories are defined by
diameter: small, medium and large.
French standards, for instance, distinguish
between B: 35-40 mm; A: 40-45 mm; AA: 45-50 mm;
AAA: 50-55 mm; AAAA: 55-60 mm; X: >60 mm.
Shape: This is one of the most important
criteria for the identification of different
cultivars, although it is not completely
independent from external factors. The shape can
be expressed through the relationship of height,
width and thickness
given by H²/W*T, where the following values
indicate:
1: round apricot
> 1, with height greater than width and
thickness, the latter two quite similar: oval
apricot
> 1, with height and width greater than
thickness: flat apricot
1, with fruits narrowing towards the apex:
triangular apricot
The shape is given for the fruit seen with the
suture in front.
Data on shape are not explicitly mentioned in
our cultivar descriptions.
Colour: The colour is identified using a
colour chart as a reference. It is measured at
the least mature part of the fruit,
therefore it is a valid indicator for the
ripeness. Generally one has to distinguish
between ground colour and overcolour.
The former ranges from yellow to orange with all
shades in between, sometimes with a greenish
tone.
The overcolour, i.e. the colour at the
sun-exposed side of the fruit, ranges from pink
to red. It varies in intensity and,
depending on the cultivar, can be developed
rather blushed, punctuated or washy.
Other morphological traits of the fruit are
shape of the suture, the stem-end and the
cheeks.
Inner fruit characteristics
Firmness: It is quantified either with a
Durofel 10 tool or a penetrometer. The former
applies a low pressure on the fruit and measures
the
force necessary to deform the fruit. The
firmness is an important indicator for product
ripeness and determines storage abilities.
Colour of the flesh: Like above, a colour
chart is used here.
Stone properties: The shape, size and
weight of the stone can be assessed, especially
the shape is highly characteristic for different
cultivars.
Moreover, the taste of the kernel can serve as
an attribute.
Flavour: It is assessed by organoleptic
testing and comprises factors like sweetness,
bitterness, acidity and overall aroma.
Texture: Like with flavour, it is also
judged by sensory testing. Descriptions like
juicy, mealy, melting and firm are used to
characterize the fruit.
Chemical parameters: These include sugar
content and acidity. Sugar content is measured
in a refractometer by using a drop of crushed
fruit.
It increases as the fruits ripen on the tree and
stays nearly constant once the fruit was picked.
Acidity is determined by titration of blended
fruits with soda solution. It decreases during
the ripening process and changes very little
after harvest. |
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Apricots are a good source of vitamin A and are
high in natural-sugar content. Dried apricots
are an excellent source of iron |
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Apricot is a good source of sugars
and vitamin A, and contains appreciable amounts
of thiamine and iron. Fresh
Apricot yield 86% of edible matter.
Analysis of
Apricot shows the presence of
nutrients in following proportions:
Moisture 85% Vitamin B2 0.22 mg
Iron 4.6 mg Carbohydrate 73.4%
Phosphorus 70 mg Calcium 110 mg
Vitamin C 6 mg/100 g Protein 1.6%
Ripe
Apricot pulp contains: total solids,
1,2.4-16.7; insoluble solids, 2.1-3.1; acids (as
malic acid), 0.7-2.2; total sugars (as invert
sugar), 3.6-8.6; glucose, 3.2-4.8; fructose,
1.4-4.2; sucrose, 1.4-5.4.
Malic acid and citric acid are said to be the
principal acids of
Apricots. Presence of tartaric acid
and succinct acid in
Apricot is also reported. The free
amino acids present in
Apricot are: asparatio, glutamic,
threonine, serine, proline, alanina, glycine,
valine, leucine, histidine, tyrosina, orginina
etc.
Apricot is rich in natural sugars,
vitamin A and calcium.
Apricot is a good source of the
Vitamins, i.e. B Complex, riboflavin and niacin
as well as vitamin C. The nut of the
Apricot is rich in protein and fat
and is considered as valuable as any other nut.
Apricot contains 40 to 45 per cent of
an oil which is practically identical with
almond oil in its physical as well as chemical
properties. |
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