About Apricots

An apricot is a small, sweet, orange-colored fruit. It's related to the peach and the plum, and it tastes something like a mixture of the two. Thanks to an abundance of nutrients like fiber, vitamin A and potassium, you can indulge without guilt. To get the most bang for your buck, consider growing apricots in your yard. The trees will start bearing fruit in only three or four years (see Resources).

Where They're Grown

Apricots originated in China, made their way to Europe via Armenia, and arrived in the United States, in Virginia, in 1720. Decades later, the apricot tree appeared in California, where the climate is ideal for apricots to thrive. California is still where almost all U.S. apricots are grown. Outside of the May-through-August North American growing season, apricots are imported from South America or New Zealand.

Health Benefits

Apricots are high in a variety of nutrients that offer a range of health benefits. They have beta-carotene and lycopene, which may help prevent heart disease; vitamin A, which is good for your eyes; and fiber, which helps prevent constipation and digestive problems. Lycopene, when combined with regular consumption of green tea, may reduce men's risk of prostate cancer, according to World's Healthiest Foods.

Using Apricots

To incorporate more apricots into your diet, World's Healthiest Foods suggests taking a snack of apricots and almonds with you to work, drinking a glass of apricot juice with your breakfast, adding chopped apricots to pancake batter, topping cereal or salads with chopped apricots, or adding dried apricots to chicken or vegetable soups.

Selecting Fresh Apricots

Choose apricots that are a little soft and are more orange than yellow in color. The richer color indicates that an apricot is ripe, which is important because antioxidants are most abundant in fruit that's ripened nearly to the point of spoilage. And the slight softness usually means the apricot was tree-ripened, meaning it will taste much better, according to Apricotfacts.com. The peel of apricots is porous, so be sure to wash apricots well before eating them.

When Fresh Isn't An Option

If fresh apricots aren't available, you probably can find them canned or dried. Canned apricots retain most of their nutritional benefits, according to Apricotfacts.com. Eat U.S.-canned apricots to avoid toxic releases from cans imported from other countries. Dried apricots also have about the same nutritional value as raw apricots, although their lack of water means they're higher in calories.

Resources

• Growing Apricot Trees