Apricots
Apricots are a minor crop, grown commercially in the drier areas of the Pacific Northwest. Especially well-known are the apricots from eastern Washington; although California’s Central Valley leads in apricot production, growing nearly 75% of the country’s apricots, Washington is the second-largest producer in the country.
The name apricot classically refers to the common apricot, Prunus armeniaca, but there are other species of apricots in the world. In our region, the common apricot and the related ume apricot are the most interesting.
Species
Apricots
Common apricot (Prunus armeniaca)
Ume apricot (Prunus mume)
Wild apricots
Briançon apricot (Prunus brigantina)
Manchurian apricot (Prunus mandshurica)
Siberian apricot (Prunus sibirica)
Common apricots
The common apricot (Prunus armeniaca) was domesticated from wild forms native to the mountains of Central Asia.
It is thought to have been domesticated three separate times: in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and China, and spread to the rest of the world from these areas. World production of apricots is still centered around Central Asia, with Turkey leading.
Given that apricots are native to a region which shares high climatic similarity with the Inland Northwest, apricots are an excellent choice for the region. This is particularly true for the Columbia Basin and southwestern Idaho, as well as the northern Sacramento Valley.
On the other hand, apricots tend to do poorly in our coastal areas due to the cool, wet climate. Apricots are highly susceptible to fungal diseases and the trees often die prematurely. In addition, apricots bloom in early spring and the flowers can be damaged by frost and heavy rain, affecting fruit set. Late-blooming varieties can avoid some of these problems.
Cooking with common apricots
Apricots are used like many other fruits in the Rosaceae family. They are eaten fresh, dried, or cooked. They are also processed into preserves, juiced, and used in baking.
The kernels inside the stone (the pit) can be pressed for cooking. Apricot oil is not commonly used in the United States, but it is a main cooking oil for the Burusho people in the Hunza Valley of Pakistan.
Apricot kernels are also used to make a flavoring. They have a flavor very similar to almonds. A well-known example of its use is in amaretto liqueur.
The flowers are lightly fragrant and can be used as a garnish or in confections. The flowers of the ume apricot (see below) are more fragrant and better for edible applications.
Ume apricots
Ume apricots (Prunus mume) have a long history of cultivation in eastern Asia. Native to southern China, they were introduced throughout China, Japan, and Korea. There are hundreds of varieties in cultivation.
In the United States, they are generally only grown as an ornamental plant for their attractive, winter-blooming flowers. They are often inaccurately referred to as a plum rather than an apricot. The Latin name, Prunus mume, is derived from “ume”, the Japanese name for the fruit, so I like to refer to the fruit as the ume apricot.
As opposed to common apricots, they succeed well in the Northwest Coast region. Flowering apricots bloom in winter in the Pacific Northwest, usually around February, sometimes earlier.
Cooking with ume apricots
The fruit and blossoms are used extensively in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cuisine. The fruit itself is not usually eaten fresh, but picked green and processed: smoked and dried, preserved in sugar, infused in alcohol, or pickled in salt or vinegar.
One of the better known processed forms of ume apricots is as “umeboshi”, a fermented apricot pickled with purple shiso leaves, commonly eaten with rice dishes or used as a flavoring ingredient.
The fragrant flowers are used in confections or dried as a tea.
Wild apricot species
There are 11 recognized species of apricots in the world, but many produce inferior fruit or are poorly documented. A few species stand out in particular.
The Briançon apricot (Prunus brigantina) is native to southeast France and Italy near the Alps. It has yellow fruit and smoother skin than the common apricot. It is disputed whether it is genetically an apricot or a plum. Recent genetic studies point towards it being an apricot species so I’ve included it here. Briançon apricots are sold and eaten fresh. Their flavor is similar to that of common apricots. In France, the kernels are also processed into an apricot oil known as “huile de marmotte”.
Considering its origins, the Briançon apricot may be more successful on the western side of the Cascades than the common apricot.
Most wild apricot species are from Asia. Two notable species are the Manchurian apricot (Prunus mandshurica) of northeast Asia and the Siberian apricot (Prunus sibirica), also from northeast Asia. Both are more cold-tolerant than the common apricot but cultivated primarily for their kernels or used in breeding programs aimed at creating hardier apricot varieties. Information about their cultivation is limited, but they would likely succeed in colder parts of the Pacific Northwest, though it might not be worth the trouble.
