Apricots – one of the world’s healthiest foods

Apricots – those gorgeous small orange fruits may look a lot like small peaches, but they sure don’t taste like peaches.  There’s nothing quite like them, a little sweet and a little tart at the same time, and not nearly as juicy as a peach.  When perfectly ripe, they have a texture that is all their own too.  Hard to describe.  ‘Smooth’?  But don’t let all of that fool you.  Those little orange fruits pack a whallop of a nutritional punch!

Years ago, we planted two apricot trees in our backyard.  We had no expectation of them producing fruit (we live in Edmonton after all) but we heard they were a beautiful shade tree and we were looking for two trees between which to hang a hammock.  Every year the apricot trees blossomed profusely and we truly knew what it was like to have “Popcorn popping on our apricot trees“, but it was usually too early and a late spring frost or big wind or something else we couldn’t control would eliminate any serious promise of the blossoms fruiting out.  Until one year.  The stars all lined up I guess.  Beautiful blossoms.  No late frost.  No big wind.  We were surprised to see cute little green apricots form.  Still we had no expectations out of them.  No sense putting our hope in unrealistic places. …. But they continued to grow, and they ripened into that beautiful apricot-orange we’re so familiar with.  Being the eternal skeptics, we figured they’d be lousy because … well, EDMONTON!  Hello!  You don’t grow apricots in Edmonton.

But we did!  And we harvested them.  Truth be told their texture by the time we picked them wasn’t very  inviting to eat fresh.  But their taste was amazing!  We picked several gallons.  And I made the best apricot jam in the history of the world.  We also made apricot pies.  First year ever for either of those two.  I love apricot pie to this day.  Sadly, one day the jam was all eaten up, and we never had another harvest.  And then we moved.  However, I am reading lately about new varieties that may be hardy in the Edmonton area.  You can bet I’ll be looking into them.

In the meantime, apricots have always been one of my favourite fruits – for two main reasons.  They are so full of nutrition and I absolutely love their flavour.  Dried apricots are especially delicious.

Good Food is Good Medicine

Apricots are rich in potent antioxidants, and an excellent source of Vitamin A (from beta-carotene).  When my kids were little, dried apricots were a real treat, and apricot nectar (though pricey) was the fruit juice that I bought for whoever happened to be sick at any given time.  The sick person got to drink a whole container apricot nectar all to themselves.  It was their special food-medicine because it is so rich in infection fighting and immune enhancing vitamins A and C as well as minerals and so many antioxidants that are known to fight free radicals in the body, and protect us from disease.  When appetite is minimal anyway, it never made any sense wasting it on anything that wasn’t going to help heal.

Apricots and Eyesight

Apricots are packed with Vitamin A, (also known as retinol) which helps with our vision.  Retinol, Beta Carotene and other related nutrients  (carotenoids and xanthophylls) reduce the chances of developing the serious eye-related disorder called Neovascular ARMD – an age-related macular degeneration that causes loss of vision in the elderly.

Research has linked regular intake of fruit in general (not just apricots)  with less risk of age related vision loss.  By simply increasing the amount of fruit you’re currently eating by three or four more servings a day you will increase your long term health in every way, not just vision related.

Apricot Protection Against infection and Inflammation

Apricots are a strong dietary source of phytonutrients.  A single apricot will provide you with 4-5 grams from catechins which are potent anti-inflammatory phytonutrients.  Multiple studies have shown that catechin-rich foods can protect blood vessels from inflammation-related damage, leading to better over all blood pressure control.

The richness of vitamin A makes apricots one of the most valuable immunity enhancing fruits.  The gorgeous orange colour isn’t simply cosmetic you know.  It indicates beta-carotene.  Why is that important?  The human body converts beta carotene into vitamin A.  We need vitamin A for healthy skin and mucus membranes, our immune system, and good eye health and vision.

Other fruits and vegetables that are particularly rich in Vitamin A via beta carotene are:  carrots. sweet potatoes. peppers, broccoli, mangoes, papaya, winter squash. cantaloupe. spinach, kale, and collard greens.  Look for deep orange and deep green.  Of course ‘freshness’ is very important.  There are also many non fruit or vegetable sources of Vitamin A.

Digestive Health – Apricots are a good source of dietary fibre which is helpful in supporting digestive health.  Soluble fibre also helps control blood cholesterol levels.  Since the retinol in apricot is fat soluble, the fruit dissolves in the body easily, and the important nutrients are easily absorbed by the system.  It breaks down fatty acids quickly, which keeps your digestion running smoothly.  Cleaning out the intestines regularly protects you from gastrointestinal concerns.  This helps increases metabolism and energy level which makes apricots a great midday snack when you need a little pick-up.

Blood Health – The type of iron in apricots (as in most plant based foods) takes time to be absorbed by the body and the longer it stays in the system, the better your chances in preventing anemia.  Vitamin C taken with iron ensures better absorption of this type of iron.  How wonderful that nature has them both present in apricots.  So it goes without saying that in iron rich foods like spinach, kale and apricots etc, you’d want that Vitamin C to be in good supply when you eat it.  This is important as Vitamin C is volatile and doesn’t stick around for a long time.  Did you know for example, that spinach (which is known as a good vegetable iron source) loses 100% of its Vitamin C within four days of harvest?  Well I dunno about your local grocery journey, but I can pretty much guarantee that the spinach I buy has not been picked within the last two or three days.  Not only does that mean you’re missing out on the Vitamin C, but because its not there, you’re also not getting full advantage out of the iron in spinach.  🙁  I hate to sound like a bad-news-Betty, but that kinda takes the magic outta ‘fresh’ store bought spinach for me.  There’s gotta be a better way right?  Well, . . . . another conversation for another day.  Stay tuned.  Lets get back to apricots.  

For Healthy Skin, make sure you eat apricots every day.  The combination of Vitamins A and C and also the phytonutrients present ensure good skin.  For years our teens took extra Vitamin A supplements to get them over those difficult teen-skin years.  I am convinced it made all the difference for them and prevented some of the teenage woes I went through.

Overall Health – Ripe apricots are a rich natural sources of antioxidants.  When eaten daily, they help the body to get rid of toxins that we tend to collect over time.  Antioxidants also kill free radicals that damage our cells.  They help to reduce the bad cholesterol content in the body while increasing the good cholesterol.  The potassium content in apricots balances the electrolyte levels in our system.  All of this spells good heart health.

Potassium also helps our bodies absorb calcium and assimilate it uniformly.  Better absorption of calcium is critical in developing and strengthening bones.

Where do Apricots come from? 

I’ve always associated apricots with coming from Turkey for some reason, and in actual fact, they arrived in Europe via the middle east.  They are mentioned in the Old Testament.  Apricots have been cultivated for about 5,000 years and their origin has been traced to China.  Apricot trees were first planted in North America beginning on the east coast (Virginia) in the early 1700’s century, and expanding as far west as California by the end of that century.  The climate there is perfectly suited to apricots, and most apricots grown in the United States are grown in the California sun.  Turkey, Italy, Russia, Spain, Greece, and France are also the world’s leading producers of apricots.  In western Canada, some of our seasonal apricots may be coming from southern BC in the Okanagan Valley, where as in eastern Canada, they are likely coming from Ontario.

When are they in Season?

Apricot season in North America runs from mid spring through mid summer at best.   Look for fruits with a rich orange colour and they should be slightly soft.  Tree-ripened fruits always taste the best, so the closer you are to the source, the more likely that’s gonna happen.  For maximum nutritional value, always choose fruit that was fully ripened on the tree and was harvested as close to your purchase time as possible.  No easy task if you live in Edmonton.

Apricots can also be purchased fresh, canned, dried or freeze dried.  They’re also popular in preserves of all kinds.  The taste of all are these variations is so uniquely ‘apricotty‘ and I love them all.

How to Eat Apricots

FRESH – Like most fresh fruits, apricots can be eaten in multiple ways.  Eating as a snack is always the easiest, but they are so much more versatile than that.  Nutritionally speaking, Fresh is always best!  But it has been my experience that it is difficult to get ‘good’ apricots in season, at least in my little corner of the world.  At best, I might be able to buy them once or twice in a season.  Sometimes not even that.  And its often disappointing.  Too frequently, you buy fruit that is ‘mushy’.  I hate it when that happens.  They are way too expensive for that.  This makes apricots more elusive in Alberta than mangoes!  What’s with that?

Unfortunately, one never really knows how ‘fresh’ fresh is.  How long ago were they picked?  Did they have time to ripen on the tree?  I realize that tree ripened fruit is more difficult to transport, and a lot more volatile, …. and living in Alberta, one cannot be too picky about that sort of thing.  I completely understand that there are so many variables that factor into getting ‘fresh’ produce out to the masses.  I don’t mean to sound unreasonable.  But one does need to consider the various options and choose the best for their circumstances.

Canned – Canning is still an easy and convenient way to home preserve excess fruits from the garden.  And canned apricots are still available to buy from the supermarket.  The process of canning  fruits of course, involves high heat for a prolonged period of time and usually the use of sugar.  Whether home canned or commercially canned, the process is the same although you can control the use of added ingredients when you do it yourself.  Generally speaking the resulting nutritional value of canned fruits is about 40% of whatever it was when it went into the canner.  While that is disappointing, we know a quart of fruit is boiled for 40+ minutes so it shouldn’t be surprising.  Still, canned apricots in February are better than no apricots in February, so canning remains a viable method of preserving excess summer produce.

Dehydrated Apricots are delicious and a convenient healthy snack food.  For years, this was my preferred way to eat them, primarily for convenience sake.   But commercially grown and dried apricots are often treated with sulfur-containing compounds during processing to extend their shelf life.  There is much concern about this additive.

Freeze Dried Apricots are delicious and another convenient and healthy snack.  They have recently become a viable option on the market that has all but replaced my romance with dried apricots.  For eleven months of the year, I choose to eat FREEZE DRIED Apricots.  After tree-ripened ‘FRESH’ – which lets face it, doesn’t happen too often in Alberta, freeze dried is the MOST nutritious source of apricots.  Of course nutrition is optimised when care and attention are given to the ‘quickness’ of the process, ensuring fruit was tree-ripened and that time between harvest and flash freezing is measured in hours rather than days.  Although the method of freeze drying is standard, the care of beginning with the best possible fruit varies from company to company.  There are many different brands of Freeze Dried fruits.  Do your investigation and find the one that guarantees best nutrition.  A good source of freeze dried apricots could yield up to 95% of the original food value.  And bonus: if packed properly in an oxygen free can, the shelf life could exceed twenty five years. This is a pretty impressive and stable way to keep apricots on hand for everyday use all year long.

using everyday

* Whether using fresh, dried or freeze dried, apricots can be chopped up and added to your morning cereal, granola or porridge.  Add them to your yogurt.
* Use them in baking.  Apricot tarts, pies, crumbles and cakes are amazing.
* My husband makes a delicious Persian Chicken baked with a fruit sauce made of freeze dried apricots.  We’ve also baked them with prunes in the same pot as a pork roast.  Adding them to meats dishes or vegetable stews adds a wonderful middle eastern flavour.
* We add them to greens with feta and almonds for a wonderful salad.  Just sprinkle a little balsamic vinegarette to finish it off.

* I make a wonderful apricot couscous with raisins, orange juice and a little bit of cayenne for punch.   Click here to see the recipe.

Apricot jam is the best jams ever!  Even better if you make it up as you need it from freeze dried apricots and little to no sugar.
I take about a cup of freeze dried apricots
add about 1/2 a cup of water and a pinch of sugar to taste (if any).
I refresh the apricots in a small sauce pan, heating over low heat and stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.  It takes about 20 minutes to thicken up to make an absolutely incredible spread.  I hesitate to call it ‘jam’ because there’s hardly any sugar in it.  But I use it as jam, so if the shoe fits wear it I guess.  Except there’s no guilt.