Apricots

These velvety yellow (and greenish) little globes are a rare purchase for me. They are usually rock hard when I buy them; when they "ripen" they just get weird. The Larousse Gastronomique puts it more eloquently:

The fruit should be bought properly ripe, since once picked it stops ripening and might either be hard and bitter or become soft and floury.

At least the pits, or stones, come out very easily.


Just cut them in half, circling the stone, peel the halves apart and pluck the stone from the center. They come out cleanly. Again, the Larousse states it more elegantly:

The smooth stone (pit), which comes away easily, contains an edible kernel which is used to flavour apricot jam.

I didn't know about the edible kernel. I wonder how best to get the kernel out. I'll look into that if I get some more of these.


Hard or not, these things are like little balls of sunshine. And the Larousse has a comment about that too.

The ancient Greeks called the apricot 'golden egg of the Sun', but in the Middle Ages it was thought to cause fever.

I hope they are good in cake.


Apricots, available by the pound at Grower's Direct for $1.79. The seven shown were 0.77 lbs, if you're interested.

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