anuary 9 is National Apricot Day in the United States, another fun, food holiday. Apricots are loaded with nutrients, particularly beta-carotene (Vitamin A), Vitamin C, iron, potassium, and fiber. According to the Apricot Producers of California, just 1/2 cup of preserved apricots or three fresh apricots provide between 35% to 45% of the daily recommended intake for Vitamin A.
Celebrate National Apricot Day by making these Apricot Waffles (recipe and photo courtesy of the California Fresh Apricot Council.
Dried apricots, apricot preserves, brandied apricots or even the fresh fruit itself are sweet and popular ingredients in many CDK recipes. Related to the plum, tasting like a peach, we salute this underrated fruit with National Apricot Day in the US.
Apricots originally grew wild on the hills of China and in other temperate Asian countries around the Himalayas. The require cold winters and hot springs to grow best. The earliest record of Apricots being planted and farmed is as early as 2000 BC. Although its uncertain as to exactly how, they began in East Asia and traveled west, going to the Middle East and the Mediterranean, then to the rest of Europe and finally America. One popular belief as to ho they spread is that Alexander the Great brought them back from China to Greece, but the story is riddled with historical inaccuracies.
From various pieces of literature it is known Apricots were commonly eaten in Ancient Rome, but then seemed to disappear from Europe after the Roman Empire until they were reintroduced by the Arabs when they occupied Spain. From Spain they spread to Italy and England.
Spanish explorers and monks are credited with bringing Apricot trees to California in the late 1700s where they were planted in missions. In 1792 California had its first recorded crop in a town south of San Francisco. Today, the United States produces 96.5% of the world’s Apricot crop. 95% of all Apricots consumed in America are grown in California.
