Welcome to the start of stone fruit season! Apricots are one of the first stone fruits to hit the markets in May and is like a herald of the start of summer. While apricots are available canned and dried all year long there’s nothing that beats biting into the sweet and tart golden nuggets of early summer.
Apricots are actually not native to the Americas but were brought to the US from Europe during the colonization of the Americas. (And, of note, apricots are thought to not actually be native to Europe either, but likely originated in Northern China and have spread via human agriculture to now be grown throughout the world).
In the United States, however, the original apricot tree is rumored to have been grown in Virginia brought by European settlers during the 1720s. However, apricots really took hold as a summer fruit staple when the Spanish began growing them in the California missions in the 1790s.
And, similar to much of our produce, California’s Mediterranean climate has proven perfect for growing apricots for our consumption.
The flavor profile of the apricot is sweet, tart, and a little earthy. It’s similar to a peach, but a little more floral. The fruit tends to become dense and slippery when cooked. It’s perfect for making in jams, pies, and other desserts. But, truly, there’s nothing quite like biting into a ripe juicy and completely unadulterated apricot.
But, as food bloggers, adulteration is our motto. So here is a compilation of some of the best food blogger recipes out there for this Seasonal Spotlight: All About Apricots post.
Hope you enjoy!
Mini Apricot Cakes – by Happy Food Dance
Apricot Raw Honey and Goat Cheese Appetizer – by Sweet Phi
Apricot Granola Cookies – The Beach House Kitchen
Lamb Curry with Apricots – Add Some Butter
Peach, Apricot, and Vanilla Jam – Matters of the Belly
Vanilla Apricot Tart – Eats Well With Others
Apricot Whiskey Smash – Lauren Kelp
Thanks so much for sharing the interesting facts on apricots Sarah! And thanks so much for sharing my recipe! Love all the recipes you’ve included! Hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Thank you!! You as well 🙂
I had two recipes to try this apricot season but I missed it completely. All the apricots on a tree ripen at the same time which is why the season is so short ?
Oh no! Yeah I was waiting to pounce as soon as apricot season began. 🙂
Love apricots! What a great round-up. And loving your new (blog) look, too 🙂
Thank you!! I totally freaked out because I was editing it and ended up with the white screen of death, but I called bluehost and they were able to fix it for me (kind of). Now I have weird links showing up in my header that I can’t get rid of, but I’m hoping one of my techie friends can help this weekend lol.
Thanks so much for adding my recipe. I love cooking with fruit, and apricots are one of my favourites.:)
Of course! I knew when I was doing an apricot post that I needed to use one of your awesome curries for my roundup 🙂 🙂
They are not yet here but they will be pretty soon! What a delicious gallery!
Hope you have some good ideas for when they come out! 🙂
OMG OMG OMG, so I absolutely LOVE apricots, and as i’m reading all about one of my favorite fruits on your lovely seasonal spotlight (I totally love this series btw) I see that you included one of my all time favorite appetizer recipes – THANK YOU!!!!