Apriums: more apricot than plum & so juicy!

[FabulousFoodBabe]

actually, there's kind of an interesting side to all of this (from an ag geek perspective). these fruits are somewhat controversial. there is something called the california tree fruit agreement (did you know they ever disagreed?), that is a marketing organization that represents all plum, peach and nectarine farmers in the state. its members are assessed a certain amount for each box of fruit they sell. so far, aprium, pluot and plumcots have been exempt, because they are not plums, peaches or nectarines. but the CTFA has now started doing dna studies on some of the crosses and are arguing that, in fact, they are really nothing more than new varieties of plums (hence, assessable). just thought you'd like to know.

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Um, I like to know. Does that make me an ag geek?

I'm having a flashback to when we lived in Modesto, just a mile from the farms. We'd line up at 5:30 in the morning and wait for the trucks to come in off the fields, loaded with baskets of nectarines and flats of boysenberries, still dewey. I have never, ever, had a nectarine since then that doesn't make me think of how good that was. Sigh.

Plus, I haven't seen a Red Jim for a long time. I miss them!

[russ parsons]

Um, I like to know.  Does that make me an ag geek?

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you're in baby! we're a small group, but we have remarkably low membership qualifications (rewards, however, are delicious).

[ludja]

most aprium varieties i've tried are fuzz-less (or, in teh language of fruit breeders, non-pubescent). to me, the best of them have the flavor of an apricot and the texture of a plum.

...

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Found some apriums at the Sunnyvale Farmer's Market this past weekend. The skin was not really fuzzy but they did have more of a velvety feel than a plum skin. The texture was great; much better than the apricot specimens I've purchased before. In terms of taste the ones I had did taste a bit like both apricots and plums--with an extra nod in the apricot's direction.

Got some nice pluots the next day at the Mountain View market...

[Peter the eater]

I almost started a new topic, this one is perfect and should be bumped.

I saw, bought and ate my first pluon this week. Wow -- it was beyond delightful. It has flavour, texture and that visual shock you get when you bite into your first blood orange.

I haven't tried an aprium or a plumcot but I'd like to know if people can buy them and what they taste like. And what do you do with pluots? Besides suck them back as is.

[tsquare]

Tiny's Organic (WA state) grows and sells these at the local markets. They have been great this year. The pluots were our favorite - light plum colored skin, dark plum inside - incredibly juicy, even when firm, with a sweet plum flavor. Not sure which varities we have purchased. Their donut peaches are excellent too.

[Peter the eater]

Their donut peaches are excellent too.

Wait one minute -- those are two of my favourite food words, together at once -- please elaborate.

[tsquare]

Their donut peaches are excellent too.

Wait one minute -- those are two of my favourite food words, together at once -- please elaborate.

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Sorry - they are small, flattish peaches - a big push a few years back. I thought they were mealy and tasteless, but Tiny's are delightful. I just have to remind myself to buy local and in season.

nice packaging, but won't fool you

[Katie Meadow]

I almost started a new topic, this one is perfect and should be bumped.

I saw, bought and ate my first pluon this week. Wow -- it was beyond delightful. It has flavour, texture and that visual shock you get when you bite into your first blood orange.

I haven't tried an aprium or a plumcot but I'd like to know if people can buy them and what they taste like. And what do you do with pluots? Besides suck them back as is.

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Assuming you mean pluot and not pluon, which perhaps exists as a sub-atomic particle, or, god forbid, as a cross between a plum and an onion, I think they happily sub for plums in tarts, cobblers, etc. I had a pluot sorbet once that was great. I do have a wonderful recipe called "Pluot Carpaccio with Ginger Sauce" which is a very easy and very yummy dessert; if you want it I can get it to you. It uses a cooked sauce poured over uncooked paper-thin slices of pluot. I imagine it could be quite good using juicy Santa Rosa plums instead, if those were available.

Of all the plum and apricot crosses I like the apriums best; when they are good they are fabulous. They have a very short season here in northern CA and this year I didn't think they were all that great. There are several different types of pluots sold here, and we can get them all summer. When they are unripe they are just about as boring as any unripe plum. The aprium should be about 60% apricot, the pluot 50/50 and the plumcot about 60% plum. I don't see plumcots at the farmers' market very often, or perhaps they are mislabeled as pluots--there are some pretty dark plummy pluots around.

When you think about it, it's sort of surprising that crossing plums and apricots is a relatively new thing. After all. nectarines have been around for a long time.

[Peter the eater]

Assuming you mean pluot and not pluon, which perhaps exists as a sub-atomic particle, or, god forbid, as a cross between a plum and an onion . . . .

Oops.

I'd try a plum/onion hybrid, especially if God forbids it.

Or the boson - a crosss between Boston bib lettuce and onion - great salad, one ingredient.

Or the muon . . . .

[Shalmanese]

Tiny's Organic (WA state) grows and sells these at the local markets. They have been great this year. The pluots were our favorite - light plum colored skin, dark plum inside - incredibly juicy, even when firm, with a sweet plum flavor. Not sure which varities we have purchased. Their donut peaches are excellent too.

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Hrmm... I haven't noticed that. I was amazed by the plutots and apriums that Tiny had last year and I go to their stall every week in the hopes that they have something of similar quality and I've been consistently disappointed. Not bad by any means, but just ordinary so far...

[Adam Balic]

When you think about it, it's sort of surprising that crossing plums and apricots is a relatively new thing. After all. nectarines have been around for a long time.

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Nectarines aren't hybrids or interspecifics they are the same species as regular peaches with a mutation that prevents the formation of surface fuzz.

I'm sure that various crosses are developed all the time, but the majority most likely don't taste as good as the parents. There us a fruit called the "Black/Purple Apricot" (Prunus dasycarpa) which seems to be a natural plum apricot hybrid.

The plants discussed on this thread seem to have been created by Zaiger's Genetics, as you can see from their site they have 10s of thousands of rejects.

[Katie Meadow]

Now you tell me! My mother brought me up to believe a nectarine is a cross between a plum and a peach. And I never had a reason to believe otherwise, despite the many delicious nectarines I have eaten that in fact don't taste anything like plums. Now I know why. She's ninety. Dear Abby--oh, I mean Adam--do you think I should tell her?

[Adam Balic]

I don't think that there is much to be gained by pointing out that the difference between a peach and nectarine is pubescence....