Apricot | What is Apricot Fruit | Health Benefits of Apricot Fruit and Apricot Juice| Nutritional and Calorific Values of Apricot Fruit

Apricot | What is Apricot | Apricot Fruit | What are the Health Benefits of Apricot Fruit | Apricot Fruit Juice | Uses of Apricot Fruit and its Juice | Nutritional and Calorific Value of Apricot Raw | Nutritional and Calorific value of Apricots dried

The Apricot (Prunus armeniaca, “Armenian plum” in Latin, syn. Armeniaca vulgaris Lam., Armenian: Ծիրան “Tsiran”) is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation, but most likely is India.

They say only a mere five percent of the population of the United States has had the opportunity to taste a perfect, really fresh, ripe apricot. Those who have will never forget it.

How does a Apricot Fruit looks and its Taste ?

Resembling a small peach, the soft velvety skin of the almighty apricot varies in color from pale yellow to deep orange with a hint of a pretty pink blush. The white to orange succulent pulp has a sharper flavor than the peach and offers a honey-sweet, slightly tangy juice.

Benefits of Apricot Fruit and Apricot Juice:

Uses of Apricot Fruit:

1. Apricots can be eaten simply out of hand, raw or dried but taste their very best served at room temperature.

2. Apricots are especially superb glazed with light sugar syrup. Serve as compote. Pureed cooked fruit deliciously flavors ice cream, sorbet, soufflés or sauces.

3. Apricot jam makes a luscious topping for muffins, biscuits or croissants.

4. Apricots are a perfect accompaniment for lamb entrées and marry well with duck or chicken dishes.

5. For apricot desserts, this fruit usually requires gentle poaching in sugar syrup to prevent the apricots from turning brown.

6. To store, keep fruit at room temperature for only a few days or refrigerate for longer storage. Chilling deprives some of this fruit’s juiciness.

7. The nut of the apricot is extensively used in confectionery.

8. Fresh juice of apricot leaves is useful in skin diseases. It can be applied with beneficial results in scabies, eczema, sun‑burn and itching of the skin due to cold exposure

9. Apricots have an alkaline reaction in the system. They aid the digestion, if consumed before a meal.

10. The fruit is highly valued as a gentle laxative and is beneficial in the treatment of constipation. This is due to its cellulose and pectin contents. Patients suffering from chronic constipation can greatly benefit by regular use of apricots Generally six to eight apricots used per day will produce the desired result.

11. The apricot is an excellent food remedy for anemia on account of its high content of iron.

12. Fresh juice of apricots, mixed with glucose or honey, is a very cooling drink during fevers. It quenches the thirst and eliminates the waste products from the body. It tones up the eyes, stomach, liver, heart and nerves by supplying vitamins and minerals.

13. In China, a famous medicine known as Apricot Gold was made from the kernels of trees, which grew in certain areas. This medicine was reputed for the powers to prolong life. The Chinese also believed that apricots reacted sympathetically to women’s ailments. The apricot flowers, therefore, formed a common ingredient in their cosmetics.

Nutritional and Calorific Values of Apricot Fruit: