The apricot is a round, yellow to orange fruit with velvety, quite tough skin having tender, sweet and fragrant flesh with very little juice. It has a stone which contains an edible kernel which is used in jams (US: jelly), confections and liqueurs. It dries well and cooks well and is an excellent table fruit when it is ripened properly. It is usually best to select smaller fruit as they are inclined to have more flavour. Apricots are related to the peach, are highly perishable and have a short season. The finest are said to come from Hungary. It originated in China and moved slowly westward, died out and then recovered in the 15th century.
