I had no clue what the apricot-looking fruit was, but the tag next to the bin told me it was a cross between an apricot and a plum. After a little research, I learned that the aprium is a combination of ¼ plum and ¾ apricot (not to be confused with the pluot which is ¼ apricot and ¾ plum). Floyd Zaiger of Zaiger Genetics developed both hybrids a couple of decades ago. Both fruits are the result of cross-pollination, and take a couple of steps. First, a plum tree is cross-pollinated with pollen from an apricot tree. The seeds that result from the cross are planted, and the second generation fruits are called plumcots, or ½ plum and ½ apricot.If cross-pollination is continued for another generation, one of two fruits will occur. When a plumcot is crossed with plum pollen, the result is a pluot. When a plumcot is crossed with apricot pollen, the result is an aprium.
The aprium was the size of a small plum, but could easily be mistaken for a very large apricot. The fruit resembled an apricot on the outside with just a hint of fuzz. The flesh was bright orange, and tasted like an apricot with a plum aftertaste. It was sweeter than an apricot would be.
At $2.99 a pound the apriums were a bit pricey, but they were small so I only paid about a third of that for the experience of trying something new.
Yum - were they good?
ReplyDeleteYes, very good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lesson in hybrids. I love plums and actually bought two trees..... well, they were labeled plum trees, but aren't. They add color to the landscape. I have 3 apple trees, 3 cherry trees and 2 peach trees. I love harvesting the fruit. I wonder if you could cross pollinate peaches and apples.
ReplyDeleteNext time you are on 70, stop by! I will either be in the office, blogging or outside weeding with my rump in the air!
Not a bad price. I just paid $3.99 a pound for organic pluots. They are so good, though, that I don't mind paying the price.
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