Stephen Albert
Apriums are juicy, sweet eating out of hand. An aprium is a hybrid fruit—¾ apricot and ¼ plum.
The aprium is bright orange on the outside with just a hint of skin fuzz. Its bright orange flesh is dense and surrounds a stone similar to an apricot’s. The aprium is about the size of a large plum and can easily be mistaken for a very large apricot.
Apriums grow on a deciduous tree that grows to about 10 feet tall and requires warm springs and summers for harvest.
How to Eat Apriums
- Apriums are commonly eaten freshly picked out of hand.
- You can slice and add them to a salad or cereal or yogurt or ice cream.
- You can use apriums in crisps, cobblers, and pies.
- Add sliced apriums to bread.
- Make apriums into sauces to be eaten with waffles or pancakes or preserves.
Aprium Flavor
- The aprium’s flavor is often described as intense and complex.
- Apriums have strong apricot flavor tones—bowing to their predominantly apricot parentage—with a hint of plum.
- Apriums are sweeter than apricots with higher fructose and complex sugars content and a bit of acidity.
Aprium Season
- Apriums are available from late spring through late summer, mid-May to September in the northern hemisphere.
- Apriums require other apriums or apricots for pollination.
Aprium Varieties
- Apriums are a relatively new fruit. ‘Honey Rich’ was the first aprium introduced in 1989.
- ‘Honey Rich’ is perhaps the most popular aprium variety; its name aptly suggests the fruit’s intensely sweet flavor.
- Other aprium favorites are ‘Flavor Delight’ and ‘Tasty Rich’.
- Other aprium varieties include ‘Autumn Sprite’, ‘Escort’, ‘Flavor Ann’, ‘Late Brittney’, ‘Poppy Cot’, and ‘Wescot’.
- The aprium was developed by California fruit hybridizer Floyd Zaiger, who also developed the pluot, a plum apricot hybrid.
How to Choose Apriums
- Select apriums that are plump and firm with consistent skin color.
- Avoid apriums that are green or that are overly soft or have broken or blemished skins.
- Apriums have delicate skins and will tend to discolor with handling.
How to Store Apriums
- Apriums will keep in the crisper section of the refrigerator for up to two days.
- Keep apriums away from bananas which emit ethylene gas that can hasten the ripening process of the aprium.
How to Prepare Apriums
- Rinse apriums in cool water and dry them before using.
- Cut the fruit in half to remove the pit or use a fruit pitter.
- Apriums will ripen quickly placed in a paper bag at room temperature.
Aprium Nutrition
- Apriums are a good source of vitamin A.
