All About Apricots

For a treat, buy local

Standing 20 feet from his apricot trees, Steve Frecon praised the fruit he prepared to pick. It’s not something he advertises, so when apricots arrive at Frecon Farms’ market, shoppers enjoy “a wonderful surprise.”

“They’re so rare, local apricots,” said the Boyertown grower. “We get a crop from those trees about once every 5 years because they freeze out. They bloom very early in the springtime.”

This season’s apricots look “nice and large, but they’re not many on the tree,” he added.

Same goes for Weaver’s Orchard in Morgantown.

“Unfortunately, our crop was hit by frost again when they were blooming,” explained Ed Weaver. “A full crop would yield maybe 1500 pounds, I figure. This year, we might be lucky if we harvest 3- or 400 pounds.”

At Indian Orchards Farm in Media, the trees’ sheltered location saved them.

“We were very lucky,” admitted Gaile Bernhardt, who farms organically with her husband, Ben. “They’re sensitive trees.”

And since apricots prove difficult to grow locally, fewer people have tried them.

“I think the apricots have a lot to offer,” she said, like beta-carotene, vitamin C, fiber, iron and potassium. “I’d like to see them in books and schools more. You see bananas and apples and oranges. And they don’t give apricots enough credit.”

Eat them fresh or dehydrate them for later. Cook them with chicken or bake them into squares.

“The local ones here taste much better than the ones that are shipped from the West Coast,” Weaver described. “They have a unique flavor, and if left on the tree until they’re completely ripe, they are very, very tasty.”

“They’re sweet and mild. They don’t have that acidic tang that a peach does,” Frecon agreed. “They’re a wonderful piece of fruit when you get them.”

So, don’t hesitate. “Get ’em while you can.”

EMILY RYAN — FOR DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA It’s not every year that you find local apricots for sale.

EMILY RYAN — FOR DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Never had a local apricot? You don’t know what you’re missing!