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May at Frog Hollow Farm marks the beginning of a remarkable, busy, beautiful, and abundant time of year. As many of you know, or tasted last week for the first time of the year, apricots are here! As we venture together from now into July we look forward to sharing the beauty, complexity, and tastiness of the different varieties of apricots we will harvest at Frog Hollow this summer. We cannot, however, take full credit for our ability to deliver these delicious fruits to your home.
As consumers in the United States, we often overlook or take advantage of the privilege that we have to enjoy access to such a large variety of produce. At Frog Hollow, for example, we currently grow and harvest 10 different apricot varieties and are even adding new plantings to our variety list this year! Our apricots are rich in more than just Vitamin A, C, Fiber, and Potassium. Our apricots tell a rich story of cultural significance and we can thank the many farmers and people before us for our ability to enjoy them today.
These small golden fruits were first grown in mid-Asia (modern day China and India) as early as 3000 B.C.E., but it wasn’t until 1720 that the apricot was brought over by Europeans to North America. In its early days, the fruit had such a brief season that the the saying “once in a blue moon” was derived from the Egyptian saying, “fel mishmash” or “in the apricot”. Thanks to the development of new varieties, like the Apache that we will enjoy in our box this week and the Honeyrich aprium that we will enjoy in the late season of apricots, Farmer Al has been able to extend the harvest of this fruit that the Ancient Greeks referred to as “the golden eggs of the sun”.
We can also credit the research of people like our friend Craig Ledbetter, a Research Geneticist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for continuing to develop new varieties of apricots. The Apache apricot that you will enjoy this week is the result of a decade of Craig’s research to develop an apricot that ripens early in the season to satisfy the taste buds of those of us who have waited all winter for our apricots. Frog Hollow continues to plant new varieties as Craig develops them, such as the Goshen Gold Apricots that we will plant this year that have not even been released yet!
The apricot, though small and sweet, has a robust past and a promising future. We look forward to enjoying this rich fruit’s story unfold with you this summer and many seasons to come!
