Fruits of the Month: Pluots © and Apriums ©
June 17, 2009 by Tisha Tolar
Filed under Nutrition, Recipes
While they may sound strange, it tastes delicious! A Pluot is a registered trademark and a late 90′s invention of Zaiger 
Genetics from Modesto, CA. They are essentially hybrid fruits that combine both plums and apricots, though they take most after the plum. The Aprium is also a hybrid of the plum and the apricot but this hybrid takes after the apricot side.
Choosing Fruits
Since pluots take after their plum parent, you’ll need to look for smooth skin, resembling plum. Apriums will have a slightly fuzzy skin. Both fruits should be plump, firm, and not green or blemished. You can find both fruits available between the months of May and September. The fruits are mostly grown in California and Washington.
Preparing to Eat
Like all fresh fruit and vegetables, you should thoroughly wash and dry them before eating. Both fruits have a pit in the center, which you can remove by cutting the fruit in half. You can also enjoy Pluots and Apriums cooked. Since both fruits are hybrids of other sweet fruits, both contain more natural sugar than either a plum or an apricot. These fruits are known for their juicy sweetness and tasty flavors.
Varieties of Fruit
Aprium
At the present time, there is only one variety of Aprium on the market. It is known as the Honey Rich and is bright orange in color.
Pluots
There are at least 20 varieties of this fruit. Each type contains a different percentage of plum and apricot and all will vary in size and color of the skin and the flesh. Here are a few of the varieties:
Candy Stripe
medium, pink-yellow striped, with very sweet and juicy flesh.
Cherry
small, bright red skin with white flesh.
Dapple Dandy
large sweet with pale green to yellow, red-spotted skin, red or pink juicy flesh.
Flavorella
round, medium-sized, golden-yellow, with sweet and juicy flesh.
Flavor Heart
very large, black with a heart shape, and yellow flesh.
Flavor Rich
medium-sweet, large black round fruit with orange flesh.
Flavor Supreme
medium or large, greenish purple skin, juicy red flesh.
Flavor Queen
large light-green to yellow, very juicy.
Red Ray
medium, bright red with dense, sweet orange flesh.
Recipe for Pluots and Apriums
A fruit salad is a great way to eat both fruits. Here is a sample recipe for a tasty and healthy fruit salad.
What You Need:
- 2 Pluots © or Apriums ©
- 2 peaches
- 2 apples
- 2 white nectarines
- 2 bananas
- ½ cup pineapple chunks
- ½ cup grapes
- ½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
- orange juice
- pineapple juice
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- whipped topping (optional)
How to Make
Cut all fruit into chunks and sprinkle a small amount of the juices over the fruit. Mix up well. Add in yogurt and mix again. You can now sprinkle on some sugar but don’t mix it in. Place the bowl of fruit in the freezer for 30-45 minutes to chill. You can add whipped topping if desired when ready to eat.
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