Pluots

You only need to list a few of the varietal names of pluots—Flavor King, Flavor Queen, Flavor Prince, Flavor Supreme, Flavor Heart, Flavorosa, Flavorella, Flavor Grenade—to understand the most outstanding attribute of these hybrids between plums and apricots. A pluot—which is ¾ plum and ¼ apricot—is all about flavor. It has the flavorful blend of its parents and a higher concentration of sugar.  Pluots are juicy and very sweet which makes them an easy fruit for kids to love. They're sometimes called "dinosaur eggs" because they're egg-shaped with a pinkish red mottled appearance. Try serving pluot chunks as an after-school snack, or with yogurt or low-fat ice cream.

A pluot’s flavor will explode in your mouth.

Nutrition:  A pluot is a cross between an apricot and a plum. There isn't any official nutritional information for the pluot, but it must be similar in nutritional value to it's parents. Pluots should be great source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A and fiber.

In Season:  Just picked pluots, like plums, are available from early summer through the first weeks of late summer.

What to Look For:  Like plums, look for pluots that are plump, well colored and firm to the touch. Avoid pluots that are too soft or too hard.

How to Store:  Pluots will ripen at room temperature. When a pluot has ripened its skin will lose its shine. Then it can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.  But the best pluot eating comes when the fruit yields slightly to gentle pressure. That’s how you should pick a pluot at the farm market. Then take it home, wash it gently, slice it in half around the pit, rotate the halves to separate, pop out the pit, and pop the fruit in your mouth.