There’s a fruit called pluot that you’ve probably never heard of, but despite its amusing name, it can actually be very beneficial for your health. The two fruits that make up this odd combination, Plums, and Apricots, are where the name “pluot” originates. Depending on the merchant you buy them from or the farm where they are cultivated, they are also known as apriums and plumcots.
Additionally, depending on the manner of hybridization, a pluot tends to exhibit more plum features than apricot ones. The Prunus species includes both of the parent fruits, but because pluots are hybrids, they lack a unique scientific name.
What are Pluots?
This hybrid has a fascinating origin story because Luther Burbank, a plant breeder, created the less well-known plumcot, a fruit, in the 1920s. The Pluots traditionally have a mixture of 50% plum and 50% apricot. A replica of Burbank’s plumcot was introduced 60 years later by Floyd Zaiger, owner of Zaiger Genetics, under the names Plum Parfait and Flavorella.
In the 1990s, Zaiger changed the name of the fruit to a pluot due to the difficulty of growing and shipping plumcots. Additionally, he increased the plum ratio, and the majority of samples of this fruit now only contain 25 to 40 percent apricot DNA.
These fruits made their way into supermarkets gradually, and they now appear around mid- to late-summer, when they are at their peak. They come in a variety of hues and sizes that are reflected in their DNA, ranging from ping-pong ball-sized to fruits the size of a fist to pluots that resemble plums but have spots.
Contrary to popular belief, the pluot is a hybrid between an apricot and a plum that was produced through hand pollination rather than genetic modification. Depending on the variety of plum the fruit is derived from, the plot can be any shade from pinkish red to brilliant green to dark purple.
Pluot Nutrition Facts
- Calories: 80
- Fat: 0g
- Sodium: 0mg
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Fiber: 3g
- Sugars: 15g
- Protein: 1g
- Potassium: 226mg
Health Benefits of Pluot
The potential of pluot to support your immune system, control your digestive system, enhance your total fluid intake, improve your vision, control diabetes, and hasten your body’s healing process is just one of its many health advantages.
Help with Digestion
A very good source of dietary fiber is found in pluots, as it is with many other fruits and vegetables. Fiber aids in enhancing the volume of our stools and promotes efficient meal digestion. It can hasten digestion, control bowel movements, and maintain the well-being of our gastrointestinal system.
Along with more serious illnesses including Crohn’s disease and stomach ulcers, fiber also lessens constipation, bloating, diarrhea, and cramps. The prevention of the buildup of extra cholesterol on the walls of the arteries and blood vessels is another way that fiber can help lower the risk of heart disease.
Reference: The Health Benefits of Stone Fruits
Enhance Immunity
Fruits like pluots are excellent for our immune systems because of the high levels of vitamin C they contain. White blood cells are our body’s first line of defense against deadly diseases and external invaders, and vitamin C boosts their synthesis.
Boost Healing Speed
In addition to maintaining our health, vitamin C also controls our metabolism, speeds up the growth of new tissues, and speeds up the healing of wounds. It is a crucial component of scar tissue and is also necessary for the growth of blood vessels, skin, tendons, cartilage, muscle, and dental tissue.
Antioxidant Characteristics
Among the most useful nutrients for human health are vitamins A and C. Both of these vitamins, which function as antioxidants in the body, are abundant in pluots. The body can convert vitamin A into beta-carotene when it needs this vital antioxidant, which means that it aids in improving vision, preventing macular degeneration, and shielding the skin from early aging. Free radicals, which are harmful byproducts of cellular metabolism, can be neutralized in the body by antioxidants, which vitamin C also functions as.
Increasing Fluid Intake
The importance of water intake in the body has been one of the most significant recent advances in human health. Our body is over 70% water, as you may know, thus dehydration is a huge issue that can result in serious health issues and metabolic inefficiency.
As a result of the extremely high water content of pluots, eating one of these delectable fruits might help you stay hydrated!
How to Use Pluots?
Stock up on these delectable stone fruits throughout the pluot season and enjoy them raw. Slices can be added to a cheese platter or a summer salad. They go well with cheeses like feta, aged Gouda, clothbound cheddar, and light brie. The skin has a faint crunch, the interior is soft, and there is a lot of juice.
The pluot is a wonderful fruit that may also be used in cuisine, including in jams, chutneys, sauces, and baking. The pluot can be stewed down to create a rich lacquer for those ribs you’re grilling or thinly sliced and used to adorn a buttery dessert. The pluot should be prepared similarly to a plum or other stone fruit when producing jelly or any other type of preserved condiment. It is simple to use in just about any way that a plum, peach, or apricot would be.
What do Pluots Taste Like?
A pluot has a pleasant taste to it that largely resembles a plum. The lighter, more yellowish-red fruits resemble golden plums, while the darker, pinkish-red fruits have a deeper sweetness. The skin isn’t bitter like a plum’s; rather, it’s more apricot-like in this regard. The texture of the apricot also comes through, and you can notice that most pluots have flesh that is thicker and rounder than a regular plum. Try a green kind of pluot if you can; it tastes more tropical and isn’t unripe.
Due to the apricot flavor, pluots have the tart sweetness of a plum but a somewhat less acidic flavor. The meat, which is wrapped in smooth, plum-like skin, can either be soft and flexible or slightly crisp, depending on the type. Contrary to other crossings, such as plumcots or apriums, which show more apricot than plum characteristics, pluots exhibit more plum than apricot traits. With the juicy texture and sour peel of a plum and the floral flavors of apricot, pluots are extremely sweet and tasty.
Where to Buy Pluots?
When August rolls around, you can get pluots in a lot of grocery shops and some farmers’ markets. They can also occasionally be available as late as October. Although most fruits are grown in California, where most pluots are found in supermarkets, pluots can also thrive in the same environments as peaches, apricots, and plums.
Storage
Unripe pluots should be kept on the counter in a paper bag to mature. If your fruit is already ripe, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to a week or put it in the fruit basket out of the sun for a few days. When purchasing fresh fruit, it is essential to eat it as soon as possible because they do turn quickly.
The fruit can also be frozen. They should be cut into slices and placed on a wax paper-lined baking sheet with a rim. Once frozen, move them to a zip-top bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Varieties
There are numerous pluot cultivars that vary according to the apricot-to-plum ratio. But keep in mind that Zaiger Genetics patented the name pluot, so you may occasionally see the fruit listed under names like apriums and apriums.
Remember that a plumcot is more of a 50/50 mixture of the apricot and plum, with the pluot having bigger plum features than the apricot (ratios can differ). There are numerous names for pluots (or fruit that resembles pluots), including Dapple Dandy, big Dinosaur Egg, Red Ray, Flavor Penguin, and many more.
Are Pluots Good for Diabetics?
Because pluots include fiber, their sugar is slowly absorbed into the bloodstream, preventing sugar crashes, sugar cravings, and mood swings. As a good source of carbohydrates, pluots have 19 grams per serving (which is two pluots). Along with a little amount of fiber, the majority of the carbs, 15 grams, are in the form of naturally occurring sugars (3 grams). Both the glycemic load and the glycemic index of pluots are minimal. The (wonderful!) stone fruit family includes pluots.
They are a late 1980s hybrid fruit that has 25% apricot and 75% plum. They have smooth skin, a comparable form, and a texture to plums. Plumcots have a sweet flavor that is broken up by crisp acidity. It has a flavor that is more akin to plum with a floral undertone from its apricot roots. The flavor of pluots is similar to that of plums, but they also have a strong sweetness—almost like candy—and very little bitterness.
Can you Eat the Skin of Pluots?
Pluots are excellent for eating with one’s hands. There is no need to peel the outer layer before eating. There is more fruit available since the interior pits are smaller than the peach pits. The skin is edible, but if you like raw plums without it, place them in boiling water for about 15 seconds, then quickly submerge them in cold water. The skin should easily peel off. Plums are simpler to skin after cooking because of this Both raw and cooked versions of this exquisite hybrid fruit are delectable.
Fresh, ripe pluots can be eaten straight out of the pit for a quick snack or sliced and used for salads, yogurt, ice cream, grain bowls, waffles, pancakes, and other dishes. Alternately, puree a pluot into a delicious salsa or chutney. Cut a little X in the bottom of each plum with a paring knife to make it simple to peel them. After about 45 seconds, carefully take the plums from the boiling water using a slotted spoon.
What is the Difference Between Plums and Pluots?
At first bite, their sweet, floral fragrance erupts on your lips. Your fingertips’ juices run down them. You could care less. Stone fruits in the summer are alluring and worthwhile. It’s difficult to distinguish between plums, peaches, nectarines, cherries, and apricots nowadays because they are mating so frequently.
In addition, there are pluots, plumcots, and apriums, and that is just the beginning. We can assist you in telling these natural hybrid candies apart from one another, particularly plums and pluots, even though we are an equal opportunity taster.
Simply said, plums are just plums. They have smooth, waxy, deep purple skin and are spherical, occasionally oblong, with a diameter of one to three inches. The firm, delicious flesh has a light color. They include 16 grams of sugar and 26% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin C, 13% of vitamin K, and 11% of vitamin A. Dried plums are called prunes.
According to San Diego, California-based Specialty Produce, a family-owned and -operated provider of fresh produce for food service and retail, pluots resemble a speckled plums with redder and more amber tones and a pinker flesh. But because there are so many different kinds—from the well-known Flavorosa to the Dapple Dandy—the colors might vary. It’s difficult to define. Everywhere you look, one thing is constant: the pluot’s flesh is made to taste even sweeter than plums.
Conclusion
The pluot, a hybrid of an apricot and a plum, provides customers with the rich roundness of stone fruits together with the subtle sweetness present in both ingredients. By the end of the summer, this fruit, which is pronounced “plew-ott,” is ripe and is accessible until October.
Eat it raw, simmer it down, and include the lovely speckled orbs in your lunch for a naturally sweet treat that science created by meddling with nature. The majority of the DNA in pluots is similar to that of plums, therefore you can use this fruit in place of plums in jams, sauces, baked goods, and pierogi fillings. Keep in mind that the flavor is a touch sweeter, the peel is less bitter, and the texture is more apricot-like.
