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ApricotsApricots are those beautifully orange colored fruits full of beta-carotene and fiber that are one of the first signs of summer. Although dried and canned apricots are available year-round, fresh apricots with a plentiful supply of vitamin C and are in season in North America from May through August. Any fresh fruit you see during the winter months have been imported from either South America or New Zealand.
Relatives to peaches, apricots are small, golden orange fruits, with velvety skin and flesh, not too juicy but definitely smooth and sweet. Some describe their flavor as almost musky, with a faint tartness that lies somewhere between a peach and a plum. |
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Blueberries
With flavors that range from mildly sweet to tart and tangy, blueberries are nutritional stars bursting with nutrition and flavor while being very low in calories. Blueberries are at their best from May through October when they are in season.
Blueberries are the fruits of a shrub that belong to the heath family, which includes the cranberry and bilberry as well as the azalea, mountain laurel and rhododendron. Blueberries grow in clusters and range in size from that of a small pea to a marble. They are deep in color, ranging from blue to maroon to purple-black, and feature a white-gray waxy "bloom" that covers the surface serving as a protective coat. The skin surrounds a semi-transparent flesh that encases tiny seeds.
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Sweet Cherries
Cherries are drupes, or stone fruits, related to plums and more distantly to peaches and nectarines. They have been enjoyed since the Stone Age-pits were found in several Stone Age caves in Europe. The Romans carried cherries throughout Europe and England along the routes of conquest.
This variety is the best known sweet cherry. It is large, round, extra-sweet and has a purple-red flesh and a deep red skin that is close to black when fully ripe. The Bing is available from the end of May until early August.
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Red Tart Cherries
This variety is the best known sour cherry or tart cherry. It is mostly canned or frozen for use as pie filling or sauce.
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Michigan Peaches
Peaches are a tasty treat with modest calories, a good source of potassium, vitamins A & C, low sodium, no saturated fat. Peaches are a healthful snack and a smart, low calorie way to end a meal.
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Nectarines
A peach and a nectarine are very similar. Genetically, there is not much difference between the two. The main difference is that a peach has fuzz on its skin while a nectarine does not.
Nectarines are a bit more likely to be affected by diseases such as brown rot and bacterial spot. Many nectarine varieties have a spicy "zing" to their taste. The nectarine is thought to have originated as a mutant of the peach.
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