I'm a sucker for trying new things, especially when it comes to food. So when I saw a box of deep purple and slighly fuzzy Black Velvet Apricots from Kingsburg Orchards in Kingsburg, CA, I had to try it, even at $4.99/lb. But I was quite disappointed. The texture and taste is very much that of a plum, and not a very exciting one, at that. Although the flesh was sweet, it was quite soft (and quickly went mushy, after sitting on the counter a few days), but the skin was comparitively tough, and much too tangy. The pit was not freestone (which I love about apricots), but very much clingstone, so that a good portion of the fruit is lost with the pit.
I decided to search online, what anyone else had to say. There is a good post at "the kitchn", except that most comments on it seem much too favourable.
The marketing, I have to admit, was very effective (just like the beautiful image I borrowed from a marketing site). The "Black Velvet Apricot" name stirs up a wonderful image, much more exciting that "plumcot" or "pluot" or another term for a cross between a plum and an apricot, which would have only fetched $2 to at most $3 per lb. But I give them two disappointed thumbs down.
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