Apricots are a quintessential early summer stone fruit with a soft, fuzzy skin and a flavor that balances sweet and tart notes. 

The harvest season for apricots in Central California is one of the earliest among stone fruits. Because apricots do not ripen significantly off the tree, the best fruit is one that has been allowed to fully mature before picking.

A ripe apricot will be orange-yellow to deep orange in color, plump, and yield slightly to gentle pressure. They are delicious eaten fresh, but their natural tartness and sweetness make them superb for baking into pies, tarts, and cobblers, or for making jams and preserves.