Homeland apricot is the North-East China, which is still in the wild are found in all its forms. In culture, he launched a very long time. In the annals of Chinese cultural forms apricot mentioned for the years 3500-4000 BC. e. From China, it spread to other regions of Asia and the Caucasus, and from there, and in the Mediterranean and other European countries. If you trace the history of the word apricot, then through the Dutch and French, we will come to the Portuguese albricoque, then remove Arabic article al, stop for Latin рrаесох, which means forward.
But the Romans themselves acquainted with apricot thanks to the Armenian merchants so that it called Armenian apple, and that name remained in botany - Armeniaca.
Apricot is usually the height of 5-8 meters from the leaves of apricot are cordate, egg-shaped, rounded, but with a sharp end. Apricot flowers are single, large diameter and 4 cm, with white and pink petals. Fruits - round with one stone, up to 3 cm in diameter, different color (from white to red-orange, mostly yellow), tenderloin. Weight of the fruit from 3 to 18 city Apricot Blossoms in March-April, fruits ripen in July - August.
Apricot - heat-loving species. There is growing in Central Asia, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Moldova and southern areas of Russia. There are many fine varieties: Komsomolets, pineapple, home gardens, etc.
The fruits contain: vitamin C, vitamin A, which apricots are recommended for widespread use in the food fresh and processed form. There are a lot of ash and elements - potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sulfur, silicon. In the garden of apricot provides up to 28% of sugar in dried - up to 85%.
Apricots using fresh and dried. Boil the jam, marmalade, jam, prepare juices, wine. In the confectionery manufacturing particularly appreciated the fruits with high content of pectin substances without them difficult to obtain such popular good things, such as fruit jellies, jam, jelly or a tasty stuffing for sweets. Apricots contain a significant amount of pectin substances. Quite a few, and other useful substances accumulate under the sun from the fruit. They have starch, dextrin, inulin, organic acids - apple, lemon, salicylic and wine.
The fruits of the wild apricot contain up to 12% sugar and dried in the sun, even sweeter, as well as sugar content in them is increased to 56%.
Dried apricots cut into parts, whole with the stones intact, followed by removing the pits, and sometimes that holds the remote pits instead of sweet apricot seed. The resulting products in the first case called dried apricots (cut or broken), second - dried apricots, and the third - Qaysiyah (no nucleus and the nucleus).
Apricot oil produced from apricot pits ordinary, as well as plum, cherry-plum method of cold pressing. Power butter, divided and easily absorbed, restores the epidermal barrier. Widely used in cosmetics and dermatology as a basis for moisturizing and nutrient compositions. Recommended for children and sensitive skin.
Apricot oil has anti, regenerates, tonic, rejuvenating effect, removes minor wrinkles, helps restore the elasticity of skin, gives it a nice healthy color, helps restore the elasticity of the skin, especially in cellulite and rough skin, eliminating inflammation.
Use when tired and flabby skin, to care for children and sensitive skin, for the daily care of the skin mixed. Apricot oil gives good results in the care of the problem with dry skin and dermatitis.
Therapeutic use of apricots:
1. Apricot juice contains many salts of calcium and iron, so it is very helpful to young children and pregnant women. 150 grams of juice daily to meet human needs in carotene. Juice the body more easily absorbed than fruit.
2. When anemia apricots containing large quantities of iron, very helpful. 100 grams of fruit apricots have an effect on the blood is the same as 250 grams of fresh liver.
3. Dried apricots and dried apricots (at 100-150 gram per day) is very useful for pregnant women, children and elderly people as a nutrient, general strengthening means.
4. Apricots are rich in potassium salts - in the fresh fruit contains 305 mg% and dried - up to 1717 mg%, so they are very useful to heart disease, especially with heart failure and with arrhythmia.
5. The fruits of apricots are rich in phosphorus and magnesium, which requires the body to the brain active.
6. For normal neuro-muscular excitability need calcium, which so many of apricots.
7. Thanks to a large content of magnesium apricots quickly and permanently remove high blood pressure. When hypertension in the season of ripening apricots recommend that they have as much as possible.
8. In gastric diseases should prepare decoction of apricots, it serves as a means of mitigating inflammation of mucous membranes in the gastrointestinal tract.
9. Juice of apricots normalizes the acidity of the stomach and effectively with colitis, especially if the illness is accompanied by windy.
10. When ulcers and hidden edema apricots - excellent diuretic.
The fruits contain large quantities of potassium - 11 times greater than sodium. Take recommended apricot juice to 70-80 g 6-7 times a day in between meals.
Instead of fresh juice can be used infusion of dried apricots: fill 100 grams of finely cut dried apricots 1 liter boiled water and to insist for 6 hours in a warm place.
11. Apricot gum (protruding from natural cracks trunks and dry air) used as binding, enveloping means.
12. The nuclei of balls well act as a sedative when coughing, bronchitis, laryngitis.
For the preparation of therapeutic mixes should be split 20 gram apricot pits, clearing the nucleus from the skin dry and grind to powder. Take 3-4 times a day for 1 teaspoon of milk or tea.
Contraindicated:
1. In diabetes, liver disease and the lack of thyroid function apricots contraindicated.
2. It should not be consumed at once, more than 20 g. nucleoli apricots.
