HISTORY OF THE APRICOT

  Apricots are believed to have oiginated in China, although they were probably known by some other name in the Orient.  From there they were brought westward and introduced into Asia Minor and Europe.

    The Spanish Explorers get credit for introducing the apricot to the New World, and specifically to California, where they were planted in the gardens of Spanish missions.  In 1792, in an area south of San Francisco, the first major production of apricots was recorded.  The 1910 U.S. census records reported that 96.4% of all apricots grown in the United States were produced in California.

  Today, over 400 growers produce apricots from orchards covering 21,000 acres in California.  About 95% of the apricots consumed in the US come from California.