Do You Know What Kind of Fruit Tree This Is?

Not cherry. Not pear. Here's a hint: I took these photos as the sun came up in Patterson, California. What does that have to do with it? Read on.

Patterson is a town about 90 miles southeast of San Francisco, and it is the.... Apricot Capital of the World!

I'm just passing through Patterson, and I had no idea there would be acres of flowering apricot trees just a minute down the road from my hotel. It was 6:30 a.m. when I took these pictures (on the side of the road, in my pajamas, thank you very much). The cool, gray light gave way to sunshine as I stood there trespassing.

These trees rival the cherry trees in Washington, in my opinion. I only wish there were actual apricots on the branches; the fruit won't be ripe for the picking until early summer. In the meantime, here are a few of the Kitchn's fresh apricot recipes... If I'm ever back in Patterson during a harvest, I'll be ready.

• Apricots with Candied Rosemary Walnuts and Cream
• Almond Cream Cheese Apricots
• Apricot and Biscuit Crostata
• Roasted Apricot Ice Cream with Almond Praline Ripple

(Images: Elizabeth Passarella)

Comments (15)

These pictures are beautiful. Thanks for sharing them!

Thanks! I have these flowers popping out and I couldn't identify them for the life of me!

http://embritadesign.blogspot.com

Just lovely! Things like that make mornings worthwhile.

took my breath away - thank you :)

Welcome to just "another" day in the Central Valley! Sometimes it still overwhelms me how truly beautiful, delicious can be.

So glad to hear that you were in the neighborhood!! lol well kinda!! I live like 10 minutes away from Patterson and truly is beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing your breathtaking pictures!!!! and glad to hear you were here in the Valley, I hope you enjoyed your stay!!

:D

Living in the Algarve, Portugal, I have known these trees, their fruits, leaves, and flowers ever since I remember. But my country is a little strip of land, and there is no big plantation of almond trees any longer. So I marveled when, two years ago I drove from San José to Los Angeles in the end of January and around me there was nothing but the snowy-like beauty of the almond-tree flower. Thank you for the pictures, they are great!
(I posted one too, taken on that trip: http://cartasdestemoinho.blogspot.com/2008/11/blue-skies.html)

i am lucky enough to have an apricot tree right out side my kitchen window. so this time of year if find myself singing this tune...
"i looked out the window and what did i see?
popcorn popping on the apricot tree!
spring has brought me such a nice surprise,

Of course I was talking in my comment about almond tree flowers, while your post was on apricot trees... The flowers are indeed similar, equally beautiful, but the trunks of the almond trees are thinner than the apricot's. Also, almond trees bloom earlier than aprricot trees, at least in the South of Portugal.