Jogobella's fruits

Don't mistake an apricot for a peach! True, they are closely related. The most-delicious apricots are intensely orange or yellow, with a smooth skin and a characteristic "blush". They taste best when freshly picked. Let them ripen and they will repay you with juicy and tasty flesh.

In Greek mythology, apricots were believed to be "golden apples", and they grew in the garden of the gods in the realm of Hesperides, near the Atlas mountains. Hesperides tended the garden, protecting an apple tree gifted by Gaia. They were helped by a dragon named Ladon. Legend has it that the retrieval of the golden apples was one of the Twelve Labours of Heracles. Luckily, he succeeded.

Apricots feature prominently in the culture of the Far East. The Chinese associate them with education and medicine. Philosophers see them as attributes of wise men, such as Confucius, who was teaching his students under apricot trees, believed to promote wisdom and knowledge. As for medicine, there was a physician called Dong Feng who lived in the Three Kingdoms period, who did not take money for his services. Instead, he wished for an apricot-bearing tree to be planted in his garden. So don't be surprised if a native of China refers to a physician by calling them a "the master from an apricot grove".

All over the world apricots are seen as a symbol of happiness and prosperity. People in Poland believe that a dream of apricots heralds positive changes and wealth. And if you dream about them when travelling to India, you are going to get married late - but happily.