OFF THE SHELF
Savor your apricots roasted or in a dessert tart

The season is winding down now but some local supermarkets do have a supply of apricots, which have seemed exceptionally flavorful this year. Our apricots come mostly from California — where the Blenheim variety is grown, making up about 90 percent of the crop for the nation.

Apricots are low in calories and a good source of vitamin A: 3 medium apricots have 51 calories and 277 international units of vitamin A (the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin A for adults is between 800 and 1,000 units a day). The fruit is 90 percent water.

Apricots can be stored in the refrigerator for three to five days. But because they tend to arrive in the Islands ripe or even a little overripe, plan to use them as soon as possible.

You can eat apricots fresh, of course, but if you splurge and get more than a few, enjoy the exceptionally bright and pungent flavor that comes when apricots are exposed to heat: in a compote, a jam, a tart, or roasted and served with grilled meats or fish.

Most recipes do not require the smooth skin of the apricot to be peeled. Should you need to peel them, blanch in boiling water for about 20 seconds and plunge into ice water. Use lemon juice to prevent cut apricots from browning.

Apricots can be frozen: just halve and stone them (remove the pit) and place in zipper-closure bags. You can save the pits, too, because the kernels inside can be used to add an important almond note to dishes ranging from biscotti to jam; in fact, the kernels are sometimes called bitter almonds.

Peel the pits to get at the kernel inside and toast them in the oven or use them in a cooked dish. But use caution: Too many pits create a bitter flavor, and raw pits in excess can give you a potentially lethal dose of cyanide. Five or six kernels, finely chopped in a jam recipe or baked tart, are safe to consume.