Apricots of Central Asia
Central Asia is widely considered the original homeland of the apricot (Prunus armeniaca). Wild apricot forests still cloak the hillsides of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and cultivated varieties have been selected here for at least four thousand years.
The Fergana Valley — shared between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan — is the heartland. Warm days, cool nights, and mineral-rich loess soil produce fruit with a honey-like sweetness and complex tang that commercial varieties rarely approach.
Celebrated Varieties
- Subhoni — A late-season Uzbek variety; pale yellow skin flushed pink, exceptionally sweet flesh, prized for drying.
- Iskandari — Named after Alexander the Great's passage through the region; large, orange-red, richly aromatic.
- Kандак (Kandak) — Small, intensely flavored Tajik variety grown in the Zarafshan valley; almost always sun-dried.
- Lyali — Early-ripening Kyrgyz type; pale and very juicy, eaten fresh at Osh Bazaar in June.
Drying: The Ancient Preservation
Dried apricots — qovoq o'rik or курага (kuraga) — are a dietary staple across the region. Halved fruit is spread on rooftops and dried for one to two weeks in the summer sun, with no sulphur or additives. The result is small, leathery, and almost caramel-dark — nothing like the bright orange product sold in Western supermarkets.
Apricot kernels are pressed into cooking oil in parts of Tajikistan, and the wood of old apricot trees is carved into musical instruments.
Quick Facts
- Uzbekistan exports more dried apricots than any other Central Asian country.
- The wild apricot forests of Kyrgyzstan (Arslanbob) are a UNESCO candidate site.
- Fresh apricot season runs from late May to mid-August depending on altitude.
- Apricot jam (musallas) is served with bread at almost every breakfast table.