The best apricots for juicing are the ones you grow yourself. It’s ideal if you have an orchard with an apricot tree or two in it, or if you live near an orchard where people are allowed to pick their own fruit. You’ll know to pick the fruit when all the green color is gone and the fruit yields a bit when you press your thumb into it. Pick the fruit by twisting and gently pulling upwards. Then, slice them, remove the pits and put them in the juicer. There’s no need to remove the skin.

If Apricots Are Store Bought

Whether at the store or farmers’ market, you should pick only unblemished fruits for the juicer, jams, drying, or anything else. Any blemished or bruised fruit stored with others in a container will spoil the rest of them. They should also have that delicious, apricot fragrance, and the fruit should feel heavy for its size. Frozen apricots are tricky when it comes to juicing, for their best flavor is retained after they’ve been partially dried, then frozen.

Best Apricot Varieties to Juice

The best apricots for juicing are the Dwarf Sungold and Dwarf Moongold, which are midseason apricots. Also good is the Goldcot, which has a sort of tangy flavor and the Royal Blenheim, a late season apricot from California. The flavor is quite intense. Another of the best apricots for juicing is the Tomcot, which is an early fruit with a sweet taste. One apricot-plum hybrid is the Aprium, whose juice has a plummy undertaste.