DATE: Wednesday, August 20, 1997            TAG: 9708190064

SECTION: FLAVOR                  PAGE: F3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY RUTH FANTASIA, FLAVOR EDITOR 

                                            LENGTH:   27 lines

PLUM, APRICOT COMBO HITS HAMPTON ROADS

PLUOTS (pronounced PLU-otts) aren't exactly new, but they are new to the Hampton Roads area.

As the name implies, pluots are a combination of a plum and an apricot.

About the size of a rubber ball, pluots have smooth skin and like plums vary in color from red to purple, green to black.

Some varieties have speckled skins and due to their odd appearance, at least one produce company markets pluots as ``dinosaur eggs.''

The flesh of a pluot is similar in texture to that of a plum but is a deep rose color and much sweeter than you'd expect. That's because the sugar content of a pluot is much higher than that of a plum.

Pluots are now in season although availability will be limited.

Try them in fruit salads, preserves or in any recipe where you'd usually use plums. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot

Pluots are a new hybrid of a plum and an apricot. Try them in fruit

salads, preserves or in any recipe where you'd usually use plums.

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