Plums belong to the Rosaceae family. Their homeland is China and they were imported to Japan no more than 300 years ago. To preserve their flavor throughout the year, people have started to dry them using methods inherited from the Romans.
There are more than 140 species of plums. Plum is a stone fruit, like nectarines, peaches and apricots, but it is much more diverse than its relatives in shape, size and especially in colour. There are many different flavours from sweet to very tart. Some plums are specially selected to be dried and retain their sweetness.
Composition of plums
Prunes are rich in carbohydrates have little fat and calories. No sodium or cholesterol. They are also a good source of vitamin C and provitamin A. Plums are very high in potassium - just one glass of plum is sufficient to meet the daily needs of the body.
Plums contain high amounts of water and pectin. Sugar in them reaches 9%, fiber 0.5%, protein 0.8%. From organic acids malic acid prevail in plums - 1.3%. Vitamins are mostly those in the B group, PP and C, as already mentioned. Minerals are best represented by iron, potassium, phosphorus and calcium.
100 g of plums contain 0.28 grams of fat, 0.7 g protein, 11.4 g carbohydrates, 864 mg potassium, 80 mg calcium, 15 mg iron, 83 mg phosphorus. Prunes have a much higher energy value - 264 calories.
Varieties
Stanley
American plum variety. It is obtained by crossing varieties Ajanska and Grand Duke at the New York Agricultural Experimental Station, Geneva, USA, in 1910. It was imported in our country in 1961 and is widely spread. Standard variety for Bulgaria.
Fruit medium to large in size (average 32 – 60g) egg-shaped, elongated, asymmetrical. Belly stitching is well expressed in a medial wide groove. The skin is thin, purple-blue. The flesh is greenish-yellow, thick, and granular, juicy, separating from the stone and with very good taste.
Fruits ripen in late August - early September, but quickly overripe. The tree is moderately vigorous, with a broad upside-down pyramidal loose crown, fruitful.
Harvested in time, fruits withstand transport. At full maturity they do not tolerate storage. Fruits are suitable for fresh consumption, for making stews, dried fruits, freeze, jam, marmalade and brandy.
Yo-Yo
Moderately growing variety with early fruiting, high and constant fertility.
Fruit: Large, round, dark blue with light blue waxy coating. The flesh is crisp, juicy, with sweet-and-sour taste. They are stoned easily. The variety is resistant to fungal diseases. Very suitable for growing in areas infected with measles. Plums variety of yo-yo is suitable for direct consumption or for processing and drying.

It is believed that the Romans first discovered the sweet cherry fruit in Malaysia around 70 BC. The fruits were first cultivated in Mesopotamia in the 8th century BC. Later in the first century AD the Romans carried cherries in Britain.
Cherries are available in many varieties, but generally only two types are the most commonly consumed - wild cherry and sour cherry.
Composition of cherries
The main advantage of cherries is that they are rich in flavonoids, which are antioxidants important for our body. The small red fruit contains a lot of organic acids. An important ingredient is anthocyanins. Delicious cherries are a good source of vitamins, especially vitamin C. Minerals in cherries are rather moderate to low in contents, with the potassium having the highest values. Cherries have a low glycemic index (22), and 100 g of them contain only 63 calories.
Studies show that cherry fruit has many health benefits. They are known to relieve pain for people who suffer from arthritis.
It has been shown that if you eat at least 20 sour cherries a day, you can fight effectively with emerging infections.

Home of apricots is northeastern Armenia. Even today in Central Asia, Daghestan, Armenia Northeast wild apricot is found. In the Himalayas it grows even at 4000 meters altitude. As a cultural species it has been grown in Armenia for more than 3,000 years, from there it spread through Persia, Armenia, Asia Minor, only in I c.AC it reached Europe, but for a long time was grown only in monasteries and princely gardens. Only in the X century apricot spread from the Apennine peninsula in Germany and France, and later in America, Africa and Australia. The Greeks called it the Armenian apple, hence the scientific name of apricot.
In Bulgaria apricot orchards appeared after the Liberation. The most popular varieties are Silistra (for canned fruit) Kishinev early, Hungarian, Roxanne and others.
Sometimes the name "zarzala" is used which comes from the Persian "alyu-zard", meaning yellow plum. However Zarzalas are smaller and slightly sour compared to cultivated apricots. The common name for apricot in Bulgaria "kaisiya" is taken from the Turkish language.
Composition of apricots
Apricots are an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, potassium, tryptophan and potassium. They contain notable amounts of vitamins of the B group, E and PP. They are rich in carbohydrates, the majority of which are easily absorbed substances and pectic sugars - fructose, glucose and maltose. Apricots are a good source of fiber, which helps to improve digestion.
An apricot contains 16.8 calories, 0.49 g protein, 1 milligram cholesterol.
Endless list of ingredients and benefits of apricots may be extended further, and is not surprising that dried apricots were first on the list of supplies for astronauts at NASA.

Probably nectarines became known in Europe as early as the late Renaissance when sailors began to import them in different countries. In America and eastern countries, they have been known for a long time – for about two thousand years.
Kids love nectarines and this is great: it is enough to have a snack of a few fruit and they would not think of food until noon because nectarines not only satiate and provide energy, but also supply child's body with nutrients. In composition nectarines are like peaches, however, in levels of certain types of vitamins and minerals are ahead of them. They have more iron, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin C and vitamin A is more than doubled.

Nectarines are rich in vitamin E, vitamin D, calcium and magnesium, they also contain sodium, sulfur, organic acids and natural sugars, pectin and other nutrients. Nectarines are low in calories - about 50 kcal per 100g, so it is quite possible to be used during a diet or detox diet.

In China, where they come from, peaches have mystical significance and predict luck, wealth and protection. Initially, they were grown in Northern China. Peaches are a symbol of fertility and love. They are reproduced in porcelain and praised in many verses.
Today brides in Japan and China carry peach wrist corsages and peach colors are used to celebrate the New Year. Once discovered, the wild Chinese peaches were widespread and cultivated in many varieties.
The Romans called the peaches "Persian apple", the name comes from the fact that Persia is the country that gave the peaches to the West.
France takes peaches in all their varieties and gave them female fruit names; peaches are associated with women even today, probably because of their beauty.
Peaches have extremely high levels of vitamin C. A peach contains as much as 90% of daily requirement of this vitamin. Peaches are rich in copper, iron and carotene. They contain large amounts of sugars, sucrose prevailing. The amount of pectin in peaches depends on their degree of maturity - the amount of pectin in green fruit is two times less than in mature peaches. Peaches are a source of vitamin A, C and E. They are a good source of energy.
It is recommended to have five peaches a day.

The Apple tree whose roots come from Eastern Europe and North Asia, is most common in temperate regions. Apple trees are among the earliest cultivated trees. Over the centuries, many hybrids are created, giving us the current 7,500 varieties of apple.
For a long time apples have been associated with the biblical story of Adam and Eve, but actually it was not mention that the fruit was an apple. In Norway mythology the apple is given a positive form: it is alleged that its magical powers keep people young forever.
Apples are crunchy fruits with red, yellow or green skin and are part of the Rosaceae family. The flavour varies from moderately sweet to pleasantly sour, depending on the species itself. Golden and Red Delicious apples are soft and sweet, while Granny Smith are noticeably tart.
With a huge variety of species and varieties, apples are widespread in almost all parts of the world, each variety has different characteristics in terms of size, color, taste, time of flowering and fruit characteristics.
Varieties:
Golden Delicious
Fruits of this variety o are large even in some variations very large (weighing about 140 to 200 g). They have a characteristic shape and a particularly thin and long stalk. Belgolden variety is characterized by slight ridges in the bottom of the fruit. Trees have a moderate to strong growth and consequently moderate growth.

Red Delicious
The "Red Delicious" Group includes many varieties and mutations with their characteristics: Star crimson, Cooper 4, etc.
Common to these varieties of apples and mutations is that fruits are large, with an average weight of about 165 to 190 g, with five well-defined ribs at the top. They ripen around mid-September. They have an even colouring of intense dark red.

Granny Smith
Fruits of Granny Smith variety are large to very large, weighing 180 - 200g and have rounded conical to flat round correct form. The harvest maturity of fruit occurs during the second half of October. Wood is a strong growing, relatively large rounded crown with bare branches at the base

Fuji
Fruits of the Fuji variety are medium to large in size, with flat-globular to globular-conical form, often bowed with asymmetrical halves, but well aligned in size.
The tree is strong growing and makes up a wide pyramidal to rounded dense crown. It gives fruit mostly on short fruiting two and three-year branches.

GALA
Gala is a red apple variety obtained by crossing varieties Kids Orange Red and Golden Delicious. This variety was created in 1920 in New Zealand and is today one of the most frequently produced. Fruits of Gala are rather small, reddish-orange, often there are visible vertical lines on them. Resistant to shock, with a very slight sour tinge.

Braeburn
Red fruits with clear green patterns come from faraway New Zealand. Good keepers, aromatic, sweet-sour and crunchy, these apples are great both fresh and cooked, as the pieces retain their shape and taste.