Wachau Apricots

The Wachauer Marille is an apricot grown in the Danube valley between Melk and Krems, protected under EU designation of origin, and its character comes from the site: the valley traps warmth against the terraced south-facing slopes while the river moderates the nights, so the fruit develops high sugar and a strong aroma but stays soft and does not travel - which is why it is sold at the roadside where it grows rather than in supermarkets abroad. Around a hundred thousand trees blossom in late March and early April, a spectacle in itself, and the fruit comes in from about mid-July for a few weeks. It is eaten fresh, made into jam, into Marillenknödel - dumplings with a whole apricot inside, rolled in buttered crumbs - into nectar and into schnapps.

What to look for

• A protected origin fruit - grown only in the Wachau, under EU designation.
• Roadside and orchard selling - the fruit is too soft to travel far.
• Marillenknödel - dumplings with a whole apricot inside, in buttered crumbs.
• Blossom in early spring - the hundred thousand trees flowering across the terraces.

When to go

Mid-July to early August for the fruit; late March for blossom. A meal.

Practical notes

The season is short - a few weeks - and outside it you get preserves, not fresh fruit. Frost in spring can wipe out much of a crop. Much sold as Wachau apricot elsewhere is not.

Nearby

Spitz, Weissenkirchen, Dürnstein and Krems are all in the growing area.