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Parma is known for its ham as Porto and its surroundings are famous for the wines. Similarly, the region of Gönc is renowned for its apricots. They enjoy a protected designation of geographical origin, they are rooted in the area, they require the given soil, location, weather and procedure. However surprising it may be, apricot belongs to the family of roses. It originates from China; it was carried to Armenia along the Silk Road and then to Rome through Persia. There were orchards on the outskirts of Gönc as early as in 1690 and in 1711 an order issued by the landlord to the recorder of Regéc stated that the remaining fruits should be dried or preserved in vinegar if the amount of the fruits produced could not be sold raw. At the World's Fair in Paris in 1867, the fruits of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County received a gold medal by the choosy French.

Fruit production really gained momentum in the area following the phylloxera disaster that raged in the 1880s but the first major fruit plantation programmes took place only between 1963 and 1969 in Gönc, Göncruszka and Boldogkőváralja over the altitude of 150 metres on the slopes of the hills, with the lobby activity and under the supervision of then parliamentary representative Imre Németh. Apricots can be used in extremely diverse ways. They are equally pleasant to consume raw or in the form of tinned compote, dried fruit, jam, pálinka (brandy) and syrup. The seeds are used as an almond substitute in the confectionery industry but they have also been discovered by the beauty industry. As for its physiological effects, a medical textbook written in Hungarian the second half of the 16th century already contained references about the healing properties of different parts of apricot in 24 places of the book. The fruit flesh itself has contains outstandingly high amounts of vitamins A and B2. Its vitamin K and Mg content is also important, while its content of beta-carotene and vitamin C is also relatively high, especially in case of Gönc apricots of the domestic types. Besides, it also contains a lot of polyphenols and flavonoids by international standards. Thanks to these favourable qualities, it even got out into space as the crew of the Apollo-13 took it to the moon with them. BETILLO of Boldogkőváralja led by Mónika Czakó and Gábor Czakó produces pálinka from the apricots of Gönc. Jam and syrup are also made in Boldogkőváralja from apricots in the workshop of Ottó Kmetz and his family.

Gönc apricots – The miraculous fruit that clings to its cultivation area

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