Noshing a cold whole crisp red nectarine is pleasing. I would like to share some facts I’ve read about this fruit.
The Nectarine
The word ‘nectarine’ means sweet as nectar. Nectarines belong to the same species as peaches and have smooth skin. The nectarine is closely related to the peach. It’s sweeter than the peach and the fruit has yellow or whitish flesh.
Nectarines, cultivated in ancient Persia, Greece and Rome, probably originated in China over 2,000 years ago. They were grown in Great Britain in the late 16th or early 17th centuries, and the Spanish introduced this fruit to America. California is the largest producer of nectarines.
Nectarines are available from January through September.
Nutrition Facts
A raw nectarine’s fruit size is small, medium, large. Listed below are the approximate sizes and weights:
- small
- 2-1/3″ in diameter, 129 grams
- medium
- 2-1/2″ in diameter, 142 grams
- large
- 2-3/4″ in diameter, 156 grams
For purposes of this article, I will refer to the medium fruit size for the data below.
It has the following proximates in grams (g):
Water 124.38 g
Protein 1.51 g
Total Lipid (fat) 0.45 g
Carbohydrate 14.98 g
Dietary Fiber 2.4 g
Sugars 11.20 g
The minerals found in the plum in milligrams (mg) are:
Calcium 9.0 mg
Iron 0.40 mg
Magnesium 13.0 mg
Phosphorous 37.0 mg
Potassium 285.0 mg
Sodium 0.00 mg
Zinc 0.24 mg
The plum has the following vitamins as specified in milligrams (mg), micrograms (mcg), and IU (Equivalencies of retinoids and carotenoids):
Vitamin C 7.7 mg
Thiamin .048 mg
Riboflavin .038 mg
Niacin 1.598 mg
Vitamin B6 .036 mg
Folate 7.0 mcg DFE (microgram Dietary Folate Equivalent)
Vitamin B12 0.00 mcg
Vitamin A RAE (Retinol Activity Equivalents) 24.0 mcg
Vitamin A IU 471 IU
Vitamin E 1.09 mg
Vitamin D 0.00 mcg and 0 IU
Vitamin K 3.1 mcg
The plum has the following lipids (fats) in grams (g) and milligrams (mg):
Fatty acids saturated .036 g
Fatty acids monounsaturated .125 g
Fatty acids polyunsaturated .160 grams
Cholesterol 0.00 mg
And, there is no Caffeine 0.00 mg in nectarines.
The Nectarine
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