You may have noticed there's a new fruit in town. It's not just any old fruit. It's a unique creation. It's a combination of two fruits. A combination that has been plum good for California.

What is it? It's a pluot. But not a lot of us know much about it. We need an education in the pleasures of the pluot. That's why we turned to fifth generation farmer Steve Brenkwitz of Eden Garden/Brenkwitz Farm. You might consider him our Professor Pluot. And question #1, what exactly is a pluot?

"It's a plum apricot interspecies hybrid that has all of the advantages of both and none of the drawbacks," said Brenkwitz.

This unique hybrid of around 70% plum and 30% apricot was developed in California and the science behind its creation is a closely guarded secret.

"The hybridization of all these interspecies is a very well kept secret by all the families that do it. And if I told you I'd have to kill you," joked Brenkwitz.

Brenkwitz planted his first pluot trees back in 1982. It takes about 3 years for a pluot tree to begin producing fruit. Eden Garden has had pluots on the market for about 10 years.

That's given Steve a decade to develop his teaching skills as Professor Pluot.

"There are over 20 different varieties of pluots," offered the professor.

Because they are so new, most consumers are unfamiliar with the pluot. Besides eating them fresh off the tree, we asked Professor Pluot's wife Mary Anne to create a culinary concoction involving this fabricated fruit.

"I haven't cooked with a lot of plums in general," admitted Mary Anne. "So, to find recipes that go with pluots, which are mostly plums, has been a challenge."

But she adapted a great one. It is posted below.

Eden Garden specializes in getting those tree-ripened pluots into your hands and mouths as fast as possible. While more and more markets are carrying pluots, a growing portion of Brenkwitz' business is over the Internet. It seems fitting that a new fruit would rely on new technology to boost exposure. Their online and mail order sales are increasing by 20-30% every year. And thanks to a specially designed shipping box and overnight delivery, Eden Garden claims they can quickly place some pluots in your possession. And we decided to put them to the test and find out for ourselves.

The system worked very well. Our pluots arrived within 24 hours and were fresh and very tasty.

And we know that makes Professor Pluot proud. If you'd like to experience the pride, be adventurous, forsake the familiar fruits and partake of the pleasantries of the pluot.

Pluot Apricot Tart
Recipe courtesy of Mary Anne Brenkwitz, Eden Garden/Brenkwitz Farm

Ingredients
All purpose flour for dusting
1 refrigerator piecrust
1/2 cup almond paste
1/4 cup butter
2 large eggs
2 T. all purpose flour
2 T. sugar
2 Each: ripe pluots and apricots, halved, pitted
2 T. sliced almonds
1/4 cup apricot preserves, melted, strained

Directions
1. With flour, dust 9-inch square tart pan with removable bottom (springform pan). Press dough over bottom and sides. Prick bottom with fork; freeze 15 minutes.
2. Place oven rack in bottom position; preheat oven to 400 degrees. Crumble paste into food processor; add butter, eggs, flour and sugar. Process until smooth; pour into shell. Cut each pluot and apricot half into 4 wedges each. Arrange over filling, in alternating rows; sprinkle with almonds.
3. Bake 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. To serve, remove sides of tart pan; place tart on serving plate (you can leave tart-pan bottom on for support). Brush top of tart with jam.

For more information on pluots, visit www.edengarden.com.