The original Vinschger Marille: a very special apricot

Will you be in South Tyrol over the next few weeks and do you love apricots? Then you absolutely must try the original Vinschger Marille. This apricot variety is a much sought-after regional specialty from the western part of South Tyrol and is excellent on its own or as an aromatic garnish on a cake.

The original Vinschger Marille is the star among South Tyrolean apricots: it delights the palate with its velvety juiciness and the right mix of sweetness and acidity. When ripe, its soft flesh can be easily separated from the hard stone. This apricot variety also makes a nice visual impression: its cheerful yellow-orange color and rounded shape speak of sunny, pleasant summers.

**The original Vinschgau Apricot**
The climate in the Vinschgau Valley is perfect for the original Vinschgau Apricot.
IDM Südtirol-Alto Adige/Armin Huber

The climate of the Vinschgau Valley

The Vinschgau Valley, in the western part of South Tyrol, is the ideal home of the apricot tree: it thrives on sandy soils between 700 and 1,200 metres above sea level. Plenty of sun and rain and cool nights guarantee an intense and delicious flavour.

The fruits have plenty of time to ripen and are only harvested when the sugar content is sufficient to ensure a full flavour. The original Vinschger Marille must ripen slowly and be eaten or processed quickly, as they do not like long storage periods. Particularly flavoured fruit varieties, such as the strawberry variety Mieze Schindler, are sensitive to this.

When and where can you buy Vinschger Marille?

In addition to the original Vinschger Marille, there are also Vinschgau mountain apricots: these are the Goldrich, Orangeed and Hargrand varieties. Original Vinschger Marille are sold in a natural coloured box, while Vinschgau mountain apricots are sold in a black box. Vinschger Marille are available from around mid-July to mid-August in the following cooperative shops:

OVEG Eyrs
GEOS Schlanders
Südtiroler Erdbeerwelt Martell
MIVOR Latsch
JUVAL Kastelbell
Vinschger Bauernladen Naturns

You can also buy apricots in selected fruit and vegetable shops in South Tyrol.

Jam and more

The Original Vinschger Marille is particularly suitable for jam or fruit preserves, but there are also many other culinary 'applications': On its own or on cakes, in dumplings or in strudel, this apricot transforms many desserts and sweet dishes into an exceptional summer taste experience.

Venustis in Laas, for example, offers a wide range of different delicacies made from the original Vinschger Marille and Vinschgau mountain apricots: from mountain pralines to apricot brandy. The Marble & Apricots event will also take place in Laas from 2 to 3 August 2025, where it will also be possible to taste typical South Tyrolean specialities.

Our favourite apricot pie recipe

Apricot dumplings, apricot strudel and apricot tart: there are many delicious recipes with apricots, but our favourite is a simple sponge cake. With the following 3 tips, you can prepare our favourite apricot pie even if you have never baked a pie this often:

All ingredients for the dough must be at room temperature. If you have forgotten to take the butter out of the fridge in time, you can also cut it into cubes and warm it briefly in a bowl in the oven until soft.
To ensure that the egg whites can be whipped to stiff peaks, neither yolk nor butter should be added to the egg whites. Even the smallest trace of fat will prevent the egg whites from becoming firm. It is therefore important to take care when separating the egg whites from the yolks and that the bowl, beaters etc. are clean and, above all, free of fat.
The cake only gets the flavour it deserves with ripe, tasty apricots: ideally, the juicy original Vinschger Marille should be used.

Ingredients:

1 kg apricots (washed and pitted)
250 g butter (room temperature)
250 g sugar (preferably baking sugar or fine caster sugar)
250 g flour
1 heaped tablespoon baking powder
5 eggs
3-5 tablespoons of milk
1 pinch of salt
1 sachet (8 g) vanilla sugar
Flour and butter for the baking tin
A little icing sugar to sprinkle on the finished cake

Preparation:

Grease a fairly high baking tray with a little butter and dust it with flour (alternatively, the tray can also be lined with baking paper). Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (static oven).
Mix the flour with the baking powder and sift it. Separate the eggs.
Beat the egg whites with the salt and half the sugar (with a hand mixer or another mixer) until stiff.
Beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add the egg yolks, the remaining sugar and the vanilla sugar and continue beating for at least 5 minutes until a light yellow, homogeneous mixture is formed.
At this point, add the flour and baking powder mixture, the milk and the stiffly beaten egg whites, alternately and several times, stirring gently with a whisk after each addition.
Spread the mixture on the baking tray, top it with the apricots cut in half and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes.
Sprinkle the cake while still warm with a little icing sugar, leave to cool and enjoy the same or next day.

We hope you enjoy baking and enjoying this cake!

Text: Lisa
Translation: Silvia

We are a colourful mix of nature-loving, adventurous and creative editors. All based in South Tyrol, we share the love of writing and photography, the mountains and culture. Our passion is to constantly discover new stories about the land and its people, about identity and tradition, about South Tyrol's quiet places and thousand faces. With our texts and pictures, we want to show you the beauty of this contrasting region and arise your curiosity. But above all, we want one thing: to inspire you to travel.