Apples
Apples, part of the rose family, are good eating fresh, in salads, pies, sauces and other baked goods.
Varieties
There are thousands of named varieties in North America. Here are just a few of them.
Ratings
AB: Apple Butter
B: Baking
FS: Fresh and Salads
J: Juice
P: Pie
S: Sauce
 Arkansas Black
A winesap-type apple that looks dark purple to almost black, it is harvested late in the season. It has a very hard texture so it stores well.[Top o' the list for having the word "Arkansas" in the name.]
Acey Mac(k)
FS: Excellent; P and S: Very Good
Braeburn
FS: Excellent
Cameo
FS: Excellent; P and S: Very Good
Crispin
FS: Very Good
Cortland
FS: Very Good
Empire
FS: Excellent
Fortune
P and S: Excellent; FS: Very Good
Fuji
S: Excellent; FS: Very Good
Gala
FS and S: Excellent
Ginger Gold
B and S: Excellent; FS: Very Good
Golden Delicious
P: Excellent; B, FS and S: Very Good
Granny Smith
FS, P and S: Very Good
Honeycrisp
B, FS and P: Very Good
Idared
B, P and S: Excellent; FS: Very Good
Jonagold
B, FS and P: Very Good
Jonathan
FS, P and S: Very Good
Macoun
FS and S: Very Good
McIntosh
FS and S: Very Good
Paula Red
FS, P and S: Very Good
Pippin
P: Excellent; FS and S: Very Good
Pink Lady
S: Excellent; FS: Very Good
Red Delicious
FS: Excellent
Rome
B: Excellent; great for cooking but not sweet enough for pies.
Southern Rose
FS: Excellent
20 Ounce
B, P and S: Excellent
Williams Pride
Called a "summer dessert apple."
Winesap
FS, J and P: Very Good
York
B and S: Very Good
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Facts About Apples
Selecting Apples
Choose apples that are firm, free of bruises, dents or punctures, that have shiny skins. Dull-appearing apples won't be crisp and tasty.
Storing Apples
Always refrigerate your apples as cold as possible without freezing. Apples will ripen and therefore turn soft 10 times faster at room temperature and nearly 5 times faster at 40 degrees F. If stored on the countertop, they won't stay crisp for long.
Using Apples
Protect cut apples from oxidation by dipping them into a solution of one part citrus juice and three parts water.
Good for Teeth
They are "nature's toothbrush" because the mild fibrous texture of the apple, its non-adherent nature, juice content and mouth watering appeal that accelerates salivary action all combine to make it a natural aid for cleansing teeth.
Variety Abounds
7500 apple varieties are grown throughout the world; 2500 varieties are grown in the United States; and among those in the U.S., 100 varieties are grown commercially.
Pectin
Apples are rich in pectin. Pectin and mild acids found in apples help fight body toxins, aid digestion and pep up the whole system. Pectin too has been associated with helping to keep cholesterol levels in balance and is significant in helping to reduce the incidence of certain types of heart disease.
Nutrition
Apples are high in potassium, with no sodium, cholesterol or fat. Each apple contains about 5 grams of fiber, which is 20% of your Recommended Daily Amount.
Apple Appeal
Two-thirds of the fiber and lots of antioxidants are located in the peel.
Studies have shown...
People who eat apples regularly have fewer headaches and other illnesses associated with nervous tension. Apple eaters also exhibit reduced incidence of colds and other upper respiratory ailments.
More studies...
Fiber in an apple has been linked to help reduce serum cholesterol levels. Numerous studies have shown a link between high consumption of fruits and vegetables with a lower risk in different cancers.
Good for Babies
The mild nature and low acidic content of apples are more readily accepted and digested by infants, causing less colic and rash-related disorders.
In the New World
Pilgrims planted the first United States apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In colonial time apples were called winter banana or melt-in-the-mouth.
Who eats more?
Americans eat approx. 19.6 lbs. of fresh apples annually, compared to about 46 lbs. annually of many European counties.
Apple roots
The apple tree originated in an area between the Caspin and the Black Sea. Charred apples have been found in prehistoric dwellings in Switzerland.
They are classical
Apples were the favorite fruit of ancient Greeks and Romans. Archeologists have found evidence that humans have been enjoying apples since lat least 6500 B.C.
How apples turn color
The cool nights of late August and early September trigger the change in the enzymes of the apple skin to change the color from green to red. This same condition will put a pink "blush" on green Granny Smiths and add the yellow color to Golden Delicious Apples.
Washington apples
More than half of all apples grown in the United States for fresh eating come from orchards in Washington state.
Washington's apples
One of George Washington's hobbies was pruning his apple trees.
Annual production
A fully producing apple tree may grow up to 20-bushel boxes of apples. An apple tree begins to blossom and bear fruit in 4-5 years, and even as few as 3 years, depending on the variety and rootstock.
Bob for apples
25 percent of an apple's volume is air. That is why they float.
Orchards
The average size of a United States orchard is 50 acres. Many growers use dwarf apple trees. In 1730 the first apple nursery was opened in Flushing, New York.
Apple seeds
Apples have five seed pockets or carpels. Each pocket contains seeds. The number of seeds per carpel is determined by the vigor and health of the plant. Different varieties of apples will have different number of seeds.
Sauce and cider
A bushel of apples weights about 42 pounds and will yield 20-24 quarts of applesauce. It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.
World record peel
The world's largest apple peel was created by Kathy Wafler Madison on October 16, 1976, in Rochester, NY. It was 172 feet, 4 inches long. (She was 16 years old at the time and grew up to be a sales manager for an apple tree nursery.)
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The Legend of Johnny Appleseed
Source: North Carolina Apple Facts.
Yes, Johnny Appleseed was a real living person. His name was John Chapman. He was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, September 26, 1774. His father, Nathaniel Chapman was one of the Minutemen at Concord and later served as a Captain in the Revolutionary War. His mother, Elizabeth Simons Chapman, died in 1776 while his father was still in service. After the war his father married again and John spent his early years in and around Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
Details of his boyhood are scanty at best. In his early twenties he traveled to the frontier country of northwestern Pennsylvania near the little settlement of Warren and from there history records his travels, his work and his legend westward throughout the Ohio country and beyond.
For nearly fifty years John Chapman helped America grow up in the frontier country that is now Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and fringes of other states. He was a firm believer and missionary in the Swedenborgian Christian faith. He was a nurseryman with a love for apples which resulted, over his life span, in the clearing of many acres of wilderness, largely in one to five acre plots, where he planted and tended apple trees to be sold, traded, bartered and given away to the frontier farmers throughout the broad Ohio country where he traveled. Johnny Appleseed died near Fort Wayne, Indiana in March 1845, not too long before another spring would have brought another bounty of the apple blossoms he loved. He was 71. Still traveling. Still tending his apple tree nurseries. Still preaching "News right fresh from Heaven". Still helping his fellowman.
When he ended his fifty year odyssey throughout the midwestern United States. John Chapman had become a living legend in American folklore. Like many of those in this deposit of Americana. Johnny Appleseed was a real person who actually lived in the days of the frontier settlement. Unlike many of his folklore counterparts, however, he really performed the heroic acts that are the substance of his legend.
During his sojourn John Chapman became known for his courage and his dedication to his fellow man, as well as for the apple orchards he planted.
Part poet-philosopher, part mystic, out of phase with the goals and aspirations of his contemporaries, but infinitely attuned to the larger harmony of the universe. Johnny Appleseed occupies a special place in the long line of dreamers, innovators, and statesman who have contributed to America's greatness.
Apple-Related Links
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