Apples

APPLES

"As American as apple pie", dunking for apples and Little Johnny Appleseed, apples hold a treasured place in our history.

The story of apples goes back to the
beginning of written history.

The story of modern day apples started in the region of Kazakhstan in Eastern Asia.

The ancestors of the apple were too sour to eat. Luckily for us the pip, or seed, of the apple does not produce a fruit identical to the parent. This made it easy to create hybrids with sweeter fruit.  

The bitter taste of apple seeds is nature's warning not to eat them.
In small dozes they can cause an upset stomach and in large amounts are toxic.  

Once the fruit was acceptable, early people found ways to graft the tree to root stock and maintain the flavor. The ancient Greeks, Romans, and Celts in Britain all had mastered this horticultural skill.  

Grafting root stock is an ancient horticultural  practice
commonly used today. Modern day roses wouldn't existence without it.    

Johnny Appleseed, named John Chapman (1774-1845) a nurseryman, believed the only way to a good apple was by seeding.  He condemned grafting as "wicked".  He collected apple seeds from cider mills in Pennsylvania and carried them west, planting orchards in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He also gave them freely to settlers. 

Johnny Apple seed claimed grafting "wicked".
His trees produced fruit too bitter to eat.

These mouth puckering apples were used mainly for making apple cider and apple jack.

Johnny Appleseed's trees were mainly used to make 'cider' and Applejack ,
a popular alcohol  beverage of colonial settlers. 

Even Thomas Jefferson planted apple trees and is partly credited for our modern day fuji apples.

Thomas Jefferson was a true "Renasissance Man' who
introduced hundreds of plants to America as well as pasta from Italy.
In his library was a copy of the Koran.

Today the 'USDA's Plant Genetics Resources Unit in Geneva, NY has 2,500 different varieties of apples from all over the world. These apples are prey to a host of pest and diseases. The Unit is reintroducing genes from the original ancestor to see if they can not only prevent problems but also create a better flavor which new varieties often lack.

Research continues to make apples hardier, healthier and more delicious.

The famous old Welsh saying, "An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away", has a great deal of wisdom in it.  Apples are considered a power fruit and eating one every day or at least five days a week can have a tremendous impact on our health.

Apples were ranked #1 in Medical News Today's top ten healthy foods.  Apples are rich in important antioxidants, flavonoids, and dietary fiber with vitamins C & A.

As easy as putting one in your pocket or purse apples are made for travel. 

With only 50 to 80 calories each, apples are an-all-time perfect snack food.

In poetry, legend, song, stories and film, apples
are so much a part of our culture we take them for granted.

Happy Autumn,                                                                                                           James