Apple Fun Facts

Apples are a member of the rose family.
Archeologists have found evidence that humans have been enjoying apples since at least 6500 B.C.
The apple tree originated in an area between the Caspian and the Black Sea.
Apple varieties range in size from a little larger than a cherry to as large as a grapefruit. There are apples that have an aftertaste of pears, citrus, cinnamon, cloves, coconut, strawberries, grapes and even pineapple!
Planting an apple seed from a particular apple will not produce a tree of that same variety. The seed is a cross of the tree the fruit was grown on and the variety that was the cross pollinator.
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.

It takes energy from 50 leaves to produce one apple.
Fresh apples float because 25% of their volume is air (thank goodness, or none of us would have ever experienced bobbing for apples!).
Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated. For optimal storage, apples should be kept at 35-40 degrees with relative humidity of 80-90%.
A bushel of apples weighs approximately 42 pounds, or 19kg. A peck of apples weighs 10.5 pounds, or 4.8kg.
The average U.S. consumer eats an estimated 45 pounds of apples a year. Europeans consumers eat 46 pounds a year.
Sixty percent of the 2002 U.S. apple crop was eaten as fresh fruit, while 39 percent was processed into apple products, and 1 percent was not marketed. Of the 39 percent of the crop that was processed, 18 percent was used in juice and cider; 3 percent was dried; 2 percent was frozen; and 12 percent was canned. Other uses include the making of baby food, apple butter or jelly, and vinegar.
The apple is the official state fruit of Rhode Island, New York, Washington, and West Virginia. The apple blossom (Pyrus coronaria) is the official state flower of Arkansas and Michigan.
The old saying "an apple a day, keeps the doctor away" comes from am old English adage, "To eat an apple before going to bed, will make the doctor beg his bread."

Monday, 14 May 2012