Parts Most Frequently Used: Fruit

Flavors/Temps: Sweet, Tart, cooling

Caution: Some Northern Europeans have allergic reactions to apples if they are also allergic to birch pollen. In the Mediterranean, some people have allergic reactions to apples because of their similarity to peaches. Often people allergic to nuts and other fruits can be allergic to apples.

History/Folklore: Apple trees have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe. They were brought to North America by European colonists in the 17th century. Alexander the Great is credited with finding apples in Kazakhstan in 328 BC and bringing them back to Macedonia for cultivation. Winter apples, picked in late autumn and stored just above freezing, were an important source of vitamins and other nutrients in the winter months in Asia and Europe for many thousands of years.

Apples have sacred and mythical significance in many cultures, including Norse, Greek and European Christian traditions. In Norse mythology apples are said to have given the gods their eternal youthfulness. Buckets of apples have been found at burial sites in Norway and ancient German grave sites, suggesting they held symbolic importance to these early peoples.

Apples have long been a symbol of fertility. In ancient Greece, apples were said to be sacred to the goddess of love, Aphrodite. To throw an apple at someone was to declare your love for them, and to catch the apple was to accept that love.

In the Bible, apples are associated with the Garden of Eden and are the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  As a result of the story of Adam, Eve and The Apple, the apple became a symbol of knowledge, immortality, temptation, and the fall of man into sin. The larynx in the human throat is called an “Adam’s Apple” because of an old notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit remaining in Adam’s throat. It also evolved into a symbol of sexual seduction, as another play on the notion of it being a forbidden fruit.

Apples are eaten with honey at the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah to symbolize having a sweet new year.

A typical medium sized apple contains about 100 calories. They are often eaten raw, but can be baked, stewed, made into apple sauce or dried for later use.

Apples help regulate blood sugar, lower fat levels in the blood and significantly lower two bacteria (Clostridiales and Bacteriodes) in the large intestine, improving large intestine digestion.

Differing apple species are grown for making cider, eating raw, or cooking. The size, shape and branch density are determined by root-stock selection and trimming methods.

Apple trees are prone to fungal, bacterial and pest problems which can be controlled by organic or non-organic means. In the wild apples grow easily from seeds, however most commercial cultivars are now started by grafting, to help sustain consistent crops as wild apples can develop very different characteristics from their parent tree.

China accounts for 49% of the world’s total apple production.

Two apple trees can provide you with enough apples to feed your family and friends. If you decide to grow one or two apple trees in your garden be sure there is a local pollen source within 100 feet of your apple tree. If none is available be sure to plant two different kinds of apple trees so they can provide each other with pollen. Apple trees like eight hours of sun a day.