Something you should know about me: I am a sucker for good packaging. Meaning, if you package it just right you will get my attention and an “Ooooh” and “Ahhh”. And, as in this case, maybe my money.
There were these cute little bags with handles full of cute little apples in the produce department the other day and it totally bamboozled me into buying one. Even though my people are apple variety specific. Even though I had no idea how this kind would even taste.
What can I say?
Apples. The quintessential autumn fruit right up there with pumpkins.
The other thing you should know about me is that I love autumn. And really I blame that impulse buy on that affection because honestly, the bag was cute in shape but wasn’t even just brown with handles. It was just small and made of a white waxy paper. The apples, the name of which escapes me now, were meh on their own. I enjoy a slightly firmer apple than these. But they photographed well (an actual reason I use for buying produce) and made up a rather tasty apple crisp for church Sunday.
Plus you cannot go wrong with the smell of apples and cinnamon in your house.
Some interesting facts about apples:
The science of apple cultivation is called pomology. China is the largest producer of apples in the world. In the 2019/2020 crop season they grew a whopping 41 metric tons of apples!
Apples are the second most produced fruit in the United States coming in behind oranges. There are around 2500 varieties of apples grown in the US with 7500 varieties being grown world wide. There are about 100 different varieties grown commercially in the US with the most popular being the red delicious but apparently the honey crisp is gaining in popularity.
An average person will eat 65 apples in a year.
It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.
The rarest apple in the world is the Bardsey apple. Bardsey Island is located off the coast of northern Wales and home to the the mother tree, discovered in 1998, growing in the remains of a monastic orchard. They estimate the tree to be 1000 years old. You should look it up because it has been pruned and cultivated to grow up the side of the house. It’s also referred to as Merlin’s Apple because legend says there is cave above the house where Merlin is buried in a glass coffin. Cuttings have been taken so that the tree is being grown and cultivated off the island.
The energy of 50 leaves is needed to grow one apple and 25% of the apple is air which is why they float.
A bushel of apples weighs around 42 pounds.
The world record for largest apple was grown in Japan and weighed just over 4 pounds. The most expensive apple in the world also comes from Japan and cost $20 each. Sekai Ichi variety is a large apple that weighs 2 pounds. It is hand pollinated and washed in honey to protect against blemishes. It is a cross between the red delicious and golden delicious varieties.
Apples are a rather versatile fruit that can be eaten fresh or made into about a bazillion different dishes. This is a handy guide to knowing which types of apples work best in different recipes.
I mentioned making an apple crisp this past Sunday, which was a first for me but probably not my last. I liked the flavor a lot with that mix of butter and brown sugar caramelized with the oats.
I do have a really delicious homemade applesauce recipe to share with you over at She Feeds Her Family. You should pop over and give it a go!
Marty Hadding Photography 