What Do You Think of When I Say Apple

October is apple month. In 1904 apple week was it was decided that National Apple Week would be extended into a full month. National Apple Month's goal is to increase apple industry sales, and enhance consumer awareness and usage of apples and apple products. Increasing apple industry sales through a fall retail display contest, food service promotional contest, recognize outstanding retailers for their apple merchandising and developing strong relations with retail.

Apples can be traced back to the Romans and Egyptians civilization. The inventive horticulturists of the Roman era is very much behind the juicy, sweetness of apples. The popularity of spread to Great Britain and finally to America. It has been estimated that each American eats an average of 120 apples each a year. Can you imagine a world without apples?? No apple pie, no apple cobbler or apple fritters, apple cider or apple butter.

Apples grew wild in ancient Asia. Hundreds of tiny sour fruits that were small, dark brown seeds and core. These wild apples are the ancestors of domestic apples of today. The Romans are credited with cultivating the wild apple. But it seems that one fact is still disputed.... Did Eve really bite into an apple plucked off the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. Since apples were very undesirable in the wild stage and the fruit was not named in the early bible historians ponder if the fruit may have been a pomegranate.

Our present day Lady Apple, whose original name was Api after the Etruscan who developed it, was originally grown in the gardens of Louis XIII. Later, Louis XIV considered it the only apple variety worthy of being served. In France it is still known as pomme d'Api. During Colonial days in the United States the Lady Apple was a special Christmas-time treat.

Api's green thumb efforts on behalf of the apple were followed by others such as the monks during the Middle Ages, Louis XIV of France, and New York's first governor Peter Stuyvesant. In 1860 an Iowa apple farmer named Hesse Hiatt came upon a unique apple tree in his orchard, a tree that he hadn't planted. When the fruit was harvested, he marveled at its unusual appearance and superb flavor. It turned out to be the Golden Delicious that Mr. Hiatt then cultivated and introduced to the whole world.

It was the Colonists who brought the apple with them to America in the form of seeds, often called pips. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, ". . . when man migrates, he carries with him not only his birds, quadrupeds, insects, vegetables, and his very sward, but his orchard also." Early in 1629 the Boston Bay Company placed an order for apple seeds from England. A few years later, in 1635, a record five-hundred hogsheads of apple cider was produced by Mr. Wolcott of Connecticut. That's an impressive lot of apple cider! A hogshead is a barrel or cask that holds between 63 and 140 gallons.

In the United States, Michigan, Washington, and New York have become the commercial centers of apple production, with the Pacific Northwest leading the pack, producing more than 35 million bushels a year. Apples grown in Washington state came to the west from the East Coast, and originally from England.

No apple history would be complete without a mention of America's beloved Johnny Appleseed. As the tale goes, he loved apples so much that he decided to travel the country barefoot in his overalls with his pockets filled with apple seeds and another bag of apple seeds slung over his shoulder. The legend says that as he traveled the countryside, he tossed these seeds randomly to create a country filled with apple trees. Johnny Appleseed truly did exist. His real name was John Chapman, born in Massachusetts in 1774. He did indeed love apples, learned about their cultivation, and started many apple nurseries that stretched from the Allegheny River in the East as far west as Ohio. His dedication to apple cultivation earned him his legendary nickname, Johnny Appleseed.

What makes a truly tasty apple? The flavor is a magical blend of tartness, sweetness, bitterness, and aroma that awakens the senses. The sweetness, 9% to 12% of the fruit, comes from sucrose and fructose, two forms of natural sugar. The acid content consists of 90% malic acid and10% citric acid. The malic acid content can make up 0.4% to 1% of the fruit. The astringent bite we taste in an apple emanates from tannins averaging 0.2% of the fruit. The familiar aroma is a mysterious blend of 250 trace chemicals contained in the fruit, such as volatile esters, alcohols, and aldehydes.

Apple trees are valued not only for their delicious fruits, but for their wood that is used for making mallet heads and golf clubs. Pieces of apple wood add excellent flavor for smoking foods, and the split wood make ideal fire logs.

Apples are Healthy
Apples are very nutritious. Apples contain fiber, vitamins C, B6 and A, potassium and antioxidants. Apples are easy on the digestion system as apples contain acids that help the intestines. The high fiber of apples adds bulk that also aids the digestive process and helps make natural and comfortable elimination. Pectin is naturally found in apples and contains a soluble fiber that encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract.

Other health issues apples can help with :

• Apples can help build the immune system and prevent heart disease and some cancers. 
• Green apples help clean the liver and gall bladder and may also help soften gallstones. 
• Apples are full of water and can help reduce fever The idea behind this is to grate the apple and serve to the individual with fever. 
• Steaming apples and adding honey can help a dry cough and help remove mucous from lungs
• raw apples give the gums a healthy massage and clean teeth. 

"An Apple A Day will keep Dr. Away" Apples have properties that are good for the muscle, diuretic , laxative , anti diarrhea, and stomach.

Apples are great to snack on and are available year long. The do not require any peeling apple peel or skin contains healthy nutrients.

shared at
funtastic friday
snickerdoodle sunday