The apple is one of the most common and affordable fruits for the world's population. Every year, millions of tons of fruits are grown on the planet, which are used not only for food and for making juices, but also for preparing a wide variety of dishes, medicines and even cosmetics. It would seem that we know about apples. But perhaps some of the apple facts below will be new.
1. In biology, apples belong to the Rosaceae family. In the family with apples, apricots, peaches, plums, cherries and even raspberries coexist.
2. According to one version, glass Christmas balls are an imitation of apples. In Germany, Christmas trees have long been decorated with real apples. However, in 1848 there was a poor apple harvest, and glass blowers in the town of Lauscha made and quickly sold glass balls that replaced apples.
It's just an imitation of an apple
3. More recently, Chinese and American scientists in a joint study found that modern homemade apples appeared west of the Tien Shan on the territory of present-day Kazakhstan. Approximately half of the genome of modern apples comes from there. To make this conclusion, geneticists examined the material of 117 varieties of apples from around the world. Although even before this study, Kazakhstan was considered the birthplace of apples. The name of the former capital of the state in translation means "father of apples", and in its vicinity there is a monument to an apple.
The first apples were born here - Alma-Ata
4. A monument to an apple, and specifically to the Kursk Antonovka, is also in Kursk. The hollow copper apple weighs 150 kg and is installed in front of the Voskresensko-Ilyinsky temple. At least four monuments to apples have been erected in the United States; there are sculptures dedicated to this fruit in Moscow and Ulyanovsk.
Monument to "Antonovka" in Kursk
5. The cultivation of apple cultivars began in Ancient Greece. Greek authors describe more than 30 varieties of this fruit. The Greeks dedicated apple trees to Apollo.
6. More than 200 thousand tons of apples are harvested in 51 countries of the world. In total, almost 70 million tons of these fruits were grown in the world in 2017. The vast majority - 44.5 million tons - is grown in China. Russia, with a harvest of 1.564 million tons, ranks 9th, lagging behind Iran, but ahead of France.
7. Due to the sanctions regime for several years, apple imports to Russia decreased from 1.35 million tons to 670 thousand tons. Nevertheless, Russia remains the largest importer of the most popular fruit. In second place, and also because of the sanctions regime, Belarus. A small country, from which apples are obviously re-exported to Russia, imports 600 thousand tons of apples a year.
8. About half of the world apple market is occupied by the varieties “Golden Delicious” and “Delicious”.
9. The Bible does not specify the apple as a symbol of the Fall. Its text only speaks of the fruits of the tree of good and evil, which Adam and Eve could not eat. Medieval Bible illustrators, most likely, simply did not know about other tasty fruits and depicted apples in this role. Then the apple as a symbol of the Fall migrated into painting and literature.
10. Useful substances, of which there are a lot in the apple, are located in the skin and the current layer around it. The main part of the pulp is simply pleasant to the taste, and the bones, if eaten in large quantities, can even cause poisoning.
11. In 1974, the most delicious apple variety was introduced in Japan, and it has become the most expensive one. Apple flowers of the Sekaichi variety are pollinated exclusively by hand. The set fruits are poured with water and honey. The apples are carefully monitored, discarding spoiled ones even on the trees. Ripe fruits are placed in individual packaging and put in boxes of 28 pieces. Medium apples weigh up to a kilogram, record holders grow even more. These wonderful apples are sold for $ 21 apiece.
Very expensive Japanese apple
12. The feast of the Apple Savior (Transfiguration of the Lord, August 19) would be more correctly called the Grape Savior - according to the canons, until that day it was impossible to eat grapes. In the absence of grapes, the ban passed to apples. On the feast of the Transfiguration, apples of the new harvest are consecrated, and you can eat them. Of course, the ban does not apply to apples of the old harvest.
13. A cut or bitten apple does not turn brown at all due to oxidation of iron, which is really a lot in an apple. Organic substances participate in the reaction, and only a trained chemist can explain its essence.
14. The Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna could not stand not only apples, but even the slightest smell of them - the courtiers who were waiting for an invitation to her did not eat apples for several days. It is suggested that the empress suffered from carefully hidden epilepsy, and the smell of apples could become a factor provoking seizures.
15. Since 1990, Apple Day has been celebrated on October 21 in many countries of the world. On this day, fairs and tastings of apples, drinks and dishes from them are held. Archery at apples and a competition for the longest peeled apple are also popular. For more than 40 years, the record has been held by the American Casey Wolfer, who cut the peel from an apple for almost 12 hours and received a ribbon 52 m 51 cm long.
Apple Day in USA
16. In American culture, there is a character named Johnny Appleseed who is shamelessly snatched away by Apple for advertising and presentation. Johnny Appleseed, according to legend, was a kind man who wandered barefoot along the American frontier, planted apple trees everywhere and was very friendly with the Indians. In fact, his prototype Johnny Chapman was in serious business. In the 19th century, there was a law in the United States according to which new settlers could receive land for free only in a number of cases. One of these cases was the cultivation of gardens. Johnny took apple seeds from the farmers (they were waste from the production of cider) and planted the plots with them. After three years, he was selling plots to immigrants from Europe at a price much lower than the state price ($ 2 per acre, which was crazy money). Something went wrong, and Johnny went broke and, apparently, lost his mind, for the rest of his life he wandered around with a pot on his head, scattering apple seeds. And almost all of its gardens were cut down during the Prohibition.
Johnny Appleseed, highly respected by Americans
17. There are enough legends about apples in older cultures. It is worth mentioning here the Trojan Apple of Discord, and one of the exploits of Hercules, who stole three golden apples from the Atlas garden, and Russian rejuvenating apples. For all Slavs, the apple was a symbol of everything good, from health to prosperity and family well-being.
18. Apples were revered, however, in a somewhat unusual way, in ancient Persia. According to legend, having made a wish, in order for it to come true, it was necessary to eat no more, no less, but 40 apples. Quite clumsy, as for the East, a way to emphasize the impossibility of most of human desires.
19. In the fairy tale about Snow White, the use of an apple by the queen gives an additional negative connotation to her act - in the Middle Ages, an apple was the only fruit available in Northern Europe. Poisoning with its help was a special cynicism even for terrible European fairy tales.
20. Apple pie is not an American dish. The English already in the XIV century baked a kind of loaf of flour, water and bacon. Then the crumb was removed, and the apples were baked in the resulting form. Likewise, the British ate first courses in impromptu plates of bread.
