Apples

Today we have another wintry day here in Kansas City.  Ice on the roads means all the schools are closed and people are staying off the roads if they can.  Of course, it's a business day and that means many people are relegated to getting out and doing their best to drive safely.  Best wishes to anyone who has to brave the challenging weather.

I, however, get to stay inside.  I have been working on tweaking a recipe for apple slab pie recently.  Part of that tweak is trying different types of apples.  And so I have been doing a bit of research on apples in general.  Here are some interesting facts that I have found using different resources, in particular state and government departments related to agriculture as well as university extension services.

There are over 7,500 varieties of apples grown globally, but only about 2,500 are grown in the US, and of those only about 100 varieties are grown commercially.  When you think about the differences in taste and texture that are quite discernible between the handful of varieties one typically finds in a grocery store produce section, it's a shame that we all don't get to try so many more of those thousands of other varieties.  An amazing statistic that I found was that since the early 1900s, we have lost more than 80% of the apple varieties that used to exist.  They simply are no longer found.

Typical annual per capita consumption of fresh apples in Europe is more than twice that in the US. 

An apple tree typically takes four to five years of growing before producing it's first fruit.  This can vary, of course.  But it's worth mentioning as to why it's so important to take care of our trees, not just apple trees, but every kind.

Some apple varieties are as small as a large cherry.  And at least one is grapefruit-sized.

A typical medium-sized apple has about five grams of fiber - one good reason to follow the maxim "an apple a day...".  Two-thirds of that fiber is found in the peel, and the peel also includes lots of antioxidants which help prevent cell damage. 

Apples have five individual pockets of seeds inside. 

A bushel of apples ways just about 42 pounds.

The longest continuous apple peel was done by 16-year old Kathy Madison of Rochester, NY.  Her effort resulted in one long thin continuous apple peel that reached 172 feet 4 inches.  Now that must have taken some incredible patience.

Almost 1/4 of all apples produced in the US is exported elsewhere.

Well, enough of these interesting facts.  I'm going to spend at least part of my day, while it's freezing rain and sleeting outside, making a few different foods: lavash crackers and flatbreads, a batch of French vanilla ice cream, some cookies and cornbread for orders this weekend, and last but not least, some apple slab pie.