National Apple Day

Assianir [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

October 21st is National Apple Day in the United States.

The apple is a sweet (usually) edible fruit that grows on the apple tree. Although the tree originated in Central Asia, it is now grown worldwide, with China accounting for about half of the over 80 million tonnes of apples grown every year. The apple is a fruit that has religious or mythical significance in many traditions.

There are over 7,500 known cultivars of apples, making the selection found in the typical supermarket seem rather sparse. Apples are eaten many different ways, both cooked and raw. Some apples, of cultivars known as cooking apples, are larger and often tarter than dessert apples and are usually and not eaten raw, instead being cooked in various dishes. There are other cultivars that are dual purpose, used for both cooking and eating raw.

The juice from apples is also drunk. This can be as simple fruit juice, known as cider in the U.S., or as the alcoholic variety, called hard cider in the United States but known in most other countries as cider, or perhaps apple cider.

Apples contain a moderate amount of dietary fibre, but are otherwise quite low in essential nutrients.