October is National Apple Month

Originally founded in 1904 as National Apple Week, it was expanded to the all of October, and became National Apple Week. Let take a look at some fun knowledge about one of our favorite fruits!

1. As American as apple pie? Not so fast. The oldest known recipe for apple pie dates to 1381, from England!
2. Americans LOVE apples. Per capita, we consume more apples than any other fresh fruit. According to USDA research, the average American eats about 16 pounds of fresh apples each year! Add the 28 pound average of processed apples (think cider, juice, dried, and applesauce), and that adds up to a whopping 44 pounds per person per year!
3. There are about 7500 apple varieties worldwide. Of those, about 2500 are grown in the US, and only about 100 of those are sold commercially.
4. Crabapples are the only apple that is native to the US. The rest were imported, and bred into our favorite varieties, like Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Braeburn,  and MacIntosh.
5. We’ve lost many apple varieties. Ones that didn’t travel well for commercial sale, or were grown by one or two local farms have been all but lost. There are regional non-profits dedicated to finding and preserving “lost” heritage apples! To date, there have been over 1000 varieties found!
6. Do you like bobbing for apples? Originally, the autumn party game was a Celtic New Year’s tradition to determine one’s future mate.
7. Apples float in water, because they are 25% air.
8. It takes approximately 36 apples to make one gallon of apple cider.
9. Apples are a member of the rose family, which includes other favorite fruits like cherries, peaches, plums and pears.
10. Apples are full of antioxidants, fiber and Vitamin C! So maybe an apple a day really does keep the doctor away!