Trending
After returning from our two-week vacation in Washington State, I noticed the wild apple trees in our area are loaded with apples. These apples that will soon be falling to the ground are a food source for wildlife.
As common as the apple tree is today it is hard to believe that the apple tree is not native to North America. The Europeans that settled this country only found wild crab apple trees. The common wild apple trees found growing in the woods today were planted by the early settlers, with seeds or seedlings brought from Europe. Also, many apple cores along with the seeds that were discarded by lumbermen and others throughout the years have become embedded in the ground and eventually sprouted into wild apple trees. The old gnarled apple trees growing in Penn's woods are living monuments from the heydays of Pennsylvania's lumbering era.
Horticulturists, from Cornell University, have been studying the genetic makeup of the apple. The horticulturists have been led to believe that the original apple came from the Dzungarian Alps, which is an area northeast of Alma-Ata. This area is referred to as the original wild apple forest. Here, many varieties of apples have grown disease free for centuries.
Although apples came from Europe and other parts of the world, the fruit did not become important until arriving in North America. Our warm summers and cold winters have perfected the apple, and today, apples are the world's most popular fruit.
Apples immediately became an important part of colonial life in America. In colonial farm houses, apples, which were a primary staple of the family diet, were served at breakfast, lunch and dinner. During the cold winter months apples were relied on heavily.
To keep apples throughout the winter months, every farm had a fruit cellar. This cellar was dug into a bank, with walls laid up in stone; roof covered with dirt and sod, and door always faced south. In the fruit cellar, the apples were either covered with straw or packed in barrels, with straw between each layer, all of which prevented the apples from freezing. Today, we know that apples ripen six times faster at room temperature than they do under refrigeration.
Most people believe the apple pie was an American recipe; however, the apple pie can be traced back to Europe. In the 14th Century, fruits, such as apples, were substituted in traditional meat pies and served as a desert. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, apple pie was a favorite desert; however, during the middle 1600s, Oliver Cromwell banned many privileges and pleasures from his people, with one such pleasure being the apple pie. Later, England's King Charles II returned many of the privileges, including apple pie.
In colonial times, an apple pie was often baked with a take-off crust. The pie was baked with the top crust loosely placed on top, and before serving, the top crust was lifted off so that sugar and spices could be added. The top was then replaced. Sometimes the top crust was baked separately from the bottom shell and then assembled after both parts were completely cooled.
Here are some customs that were handed down in reference to the apple:
• The modern tradition of tossing rice at the bride and groom evolved from an ancient practice of throwing apples at wedding
• An Irish and Scottish custom described throwing apple peels over one's shoulder, which would form the initials of a lover's name.
• The game of bobbing for apples began as a Celtic New Year's tradition of trying to determine ones future spouse.
• Wassailing, which was the practice of wishing good health and a bountiful harvest for fruit trees, was an old custom in England and still practiced in some cider orchards today. The celebration included the selection of the largest apple tree in the orchard and then throwing cider on its trunk.
• In early Greece, the apple figured in courtship as well as the rites and customs of marriage. In the seventh century BC, the happy couple would share an apple as a symbol of their marriage and hope for a fruitful union.
• Greek and Roman mythology referred to apples as symbols of love and beauty. "The apple of our eye" is an expression describing something that is prized.
• "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" comes from the old English saying, "Ate an apel avore gwain to bed, makes the doctor beg his bread."
Here are some little known facts about apples:
• Americans eat 19.6 pounds, or about 65 fresh apples, a year.
• A medium sized apple has 80 calories
• Twenty-five percent of an apple is air
• Fifty leaves on an apple tree are needed to produce one apple
• Apple seeds contain cyanide.
No article on apples would be complete without mentioning Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), who, after collecting apple seeds from cider mills in Pennsylvania, headed west. For 40 years, he planted apple trees in what he considered likely spots for the trees to grow. In 1845, after years of exhaustion from walking; being poorly clad and shod, exposure to the weather and often sleeping under the stars, Johnny Appleseed died in Indiana.
The words on his tombstone read, "He lived for others."
The apple harvest will soon be upon us, and it looks as if it will be a good harvest. We will be picking apples and hopefully the aroma of fresh apple pies coming from the oven.
Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.