Apples are like the Elvis of the culinary world. So famous, they need little explanation and their influence can be found everywhere, from sweets to savory dishes to fall festival games, apples have been part of human existence for more than 2,000 years.
Apples to Apples: Mythology Symbols
Long famed to be the forbidden piece of fruit in the Garden of Eden, apples have been growing in cultures around the world. The Arthurian Avalon is said to translate from the Welsh as "The Isle of Apples." [1] In Greek myth, Aphrodite, Athena and Hera fought over the golden apple; in Norse mythology, a dying god need only eat a golden apple to regain his youth. [2]
In America, we slice them for apple pie, creating a new symbol for the cherished apple. The symbolism of apple pie is derived from a phrase, motherhood and apple pie, which represented the home and an ideal of support. [3]
Discussing the perfect food of apples would be amiss without mention of Johnny Appleseed, the orchard grower who started out as an apprentice orchardist and eventually began planting apple trees in north-central Ohio. His horticultural legacy sealed the symbol of the apple in America.
The Biology of the Perfect Food
The apple tree is a member of the rose family, Rosaceae, and all existing apple species are decedents from just two original species.
The United States grows 2,500 different types of the more than 7,500 varieties of apples in the world. They are grown for cider, baking and eating and their colors vary from light green to yellow to red. It is the red color that makes apples so iconic, and it is also this red color that makes apples so nutritious, it contains powerful antioxidants called flavonoids.
In recent years, scientists have narrowed the gene that controls the red color of apples, opening up the possibility of growing biologically healthier apples.
Apples and Nutrition
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
The average apple packs about 80 calories each, along with those famous flavonoids, chemicals produced in apples believed to reduce the risk of cancer, especially breast and colon cancers. Apples also can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's and heart disease.
Their low rating on the glyceamic index—less than 60—make them helpful in dealing with diabetes. Apples get their natural sweetness from contain sugar fructose, and due to the fibrous nature of the apple the fructose is slowly released into the body, maintaining blood sugar levels.
Recent studies have shown consuming apples can help regulate weight. A 2007 Penn State study revealed that eating an apple 15 minutes before lunch helps reduce calorie intake an average 190 calories.
Apples also have been linked to aid in respiratory health, suggesting the apples abundant flavonoids help improve lung function and lower the risk for respiratory diseases such as asthma. A 2007 study published in Thorax takes respiratory health and apples even further, showing that children born from mothers who ate four or more apples a week while pregnant were 53 percent less likely to have asthma.
The most American food you can eat, the 2005 USDA pyramid recommends 2 cups of fruit per day for the average 2,000-calorie diet, and a single small apple measures one cup, making America's perfect food a convenient one!
1 "apple" A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. James McKillop. Oxford University Press, 1998. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Apollo Group. 22 September 2008.
2 Article "Idun" created on 03 March 1997; last modified on 27 December 1998 (Revision 2). 106 words.
3 "apple pie" A Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Edited by Elizabeth Knowles. Oxford University Press, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Apollo Group. 25 September 2008.
Lisa Ann Schleipfer - I am a creative writer from the Great Lakes area, now residing in the sticky state of Florida. I penned my first poem when I was eight, ...
