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Apples Are A Member Of The Rose Family

Red Apple Day

National Eat a Red Apple Day is observed annually on December 1.

As the adage goes, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and today is a perfect time to put that theory to taste.

An apple is both delicious and nutritious.  With over 7,500 varieties of apples worldwide, and over 7.5% of the world’s production coming from the USA, apples are widely available.

  1. More than 2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States, but only the crabapple is native to North America.
  2. Apples contain no fat, sodium or cholesterol and are a good source of fiber.
  3. Apple trees take four to five years to produce their first fruit.
  4. Apples ripen six to 10 times faster at room temperature than if they are refrigerated.
  5. Apple varieties range in size from a little larger than a cherry to as large as a grapefruit. The largest apple ever picked weighed 3 pounds.
  6. Apples harvested from an average tree can fill 20 boxes that weigh 42 pounds each.
  7. Apples are a member of the rose family.
  8. The top apple producers around the world are China, United States, Turkey, Poland and Italy. Apples account for 50 percent of international deciduous fruit tree production.
  9. A peck of apples weighs 10.5 pounds. A bushel of apples weighs about 42 pounds.
  10. It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Farm Flavor