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.
- More than 2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States, but only the crabapple is native to North America.
- Apples contain no fat, sodium or cholesterol and are a good source of fiber.
- Apple trees take four to five years to produce their first fruit.
- Apples ripen six to 10 times faster at room temperature than if they are refrigerated.
- 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.
- Apples harvested from an average tree can fill 20 boxes that weigh 42 pounds each.
- Apples are a member of the rose family.
- 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.
- A peck of apples weighs 10.5 pounds. A bushel of apples weighs about 42 pounds.
- It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.
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