Biblical references tell us that apples were present at the creation of our world, and grapes were very important in Roman culture. According to some scholars, the pruning knife seems to be their invention.
Grape Trivia
The grape is one of the oldest fruits to be cultivated going back as far as biblical times.
Spanish explorers introduced the fruit to America approximately 300 years ago.
Some of the most popular ways in which the fruit is used, is eaten fresh, in preserves or canned in jellies, dried into raisins, and crushed for grape juice or wine.
Although, machines have taken the place of much handwork, table grapes are still harvested by hand in many places.
Grape growing is the largest food industry in the world. There are more than 60 species and 8000 varieties of grapes, and they can all be used to make juice and/or wine.
The average person eats eight pounds of grapes a year.
The best selling grape in the U.S. is the Thompson Seedless. Golden raisins are also made from the Thompson seedless grape.
Botanically, grapes are berries. There are about 25 million acres of grapes worldwide.
The world production of grapes is over 72 million tons.
About 25% of the grapes eaten in the United States are imported from Chile.
California grows over 300,000 tons of grapes each year.
The most valuable fruit crops in the United States are in order, grapes, apples, oranges and strawberries (2000).
Courtesy of Foodreference.com, James T. Ehler (Chef, editor, and publisher)
Apple TriviaApples come in all shades of reds, greens, yellows.
Two pounds of apples make one 9-inch pie.
Apple blossom is the state flower of Michigan.
2500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States.
7500 varieties of apples are grown throughout the world.
100 varieties of apples are grown commercially in the United States.
Apples are grown commercially in 36 states.
Apples are grown in all 50 states.
In 2002 United States consumers ate an average of 42.2 pounds of fresh apples and processed apple products. That’s a lot of applesauce!
Sixty-two percent of the 2002 U.S. apple crop was eaten as fresh fruit.
39 percent of apples are processed into apple products; 21 percent of this is for juice and cider.
The top apple producing states are Washington, New York, Michigan, California, Pennsylvania and Virginia, which produced over 83 percent of the nation’s 2001-crop apple supply.
Apples are fat, sodium, and cholesterol free.
A medium apples is about 80 calories.
Apples are a great source of the fiber pectin. One apple has five grams of fiber.
In 2001 there were 8,000 apple growers with orchards covering 430,200 acres.
The pilgrims planted the first United States apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The science of apple growing is called pomology.
Apple trees take four to five years to produce their first fruit.
Most apples are still picked by hand in the fall.
Apple varieties range in size from a little larger than a cherry to as large as a grapefruit.
Apples are propagated by two methods: grafting or budding.
The apple variety ‘Delicious’ is the most widely grown in the United States.
In Europe, France, Italy and Germany are the leading apple producing countries.
The apple tree originated in an area between the Caspin and the Black Sea.
Apples were the favorite fruit of ancient Greeks and Romans.
Apples are a member of the rose family.
Apples harvested from an average tree can fill 20 boxes that weigh 42 pounds each.
Americans eat 19.6 pounds or about 65 fresh apples every year.
25 percent of an apple’s volume is air. That is why they float.
The largest apple picked weighed three pounds.
Europeans eat about 46 pounds of apples annually.
The average size of a United States orchard is 50 acres. Many growers use dwarf apple trees.
Charred apples have been found in prehistoric dwellings in Switzerland.
Most apple blossoms are pink when they open but gradually fade to white.
Some apple trees will grown over forty feet high and live over a hundred years.
Most apples can be grown farther north than most other fruits because they blossom late in spring, minimizing frost damage.
It takes the energy from 50 leaves to produce one apple. Apples are the second most valuable fruit grown in the United States. Oranges are first.
In colonial time apples were called winter banana or melt-in-the-mouth.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts the 2000 apple crop to be at 254.2 million 42 pound cartons.
Total apple production in 2001 was 229 million cartons valued at $1.5 billion.
The largest U. S. apple crop was 277.3 million cartons in 1998.
In 1999 the People’s Republic of China led the world in apple production followed by the United States.
Apples have five seed pockets or carpels. Each pocket contains seeds. The number of seeds per carpel is determined by the vigor and health of the plant. Different varieties of apples will have different number of seeds.
China is the leading producer of apples with over 1.2 billion bushels grown in 2001.
World’s top apple producers are China, United States, Turkey, Poland and Italy.
The Lady or Api apple is one of the oldest varieties in existence.
Newton Pippin apples were the first apples exported from America in 1768, some were sent to Benjamin Franklin in London.
In 1730 the first apple nursery was opened in Flushing, New York.
One of George Washington’s hobbies was pruning his apple trees.
America’s longest-lived apple tree was reportedly planted in 1647 by Peter Stuyvesant in his Manhattan orchard and was still bearing fruit when a derailed train struck it in 1866.
Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated.
A peck of apples weight 10.5 pounds.
A bushel of apples weights about 42 pounds and will yield 20-24 quarts of applesauce.
Archeologists have found evidence that humans have been enjoying apples since lat least 6500 B.C.
The world’s larges apple peel was created by Kathy Wafler Madison on October 16, 1976, in Rochester, NY. It was 172 feet, 4 inches long. (She was 16 years old at the time and grew up to be a sales manager for an apple tree nursery.)
It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.
Apples account for 50% of the world’s deciduous fruit tree production.
The old saying, “ an apple a day, keeps the doctor away ”. This saying comes from am old English adage, “ To eat an apple before going to bed, will make the doctor beg his bread.”
Don’t peel your apple. Two–thirds of the fiber and lots of antioxidants are found in the peel. Antioxidants help to reduce damage to cells, which can trigger some diseases.
The five most popular apples in the United States are Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji and Granny Smith.
The estimated apple crop for 2005 is about 234 million bushels of apples. That is about 79 apples per person.
Courtesy of University of Illinois Extension
Just For Fun
Got Any Grape Juice?
A frog walks into a bar and asks, “Got any grape juice?” The bartender says “No.” Next day, the frog comes back and says, “Got any grape juice?” The bartender says “No” again. The next day, the frog comes back and says, “Got any grape juice?” The bartender says, “No! If you come back and ask that again, I’ll nail your feet to the floor!” The next day, the frog comes in and asks, “Got any nails?” The bartender says “No! “Good,” says the frog. “Got any grape juice?”
So That’s How They Create Juice from Wine Grapes!
Tim Bell, Winemaker at Kunde Estate Vineyards, describes the four-step process of how you take wine grapes and turn them into non-fermented juice.
*Crush grapes.
*Cold settle juice.
*Rack juice and chill the bejesus out of it and pray it doesn’t start fermenting!
*Filter and bottle it as soon as possible.