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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Apple
| image = Koeh-108.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Apple tree (''Malus domestica'')
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| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
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| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
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| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
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| ordo = [[Rosales]]
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| familia = [[Rosaceae]]
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| subfamilia = [[Maloideae]]
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| genus = ''[[Malus]]''
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| species = '''''M. domestica'''''
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| binomial = ''Malus domestica''
| binomial_authority = [[Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen|Borkh.]]
}}
The '''apple''' is a [[tree]] and its [[pome|pomaceous]] [[fruit]], of the [[species]] ''Malus domestica'' in the [[rose]] family [[Rosaceae]]. It is one of the most widely [[Cultivation|cultivated]] tree fruits. It is a small [[deciduous]] tree reaching 5-12 m tall, with a broad, often densely twiggy crown. The [[leaf|leaves]] are [[leaf arrangement|alternately]] arranged, simple oval with an acute tip and serrated margin, slightly downy below, 5-12 cm long and 3-6 cm broad on a 2-5 cm petiole. The [[flower]]s are produced in spring with the leaves, white, usually tinged pink at first, 2.5-3.5 cm diameter, with five [[petal]]s. The fruit matures in [[autumn]], and is typically 5-9 cm diameter (rarely up to 15 cm). The centre of the fruit contains five [[carpel]]s arranged star-like, each carpel containing one or two (rarely three) [[seed]]s.
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==Commerce and uses==
[[Image:Apples.jpg|thumb|right|A display of different apples]]
45 million tons of apples were grown worldwide in 2002, with a value of about 10 billion USD. [[China]] produced almost half of this total. [[Argentina]] is the second leading producer, with more than 15% of the world production. The [[United States]] is the third leading producer, accounting for 7.5% of world production. [[Turkey]] is also a leading producer. [[France]], [[Italy]], [[South Africa]] and [[Chile]] are among the leading apple exporters.
In the [[United States]], more than 60% of all the apples sold commercially are grown in [[Washington]] state. Imported apples from [[New Zealand]] and other more temperate areas are competing with US production and increasing each year.
Apples can be canned, juiced, and optionally fermented to produce [[apple juice]], [[cider]], [[vinegar]], and [[pectin]]. Distilled apple cider produces the [[alcoholic beverage|spirits]] [[applejack]] and [[Calvados (spirit)|Calvados]]. [[Apple wine]] can also be made. They make a popular lunchbox fruit as well.
Apples are an important ingredient in many winter [[dessert]]s, for example [[apple pie]], apple [[crumble]], [[apple crisp]] and [[apple cake]]. They are often eaten [[baked]] or [[stewed]], and they can also be dried and eaten or re-constituted (soaked in water, alcohol or some other liquid) for later use. Puréed apples are generally known as [[apple sauce]]. Apples are also made into [[apple butter]] and apple jelly. They are also used cooked in meat dishes.
*In the UK, a [[toffee apple]] is a traditional confection made by coating an apple in hot [[toffee]] and allowing it to cool. Similar treats in the US are [[candy apple]]s (coated in a hard shell of crystallised sugar syrup), and [[caramel apples]], coated with cooled [[caramel]].
*Apples are eaten with honey at the Jewish New Year of [[Rosh Hashanah]] to symbolise a sweet new year.
*Farms with apple orchards may open them to the public, so consumers may themselves pick the apples they will buy.
==Health benefits==
{{nutritionalvalue | name=Apples, with skin (edible parts) | kJ=218 | protein=0.26 g | fat=0.17 g | carbs=13.81 g | fiber=2.4 g | | sugars=10.39 g | iron_mg=0.12 | calcium_mg=6 | magnesium_mg=5 | phosphorus_mg=11 | potassium_mg=107 | zinc_mg=0.04 | vitC_mg=4.6 | pantothenic_mg=0.061 | vitB6_mg=0.041 | folate_ug=3 | thiamin_mg=0.017 | riboflavin_mg=0.026 | niacin_mg=0.091 | right=1 | source_usda=1 }}
{{Details|Nutritional information about the apple}}
An old [[proverb]] attests to the health benefits of the fruit: "''An apple a day keeps the doctor away.''" Research suggests that apples may reduce the risk of [[colon cancer]], [[prostate cancer]] and [[lung cancer]].<ref>[http://cancer.stanford.edu/information/nutritionAndCancer/reduceRisk/ Information about cancer], from Stanford comprehensive cancer center.</ref> Like many fruits, apples contain [[Vitamin C]] as well as a host of other [[antioxidant]] compounds, which may reduce the risk of cancer by preventing [[DNA]] damage. The fibre content, while less than in most other fruits, helps regulate bowel movements and may thus reduce the risk of colon cancer. They may also help with [[heart disease]], [[weight loss]] and controlling [[cholesterol]], as they do not have any cholesterol, have fibre (which reduces cholesterol by preventing reabsorption), and are bulky for their caloric content like most fruits and vegetables.
A group of chemicals in apples could protect the brain from the type of damage that triggers such [[neurodegenerative disease]]s as [[Alzheimer's]] and [[Parkinsonism]]. Chang Y. 'Cy' Lee of the [[Cornell University]] found that the apple [[phenolic]]s, which are naturally occurring [[antioxidants]] found in fresh apples, can protect [[nerve cell]]s from neurotoxicity induced by [[oxidative stress]]. The researchers used red delicious apples from New York State to provide the extracts to study the effects of [[phytochemicals]]. Lee said that all apples are high in the critical [[phytonutrient]]s and that the amount of phenolic compounds in the apple flesh and in the skin vary from year to year, season to season and from growing region to growing region (November/December 2004 issue of the Journal of Food Science). The predominant phenolic phytochemicals in apples are [[quercetin]], [[epicatechin]], and [[procyanidin]] B2 (PMID 14558772).
The [[seed]]s are mildly poisonous, containing a small amount of [[amygdalin]], a [[cyanide|cyanogenic]] [[glycoside]], but a large amount would need to be chewed to have any toxic effect.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rawveg.info/rawfoodtoxins.html | title=Raw Food Toxins | RawVeg.info | accessdate=2006-09-16}}</ref>
[[Pesticide]] contamination is linked to an increasing number of diseases, and they are mostly found on the outside of fruits and vegetables. Washing or peeling before eating may reduce pesticide intake<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/toddlers_exposed_to_daily_29072004.html | title=Friends of the Earth: Press Releases: Toddlers Exposed to Daily Pesticide Threat | accessdate=2006-09-16}}</ref> but peeling will also reduce the intake of the beneficial nutrients.
Apple consumption can help remove trapped food and clean between the teeth, but the [[malic acid]] contained within the fruit is also capable of eroding [[tooth enamel]] over time, and through excess consumption.
==Cultural aspects==
===Apples as symbols===
Apples appear in many [[World religions|religious traditions]], often as a mystical and [[forbidden fruit]]. Though the forbidden fruit in the book of ''[[Genesis]]'' is not identified, popular European [[Christianity|Christian]] tradition has held that it was an apple that [[Adam and Eve|Eve]] coaxed [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] to share with her. As a result, in the story of Adam and Eve the apple became a symbol for temptation, the fall of man into sin, and sin itself. In [[Latin]], the words for 'apple' and for '[[evil]]' are similar in the singular (''malus'' — apple, ''malum'' — evil) and identical in the plural (''mala''). This may be the reason that the apple was interpreted as the [[Bible|biblical]] 'forbidden fruit'. The [[larynx]] in the human throat has been called [[Adam's apple]] because of a notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit sticking in the throat of Adam.
[[Image:Two Young Men, Crispin van den Broeck.jpg|thumb|right|240px|'''Two Young Men''' <br>In this painting modern interpreters have viewed the apple alternately as an ironic twist on Christian symbology intended by the painter as a sexual innuendo between two men [http://www.androphile.org/preview/Museum/Europe/deBroeck.htm], or as a ''[[memento mori]]'' [http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/pharos/collection_pages/northern_pages/PD_20_1961/TXT_SE-PD201961.html]. <br>[[Crispin van den Broeck]] (Dutch), ca. 1590; Oil on panel; Fitzwilliam Museum, [[Cambridge]].]]
This notion of the apple as a symbol of sin is reflected in artistic renderings of the fall from [[Eden]]. When held in Adam's hand, the apple symbolises sin. However, when [[Christ]] is portrayed holding an apple, he represents the Second Adam who brings life. This also reflects the evolution of the symbol in Christianity. In the [[Old Testament]] the apple was significant of the fall of man; in the [[New Testament]] it is an emblem of the redemption from that fall, and as such is also represented in pictures of [[the Madonna]] and [[Infant Jesus]].
There are several instances in the Old Testament where the apple is used in a more favourable light. The phrase 'the apple of your eye' comes from verses in Deuteronomy 32:10, Psalm 17:8 Proverbs 7:2, and Zechariah 2:8 implying an object or person greatly valued. In [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]] 25:11, the verse states, "''a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver''". In the love songs of the [[Song of Solomon]], the apple is used in a sensual context. I
n these latter instances the apple is used as a symbol for beauty. The apple appears again in Joel 1:12 in a verse with a sense of profound loss when the apple tree withers.
At times artists would co-opt the apple, as well as other religious symbology, whether for ironic effect or as a stock element of symbolic vocabulary. Thus, secular art as well made use of the apple as symbol of love and sexuality. It is often an attribute associated with [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] who is shown holding it.
===Apples in mythology===
[[Image:Durer Adam and Eve.jpg|thumb|right|180px|'''Adam and Eve'''<br>A classic depiction of the biblical tale showcasing the apple as a symbol of sin.<br>[[Albrecht Dürer]], 1507; Oil on panel; 209 x 81 cm (per panel); Museo Nacional del Prado, [[Madrid]].[http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/durer/].]]
The [[Greek hero]] [[Heracles]], as a part of his [[Heracles#The Twelve Labours|Twelve Labours]], was required to travel to the [[Hesperides#The Garden of the Hesperides|Garden of the Hesperides]] and pick the [[golden apple]]s off the [[Tree of Life]] growing at its center.
The Greek goddess of discord, [[Eris (mythology)|Eris]], became disgruntled after she was excluded from the wedding of [[Peleus]] and [[Thetis]]. In retaliation, she tossed a golden apple inscribed [[Kallisti]] ('For the most beautiful one'), into the wedding party. Three goddesses claimed the apple: [[Hera]], [[Athena]], and [[Aphrodite]]. [[Paris]] of [[Troy]] was appointed to select the recipient. After being bribed by both Hera and Athena, Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world, [[Helen]] of [[Sparta]]. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite, thus indirectly causing the [[Trojan War]].
[[Atalanta]], also of Greek mythology, raced all her suitors in an attempt to avoid marriage. She outran all but [[Hippomenes]], who defeated her by cunning, not speed. Hippomenes knew that he could not win in a fair race, so he used three golden apples to distract Atalanta. It took all three apples and all of his speed, but Hippomenes was finally successful, winning the race and Atalanta's hand.
In [[Norse mythology]], the goddess [[Iðunn]] was the appointed keeper of apples that kept the [[Æsir]] young forever. Iðunn was abducted by [[Þjazi]] the [[Jotun|giant]], who used [[Loki]] to lure Iðunn and her apples out of [[Asgard|Ásgarðr]]. The Æsir began to age without Iðunn's apples, so they coerced Loki into rescuing her. After borrowing [[Freya|Freyja's]] falcon skin, Loki liberated Iðunn from Þjazi by transforming her into a nut for the flight back. Þjazi gave chase in the form of an eagle, where upon reaching Ásgarðr he was set aflame by a bonfire lit by the Æsir. With the return of Iðunn's apples, the Æsir regained their lost youth.
[[Celtic mythology]] includes a story about [[Conle]] who receives an apple which feeds him for a year but also gives him an irresistible desire for [[Fairyland]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
===Legends, folklore, and traditions===
* Since [[1990]], [[Apple Day]] has been held across the UK and beyond, on [[October 21]]
*[[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[folklore]] holds that [[William Tell]] courageously shot an apple from his son's head with his crossbow, defying a tyrannical ruler and bringing freedom to his people.
*[[Ireland|Irish]] folklore claims that if an apple is peeled into one continuous ribbon and thrown behind a woman's shoulder, it will land in the shape of the future husband's initials.
*[[Denmark|Danish]] folklore says that apples wither around adulterers.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
*Apples are said to increase a woman's chances of [[Fertilisation#Human fertilisation|conception]] as well as remove [[birthmarks]] when rubbed on the skin.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
*According to a popular legend, [[Isaac Newton]], upon witnessing an apple fall from its tree, was inspired to conclude that a similar [[gravity|'universal gravitation']] attracted the moon toward the Earth as well (this legend is discussed in more detail in the article on Isaac Newton).
*In the European fairy tale ''[[Snow White]]'', the princess is killed, or sunk into a kind of coma with the appearance of death, by choking on a poisoned apple given to her by her stepmother. Later, the princess is jostled into coughing up the piece, miraculously returning her to life.
* In [[Matter of Britain|Arthurian legend]], the mythical isle of [[Avalon|Avalon's]] name is believed to mean 'isle of apples'.
*In some places, [[bobbing for apples]] is a traditional [[Halloween]] activity.<ref>[http://wilstar.com/holidays/hallown.htm History and customs of Halloween]</ref>
*In the [[United States]], [[Denmark]] and [[Sweden]], an apple (polished) is a traditional gift for a teacher. This stemmed from the fact that teachers during the 16th to 18th centuries were poorly paid, so parents would compensate the teacher by providing food. As apples were a very common crop, teachers would often be given baskets of apples by students. As wages increased, the quantity of apples was toned down to a single fruit.
* The [[Apple Wassail]] is a traditional form of [[wassailing]] practiced in [[cider]] [[orchards]] of [[South West England]] during the winter. The ceremony is said to 'bless' the apple trees to produce a good crop in the forthcoming season.
* In [[Ancient Greece]], a man throwing an apple to a woman was a proposal of marriage. Catching it meant she accepted {{Fact|date=February 2007}}.
===Apple facts===
[[Image:Apple-logo.png|thumb|right|100px|Apple, Inc. logo]]
*The ancient [[Kazakhstan|Kazakh]] city of [[Almaty]], 'Father of Apples' ([[Turkic language]] alma, apple, + ata, father), owes its name to the forests of wild apples (''Malus sieversii'') found naturally in the area.
*The apple blossom is the [[state flower]] of [[Arkansas]] and [[Michigan]].
*The Norwegian municipality of [[Leikanger]] has apples in its coat-of-arms.
*The name of the Russian party [[Yabloko]] means 'apple'. Its logo represents an apple in the [[constructivism (art)|constructivist]] style.
*[[Apple Corps]] (including [[Apple Records]]) and [[Apple Inc.]] have also adopted the apple as logos for their companies.
* The 'fruit-bearing tree' referred to by [[Tacitus]] in his description of Norse [[Runes#Magic and Divination|runic divination]] may have been the apple.
*[[Johnny Appleseed]] was an [[United States|American]] pioneer orchardist; he earned his name by planting apple trees across large swaths of [[Ohio]], [[Indiana]], and [[Illinois]].
* One of the youngest apple varieties is Aurora Golden Gala (2003),<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.agr.gc.ca/cb/index_e.php?s1=n&s2=2003&page=n31002b | title=AAFC Online — Newsroom — News Releases | accessdate=2006-09-16}}</ref> a sweet yellow Canadian apple; while one of the oldest apples in the United States may be the Roxbury Russet (1640).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.beardsleyscidermill.com/apple.html | title=Beardsley's Cider Mill | accessdate=2006-09-16}}</ref>
*There is a small amount of cyanide in apple seeds
*[[Cary Fowler]], executive secretary of the [[Global Crop Diversity Trust]], said in a statement:
:"''At the end of the 1800s, 7,000 named apple varieties were grown in the United States. Now, 6,800 of those are as extinct as the dinosaurs.''"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.spacewar.com/2006/060619095826.cl6whipe.html | title=Work on biodiversity 'doomsday vault' begins in the Arctic | accessdate=2006-09-16}}</ref>
==Apples as food==
Different cultivars of apples have a distinct different taste, and this can be separated into two separate factors of flavour and texture.
==See also==
* [[Apple picking]]
* [[wikt:apple seed|Apple seed]]
* [[Cooking apple]]
* [[Cider apple]]
* [[Fruit tree propagation]]
* [[Fruit tree pollination]]
* [[Fruit tree forms]]
* [[Herefordshire Pomona]]
* [[List of apple cultivars]]
* [[Nutritional information about the apple]]
* [[Pruning fruit trees]]
==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>
==External links ==
{{Wiktionary}} {{Commons|Apple}} {{Cookbook|Apple}}
* [http://www.usapple.org/consumers/appleguide/guide.cfm#braeburnU.S Apple A
ssociation Guide] with some years and places of cultivar origins
* [http://www.ifr.bbsrc.ac.uk/public/FoodInfoSheets/applefacts.html Apple Facts] from the UK's [[Institute of Food Research]]
* [http://www.commonground.org.uk Common Ground (for Apple Day)]
{{Apples}}
[[Category:Apples| ]]
[[Category:Grocer's Encyclopedia]]