Facts about Apples

The following are facts found on the internet about apples. Don't worry, most of them are good stuff.

• Apples are a member of the rose family.
• Washington state grows the most apples.
• Apples brought into the United States may have come from Canada and New Zealand.
• Apples are available year-round.
• Apples are ripe when picked.
• Apples are high in fiber.
• There are more than 7,000 varieties of apples grown in the world.
• The most popular variety in the United States is the Red Delicious.
• The apples from one tree can fill 20 boxes every year. Each box weighs 42 pounds.
• Americans eat an average of 18 pounds of fresh apples each year.
• Fresh apples float because 25 percent of their volume is air.
• About 50% of apples grown in the United States are sold fresh, and 50% are processed into apple juice, apple sauce or dehydrated apple products.
• In 1996, Washington state produced 133 million boxes of apples.
• 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 in all 50 states.
• United States consumers eat an average of 45.5 pounds of apples. That?s a lot of applesauce!
• 61 percent of United States apples are 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 state is Washington.
• Apples are fat free.
• A medium apples is about 80 calories.
• Apples are a great source of fiber.
• In 1996 there were 9,000 apple growers with orchards covering 459,400 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 of 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.