In recent years, in many countries, apples have become one of the most popular and sought-after fruits. By the way, many amazing facts and stories are associated with them. We will talk about the most fascinating in this article.
Apples appeared in Eastern Europe
At that time, the fruit was smaller and bitter than the apples we eat today. Over time, travelers identified the largest and sweetest. Thus began the natural selection process.
Then, seedlings of the most delicious apples began to spread throughout Europe, including in the north and in the Baltic region.
In Christianity, the apple is associated with the original sin of Eve
This is one of the main misconceptions associated with apples. Many of us know the story of how Eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge. For this, God expelled her along with Adam from the Garden of Eden.
Moreover, nowhere in the Bible is it mentioned that this fruit was an apple. The myth has spread, thanks to artists who, portraying this classic story, began to paint an apple in paradise.
Apples do not grow out of a seed
The only way to grow the exact same apple is to plant a tree, the fruits of which you liked so much.
The ancient Egyptians knew how to do this, the ancient Greeks and Romans used the same method. Celts also possessed the secrets of growing apples. So apples in Britain existed before the Romans arrived in the region.
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Many rulers loved apples
King of England Henry VII was ready to pay huge sums for individual apples. In Kent, he had his own orchard with many different varieties. He brought French gardeners to take care of the trees.
Russian Empress Catherine the Great loved Pepin apples so much that she ordered them to be planted not far from her palace in Petersburg.
Queen Victoria was also a fan of this fruit. She especially liked baked apples.
Apples are associated with a fabulous country.
They say that if you fall asleep in the garden, you can wake up in a few years, and the treasure buried under the apple tree will never be found.
It is no coincidence that in the West apples, along with pumpkin, are considered one of the symbols of Halloween. They are allegedly associated with a fairy kingdom. One of the traditions of Halloween is to bite off a piece of apple and then sleep with it under a pillow, dreaming of true love.
Boiled apples were street food.
An 18th-century Italian traveler Caraciolli complained that the only ripe fruit he ate in Britain was a baked apple.
Charles Dickens called fried apples a Christmas treat. Victorians generally ate a lot more fruits and vegetables than you could imagine.
In the Victorian era, a huge number of new varieties of apples were bred.
Many of them were bred by gardeners on large estates. Although they put a lot of effort into this work, planting each tree, the varieties were named after their employers.
Examples of such named varieties still exist. For example, the varieties “lady henicker” and “Lord Burley”, beloved by many in the West.
