Apple - the favorite fruit of the apple tree, people have learned how to eat it in different ways: fresh, cooked and heat-treated. In addition, apples are the basis for the preparation of various culinary products and delicious drinks.
The apple tree appeared in Central Asia. And from there it spread all over the world, where it became very popular. The domestic apple tree is the most widespread. In this form, a huge number of varieties adapted to different climatic conditions were bred.
Use in cooking
The most common and one of the most correct and useful ways to use apples in cooking is to eat them fresh - at least whole, even in salads. You can make wonderful and tasty dried fruits from apples by drying the fruits directly in the sun or in the oven. Soaked apples are also popular - they are prepared by choosing a simple, sour or sugar method. You can also pickle, pickle and preserve apples. If you wish, when baking apples in the oven, you can make them sweet by adding nuts, berries or honey. With unsweetened cooking methods, apples are suitable as a side dish for meat or poultry. No wonder the traditional Christmas dish in our country is a goose with apples.
Apples are also suitable for making preserves, jams or mousses. If apples of small varieties are used, then they can be boiled whole for jam. To enhance the flavor, it is also customary to add cinnamon to dishes with apples. Not bad apples and as a filling for rolls, pies, strudel, pies and other dishes. Due to the content of pectin substances in apples (pectin has gelling properties), they make excellent marmalade and marshmallow.
Drinks from apples, whether they are juices, compotes or kissels, are also incredibly tasty and healthy. Even if apple juice has fermented, it has a use - it is suitable for making cider, and that can be used to make brandy-calvados. Apples are also used to make vinegar and kvass. And the waste of apple processing, however, like the fruits themselves, can be used to make fruit and berry wine.
Composition and calories
The presence of certain components and their percentage in apples will largely depend on the variety of apples, on the conditions for their growth, on the degree of ripeness of the fruit, on the conditions and duration of storage.
Nevertheless, there are general data on the chemical composition of apples. They contain a large proportion of sugars with a predominance of fructose. There are also organic acids in their composition (in a smaller amount - citric, in a larger amount - malic), chlorogenic acid is very much appreciated. A normal metabolism in the body is impossible without ursolic acid, which in this case is a regulator.
Apples are famous not only for acids. The content of tannins, nitrogenous, pectin and fiber in them is an equally valuable factor. They are also rich in minerals, in particular iron, potassium and some others. And they are one of the leaders among fruits in terms of vitamin content, including vitamin A, B vitamins, as well as C, K, E, P, PP, inositol and folic acid.
calorie content of apples
Good news for those who are on diets and looking for diet foods. Apples are low-calorie - only 47 kcal.
Useful and medicinal properties
Apples are considered a storehouse of valuable and nutritious substances for the body, they contain a lot of vitamins. And the presence of iron, and in large enough quantities, made apples indispensable for anemia. Apple juice is recommended to strengthen the cardiovascular system. It is extremely necessary and useful for those who are engaged in mental work. Apples also help improve digestion and have a beneficial effect on the intestinal microflora. If you include apples in your daily menu, you can prevent early wrinkles and improve hair structure.
Apples are very good for the heart. Due to their miraculous properties, they are recommended for nutrition during fasting days, even in the presence of cardiac edema. Also, apple diets should be followed by those patients who have disorders in the gastrointestinal tract. Apples are also useful for preventive purposes, especially for hypertension and during colds.
Apples contain organic acids that regulate the acid-base balance of the body. That is why it is also desirable to accompany the treatment of diseases such as gout, some forms of diathesis and diabetes mellitus by eating apples. Potassium contained in apples also has a positive effect on the body and is able to activate the excretory system. Pectin helps to remove cholesterol and other harmful substances that tend to form in the body due to the presence of an inflammatory process, indigestion or intoxication. It is also extremely important for elderly and sedentary people to include apples in their diet in order to regulate the activity of the stomach.
Fresh apples are the most useful, but even after storage they are rich in valuable substances. How long they can be stored depends on the variety of apples, their degree of maturity, methods of collection and packaging, in fact, and on the conditions in which they are stored.
Harm and contraindications
Some varieties of apples may be contraindicated in certain diseases. The same patients who have been diagnosed with gastritis with high acidity or gastric ulcer should not eat sour apples. On the contrary, gastritis with low acidity requires the use of sour apples, sweet ones in this case will be less useful. And with colitis or urolithiasis, apples need to be processed into puree.
In cooking, it is a fruit, an important food product used in the cuisine of most countries of the world on its own or as part of cold and hot dishes.
Cooking methods
- Without culinary processing (they are eaten fresh as an independent product and as a component of desserts, cold salads and snacks, cold soups)
- Soaked and pickled (subjected to wet salting, alcohol or lactic acid fermentation with the addition of salt, sugar and various seasonings)
- Dried (Apples are dried in the usual way in the sun or in the oven, like other dried fruits, they are high in vitamins and high in calories)
- Cooked (canned, boiled, baked, fried, etc.)
Dishes with apples
- pies and pastries (used as a filling for pies or as one of the dough ingredients, the most famous are apple strudel and charlotte, various casseroles, apple bread)
- jams, marmalade and jams
- salads and desserts (these healthy dishes, rich in vitamins, are good at any time of the year, for everyday and festive tables: Russian salad, beetroot, cabbage and vegetable (green) salads, vinaigrettes, mayonnaise salads with boiled and salted fish (especially with herring) , ham, shrimp, chicken fillet, as well as all kinds of fresh fruit desserts)
- marmalade, oriental sweets, sweets and marshmallows
- hot dishes (apples favorably emphasize the taste of meat, poultry and fish, especially popular are duck, goose or chicken baked in apples; mushroom appetizer; stuffed fish; potato baskets with salmon; baked apples with cinnamon, honey or nuts, etc. )
Drinks and sauces with apples
- juices, kissels and compotes (freshly squeezed and canned juices, compotes from fresh or dried apples)
- apple kvass, beer and wine (kvass and wine can be made at home, but apple beer is produced in Belgium and Germany)
- apple cider vinegar (one of the most popular vinegars, on the basis of which various sauces are prepared; necessary for the normalization of digestive processes, killing pathogenic microbes of the gastrointestinal tract, helps to cleanse the body of harmful substances; produced both industrially and at home)
- applesauce (puree can be made from fresh apples for immediate consumption; longer storage requires cooking or canning)
apples in baby food
Fresh apples or applesauce are one of the first foods that babies try. Modern pediatricians recommend the introduction of complementary foods from six months. The presence of pectin in an apple is especially beneficial for children. You need to start with minimal portions, choosing juicy and fragrant fruits of "green" varieties.
It is possible to feed the grated pulp of a raw or boiled apple for ten minutes. Ready-made canned baby applesauce is on sale.
Most children prefer apple juice to everything else.
apples in the diet
With the help of apple diets, you can get rid of extra pounds in a relatively short time. One of these diets is designed for a week. On the first day - one kilogram of apples and green tea without sugar. On the second - one and a half kilograms of apples, tea and crackers. The next two days - two kilograms of apples with plenty of water and tea. On the fifth - return to one and a half kilograms and in the last to one kilogram of apples, also drink tea without sugar and water.
properties. By the way, these substances are more concentrated in the skin of the fruit, so unpeeled fruits are healthier. Apples can relieve symptoms of asthma and Alzheimer's disease, they are useful for losing weight, strengthening bones, improving the functioning of the respiratory and digestive systems.
Do you think that this is all the healing properties of apples? Wrong! No wonder all over the world these crispy fruits with ruddy sides are considered magical food.
What is this fruit?
An apple is the fruit of a tree belonging to the rose family. Researchers suggest that the first gardens of these trees appeared on the fertile soil of the mountain ranges of Kazakhstan. Archaeologists have found evidence that as early as the 7th millennium BC, people already knew and ate apples. Over the centuries, thousands of varieties and hybrids of this culture have appeared. Some of them were brought by nature itself, some are the work of man. The color, shape, taste and aroma of the fruit are determined by the variety.
All apple trees are usually divided into several varieties:
- summer (ripe in July);
- autumn (ripe in September);
- winter (ripe by the end of autumn).
The most popular summer varieties
- White filling - rounded fruits, first greenish, and then almost white, fragrant, with loose pulp and sour taste;
- Melba - round-elongated, yellowish with a blush, with white sweet and sour pulp and the smell of sweets;
- Mantet - green-red fruits of a round-oblong shape, cream-colored flesh, not sour;
- Moscow pear - flattened fruits, pale green with a pinkish blush, fragrant, juicy and sour;
- Candy - rounded, with a red blush and delicate white flesh.
Autumn varieties
- Macintosh - green-yellow with purple stripes, white flesh with reddish streaks, spicy;
- Shtreifling - green-yellow with characteristic brown-orange stripes, the flesh is pale yellow, juicy, with a raspberry flavor;
- Glory to the winners - a hybrid of White filling and Macintosh varieties, green with a red blush, fragrant and creamy flesh;
- Zhigulevskoe - yellow with red stripes, the flesh is creamy, granular, sour.
Winter varieties
- Antonovka - yellowish-golden, the flesh is white, sour, crispy;
- Jonathan - yellow-green with a red blush, sometimes covered with a mesh, juicy, cream-colored flesh;
- Pepin saffron - rounded, greenish-yellowish, creamy pulp, wine-sweet, aromatic;
- Golden Delicious - conical fruits, golden, juicy, creamy pulp;
- Sinap Orlovsky - oblong fruits of golden color, with sour pulp.
nutritional value
Over the past few years, scientists have made many discoveries about the chemical composition of apples. The complex of phytonutrients in these fruits is much wider than previously thought. One of the main phytonutrients is called quercetin, the main reserves of which are concentrated in the peel. The fruits also contain no less useful kaempferol and myricetin. Red varieties are rich, which also accumulate mainly in the peel. Since most of the polyphenols found in apples have antioxidant properties, it is not surprising that studies show the beneficial effects of fruits on the body.
The vitamin C found in apples is also a powerful natural antioxidant that can block some of the cell damage caused by free radicals. The complex is important for maintaining the health of the nervous system, the creation of red blood cells. Fiber is useful for improving digestion, preventing many diseases, and maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. And phytonutrients prevent malignant degeneration of cells.
| calories | 52 kcal |
| 0.27 g | |
| 0.18 g | |
| 13.82 g | |
| 85.53 g | |
| 6.2 mcg | |
| 0.06 mg | |
| 0.05 mg | |
| 0.1 mg | |
| 0.1 mg | |
| 0.08 mg | |
| 3.2 mcg | |
| 5.1 mg | |
| 0.2 mg | |
| 2.21 mcg | |
| 6.2 mg | |
| 0.14 mg | |
| 5.2 mg | |
| 0.06 mg | |
| 11.2 mg | |
| 108 mg |
Benefits for the body
Laboratory experiments prove that phytonutrients and antioxidants contained in apples reduce the risk of cancer, asthma, hypertension, diabetes, heart and vascular diseases.
Numerous scientific studies show that these fruits are among the healthiest and should be included in the daily diet of people who care about their health. Here are just a few of the benefits of these fruits tested by researchers.
Impact on neurological health
More than 10 years ago, scientists discovered quercetin in apples. This substance belongs to antioxidants, and is found in extremely rich amounts in fruits. Through scientific experiments, it was found that this chemical compound prevents the death of nerve cells caused by oxidation and inflammation of neurons.
Another study found that apple juice activates the brain's production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which improves memory in people with Alzheimer's disease. Another experience convinced scientists that people who eat these fruits are less likely to develop dementia. It was also found that apple juice prevents brain aging, protects organ cells from free radicals, and serves as a prevention of Parkinson's disease.
Stroke prevention
Nearly 10,000 men and women took part in the study, which lasted over 20 years. Summing up the results, the scientists suggested that apple lovers are less likely to develop a stroke.
Healthy cholesterol levels
After another experiment, American scientists called apples miracle fruits. The researchers noticed that if you eat several fruits daily, the so-called "bad" cholesterol is reduced by 23%, and the "good" cholesterol grows by 4%. It took the participants six months to achieve this effect.
Anemia Protection
Due to their rich iron content, apples are one of the most popular remedies for anemia in folk medicine. Anemia is caused by a deficiency of hemoglobin in the blood. It is easy to fix the problem by including in the diet foods rich in iron, a mineral that is key in the formation of red blood cells.
Apples are an effective and tasty way to treat.
Prevention of diabetes
Apples will help prevent the development of diabetes. A study involving almost 200 thousand people showed that persons who consume apples, grapes, or blueberries three times a week are 7% less susceptible to the onset of the disease. Scientists also determined that the rich content of soluble fiber in apples prevents hyperglycemia (a sharp increase in blood levels).
Benefits for the digestive organs
Excessive accumulation of cholesterol is the cause of the formation of gallstones. Regular consumption of apples prevents this problem. In addition, the apple diet is considered the most effective liver detox diet.
These fruits are also useful for people with intestinal disorders. Fiber from apples will equally effectively relieve constipation and diarrhea, relieve symptoms of irritable bowel, flatulence, and relieve abdominal pain. Also, these fruits are important for the prevention of hemorrhoids.
Strengthening immunity
Apples, especially red varieties, contain high concentrations of the antioxidant quercetin. This substance is considered one of the most useful for strengthening the protective functions of the body. For this reason, it is important for immunocompromised individuals to include red apples in their diet.
Cancer protection
Every year there is more and more evidence that even 1 apple a day will help prevent breast cancer, the formation of tumors in the liver and colon. Researchers attribute this phenomenon to the presence of phenolic substances in fruits. These chemical compounds have many useful properties. But to enhance the effect, the researchers urge to avoid fruit monotony in the diet - to alternate apples with other healthy fruits.
Benefits for teeth
Apples will not replace a toothbrush, but they do provide some benefits for the teeth. In particular, chewing crunchy fruits stimulates the production of saliva. And it, in turn, has a detrimental effect on the bacteria contained in the oral cavity, thereby preventing the risk of caries.
healthy eyes
Summing up the results of a long-term study, scientists have determined that people in whose diet apples appear regularly and in sufficient quantities are 15 percent less at risk of developing cataracts. The reason for this is called the antioxidants contained in the fruit.
Benefits for weight loss
In addition to being extremely high in fiber, which is the best way to fight hunger, apples have other benefits for people trying to lose weight. Research results show that these fruits speed up metabolism, which means that calories in the body are burned faster than usual, and some of them are not absorbed at all. Millions of people around the world choose apples as a key ingredient in their weight loss diet. In addition, nutritionists have developed several versions of the apple diet to help obese people.
Apples in cosmetology: benefits and harms
Pureed fruits mixed with or are an effective remedy for combating age-related skin changes. Apples, being powerful antioxidants, protect the skin from the harmful effects of free radicals, early aging and the formation of age spots. To cleanse and moisturize the skin, you can use slices of fresh fruit (rub your face and wait until the juice is absorbed). Also, the apple-creamy mixture is an excellent remedy for acne, blackheads, acne. And natural can be used as a remedy that restores a healthy pH of the skin (moisten a cotton swab in liquid, wipe the face). To get rid of dark circles around the eyes, swelling of the eyelids, it is enough to apply slices of a juicy apple for 10 minutes (as an option, make a mask of apple cider and puree).
This delicious fruit is also useful for hair. Products containing apple concentrate stimulate the growth of curls, strengthen them, make them shiny and prevent baldness.
In addition, fruit remedies are also effective in eliminating dandruff. The easiest way for apple therapy: rinse curls with juice or apple cider vinegar.
Ways to use in cooking
Nutritionists say that the healthiest way to eat apples is to eat them raw, and even with the skin on. But if raw apples are already boring, there are many interesting tasty variations on the theme of apples in cooking. Here are some of them:
How else to use apples?
Perhaps, many housewives happened to oversalt the soup. There are various tricks for removing excess salt from the finished dish. One of them is with apples. It is enough to boil a couple of fruit pieces in the soup for a few minutes, and they will absorb excess salt.
Also, apples can be used as a natural air freshener or as a catalyst for the ripening of green fruits (put together with apples in a paper bag). And if you want to keep the freshness of bread longer, put pastries and a slice of apple in an airtight container.
Potential Danger of Fruit
As a rule, apples do not cause any serious side effects. But it is important to know that the seeds of these fruits contain amygdalin, which can cause the formation of cyanide, which is a powerful poison. Although a couple of seeds are certainly not dangerous, but excessive consumption can even be fatal. Chemists calculated the lethal dose of cyanide: 1 mg of the substance per 1 kg of body weight. 1 kilogram of apple seeds contains almost 700 mg of cyanide. Thus, 100 g of seeds can be a fatal dose for a 70-kilogram person. But in practice, eating such an amount is almost impossible. One apple seed weighs about 0.7 g, which means that in order to get a lethal dose of cyanide, you will have to eat 143 seeds. And given that there are no more than 8 seeds in 1 apple, it turns out that a fatal outcome is possible only if you eat 18 apples with seeds in one sitting.
Acidic varieties of apples pose a potential danger to teeth. The acid contained in the fruit causes damage to the enamel. Dentists advise chewing such fruits with the back teeth, after cutting off small pieces with a knife. And immediately after a snack, rinse your mouth with water to wash away unnecessary acid and sugar.
Another possible disadvantage of apples is pesticides. To get rid of the "chemistry" it is enough to wash the fruits well under running water.
How to choose and store
First rule: look for firm fruits with rich color. Taste is important - pay attention to the gastronomic characteristics of the variety.
Ripe fruits can be stored for several months. In this case, the variety is also a key factor. Low temperature (up to 2-4 degrees Celsius) and high humidity are ideal conditions for fruit storage.
When buying or harvesting apples for storage, it is important to carefully inspect each fruit, immediately remove rotten or damaged apples from the boxes. Fruits with "bruises" secrete substances that accelerate the deterioration of healthy fruits.
Apples are called one of the most popular and delicious fruits on the planet. They are remembered when it is necessary to satisfy hunger or thirst, they are used as a dessert and as an ingredient in main dishes. The benefits of apples were known even by the ancient Greeks, Romans and Scandinavian tribes. They were valued in Asia and the Americas. Today it is difficult to imagine life without apples and delicious juice from these fruits.
Apple- the fruit of an apple tree, one of the most affordable and at the same time valuable food products, a real storehouse of minerals and vitamins. This fruit has everything that our body needs every day for normal functioning.
An apple is a dietary product that is especially good for beriberi, anemia, indigestion and metabolic disorders. And it is no coincidence that these fruits are called “rejuvenating” in Russian folk tales: it has been scientifically proven that apples are a necessary component of the diet of centenarians.
Origin
If we start from religion (in particular, from the biblical tradition of the forbidden fruit), then apples are as old as our world. Scientists believe that initially apple trees grew in the territory between the Black and Caspian Seas, from where they were later “settled” by man all over the world. Although there are about 7,500 varieties of apples, most of them come from the wild-growing dwarf apple tree and the berry apple tree, both of which people have bred since ancient times.
The nutritional value
An apple is a dietary product. One fruit contains only 47 kcal, 0.4 g of protein, 0.4 g of fat and 9.8 g of carbohydrates. Apples are 85% water, which helps replenish the body's fluid loss.
Their composition speaks about the beneficial properties of apples - this is the most affordable source of various minerals and vitamins. Different varieties contain about 22.4% vitamin C, 0.8-2.3% vitamin B1, 0.05% vitamin B2, 0.08% vitamin B6, 0.03% carotene, 5-15% sugars, 0 .6% fiber, 0.8% starch, 0.27% pectin and 0.3-0.89% organic acids. The composition of apples is also rich in such trace elements as potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, iodine, fluorine, copper, sodium, chromium ... And the peel of the fruit contains flavonoids.
Application in cooking
The scope for culinary experiments with apples is huge. In addition to the fact that they are pleasant and tasty to eat simply fresh - whole or in salads, these fruits can be subjected to almost all types of heat treatment. At the same time, the taste of apples remains magnificent.
Soaked, baked, dried, pickled, canned, stewed, flambé apples... Apples are also used to make compotes, juices, cider, marshmallows, marmalade, and delicate fillings for baking. These fruits are a great addition to meat and poultry dishes (the classic example is goose or pork with apples). And kids love applesauce.
Application in medicine and cosmetology
Apples are one of the powerful antioxidants that protect the human lungs from harmful impurities in the air. People who regularly eat apples are less prone to respiratory diseases than those who do not like these fruits. Fresh apples are good to use for the prevention of atherosclerosis, with beriberi, lowering the level of vitamin C, anemia, to stabilize blood sugar levels. It is useful to drink decoctions for gout, rheumatism; apple juice strengthens the cardiovascular system. And 5-6 apple seeds fill the body's daily need for iodine.
From apples, you can make cosmetic masks for the skin that prevent the appearance of wrinkles, as well as masks to stimulate hair growth.
Contraindications
Some varieties of apples are contraindicated for people with various diseases. So, people with peptic ulcer of the stomach or duodenum, as well as gastritis with high acidity, should not eat sour raw apples. The acid contained in apples irritates the mucous membranes of the organs. But with gastritis with low acidity, on the contrary, you need to use just such apples and not touch sweet varieties.
For those who are concerned about colitis or urolithiasis, it is better to get used to consuming apples in the form of puree. You should not drink brewed apple leaves (because of this, signs of diabetes may appear) and abuse apple seeds (they contain dangerous hydrocyanic acid).
Interesting Facts
There is probably no person who has not tried dried apples at least once. Not surprising,
after all, drying is one of the most ancient forms of fruit preservation. With this processing
Moisture evaporates from the apple slices, and natural sugar is concentrated in them instead.
Thus, dried apples become an excellent source of carbohydrates, which in the body
of a person quickly turn into energy. But at the same time, dried apples become less
dietary product: they contain 6 times more calories than fresh ones. And also
they are high in fiber and rich in iron. But there is also a minus: in the process
drying apples completely lose vitamin C.
An apple is perhaps the most famous fruit in the world, well known to people since ancient times and famous not only in cooking, but also in folk medicine, religion, science, and art. Apples are familiar, available all year round, and therefore irreplaceable.
I will not hide it, with great pleasure I am starting an article about apples, with which, I am sure, each of us has warm childhood memories. For example, I have a very clear association: "summer holidays - books - apples."
I was a rather reserved and uncommunicative child (it's amazing how everything has changed since then!), and therefore I spent most of the well-deserved school holidays not with my yard friends, but with the heroes of fairy tales and novels.
My travels in the world of books were almost always accompanied by local fragrant apples, which were always on our table in summer and autumn. I’ll pick up more of them so as not to run to the kitchen several times, lie down on the sofa by the open window, into which a huge poplar stretches its sprawling branches, open my favorite “Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece” and swallow page after page, apple after apple, and with cores , and I put the ponytails in the pocket of my home dress. 🙂
Well, and, of course, any Soviet child drank apple compotes, juices in childhood, was present when cooking jam or jam from these delicious fruits. Although, perhaps, we will talk about this in more detail in the culinary section of the article, but now let me tell you about what the fruit loved by millions represents from a botanical point of view.
An apple alkalizes your body as it has an acidic pH of 3.3-3.9.
The apple tree, that is, the very tree that pampers us with these delicious fruits, is a deciduous tree or shrub belonging to the Pink family and the Plum subfamily. Their height can vary from 2.5 to 15 meters, but they all have a spreading crown, consisting of shortened branches with elongated smooth or pubescent leaves below, pointed at the ends.
The expression "apple trees in bloom" has long become a textbook, which is not surprising, because these trees, covered with white, pale or bright pink flowers, collected in small bouquets, are a delightful sight. Well, and, of course, few people are left indifferent by fruit-bearing apple trees, decorated with round-shaped fruits of red, yellow or green colors.
Under the thin skin of apples lies a dense juicy pulp, in the core of which are concentrated small brown oval-shaped seeds with pointed tips. The size of apple fruits can be either no larger than a pea, or up to 15 centimeters in diameter.
An apple tree can be safely called a long-liver, since some of its individuals are able to "hold out" up to 100 years, and among wild apple trees there are "old women" who celebrated their 300th anniversary!
Now it is difficult to say when the first apple trees appeared on the planet - it seems that they have always been in people's lives, first wild, producing small and not very tasty fruits, and then domesticated plant varieties with impressive dessert apples.
The most popular domestic apple tree in the world, which, in fact, is grown for the purpose of obtaining apples for food and cooking, was found in what is now the southern part of Kazakhstan and the foothills of Alatau in Kyrgyzstan. Researchers believe that it was from these places that this plant spread to Europe during the conquests of Alexander the Great, and from it further around the planet. However, there is another version. A number of scientists suggest that a domestic apple tree could also appear in a place that separates the Black and Caspian Seas.
A huge contribution to the development of the "apple" business, however, as well as to the cultivation of a number of other products valuable to mankind, was made by the great ancient Greeks. Already in those days, they knew several dozen varieties of this unique fruit. Remember the ancient Greek myth about the famous golden apple of discord with the inscription “the most beautiful”, which quarreled the three greatest goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite and initiated the terrible Trojan War?
And it was by eating the fruit of the apple tree that Adam and Eve lost their paradise abundance and comfort, as a result of which they were expelled by the Heavenly Father to earth. This is the opinion of most scholars of the texts of the Bible, although, of course, there are other opinions on this matter.
The Russian people got acquainted with apples much later - only in the 11th century, when they appeared on the territory of Kievan Rus in gardens belonging to monasteries. These were the times of the reign of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. The Russian version of the word "apple", as well as the name of the tree "apple tree" came from the Proto-Slavic word (j)ablаko, the exact meaning of which was lost over time. However, there is an assumption that it meant white.
An interesting fact is that the Latin word “malum” (“apple”) called all fruits, excluding berries growing on trees and shrubs, hence the names “corn apple” () and “Persian apple” ().
After some time, this term was assigned to the fruits of this plant, which is discussed in my article today.
Today, apple trees grow in various places on our planet. So, wild and domesticated trees can be found in European forests, and on the slopes of the Caucasus, and in the Crimea, and Asia Minor, and in America, and in China, and in Mongolia, and in a number of other countries. Dozens of countries grow these delicious fruits on an industrial scale: China, Chile, Russia, Ukraine, Italy, France, USA, Turkey, India, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Japan, Argentina.
Whatever the taste of apples, they all have a taste of childhood. The flavor range of these unique fruits is amazing - you can find sour, sweet, sour-sweet, tart and even bitter varieties of apples. It turns out that an apple is able to satisfy almost any gastronomic preferences.
The pulp of all representatives of this plant is distinguished by juiciness and concentrated aroma. By the way, this is how I choose high-quality fruits - I just smell apples and, if they smell, I take them.
Cinnamon Apple Pie is a recipe that every housewife has mastered. Probably, I will not tell you a secret if I say that these fruits must be present in the diet of a person who wants to be healthy. And it is best to use apples in their original form.
I have a rather warm relationship with them, apples help out my family well in winter, when the choice of fruits is significantly narrowed. But in the summer I forget about them for some time - apparently, they get bored during the winter and spring, and the fruit and berry assortment at this time pleases both the eye and taste buds.
In general, I noticed that apples in my diet appear in waves. I try to buy them regularly for children, but I myself attack these fruits and chew only them for weeks, then I can forget about their existence for several months. How do you eat apples? Regularly or just like me, according to my mood?
In thermally processed form, apples also have no equal. Just think - they can probably be added to almost any dish.
So, for example, my dad, a great connoisseur and lover of Olivier salad, 20 years ago, read in some magazine that his original recipe was with sour green apples and s. Now, for all family holidays, he prepares the same dish in this way. Well, in parallel, I cut my favorite vegetarian Olivier, in which, by the way, I sometimes also put these fruits. In addition to them, its composition includes cheese, green onions, green peas, sour cream, and.
Indeed, an apple goes well with savory snack ingredients: mushrooms of all stripes (remember the classic apple and celery juice), potatoes, all kinds of greens, nuts, asparagus and others.
These fruits can be added to - both in its sweet version, and in pilaf, and also in millet, corn porridge, oatmeal, pasta. Try refreshing vegetable stew or puree soup with apple flavor!
And what could be tastier than these fruits, baked in the oven with butter and, and after cooling, poured with natural honey and sprinkled with pine nuts? Is that a living fragrant apple. 🙂
From ancient times, apples have been used to make jam, jams, marmalade, jelly, mousses, marmalade, candied fruit, marshmallow. Drinks are also prepared from them - compotes, juices, kissels, kvass. In general, following the advice of naturopaths, you can cure many ailments.
It is the apple that is given the honorable right to be the first fruit in the baby's complementary foods, and it is it that is most often found in baby food.
By the way, my children did not eat any purees, especially industrial ones, but immediately received small whole apples in their hands. The older one, who happened to be a raw foodist for almost a year and a half, ate them unchanged with pleasure, and the younger one spat out the tough apple skin for a long time and only recently stopped doing this. My second child has an unchanging morning ritual - sitting in a warm bath and nibbling an apple, apparently, this is how he finally wakes up. 🙂
Baking with apples is a separate song. What is the famous Austrian thin dough strudel worth? This amazing delicacy has received recognition in many countries of the world. Of course, you can put any filling inside this roll, but most often it is apple!
Pies and pies with apples probably accompanied your childhood too. Where without them? And, most likely, you have tried the easy-to-prepare Charlotte, which, by the way, can be made without eggs, in a vegetarian version. Apple pie with cinnamon in the cold season is generally a classic. 🙂
Despite the widespread use of apples in cooking, I still remind you that these fruits can provide all their nutrients to your body, once they enter it only in their unchanged, raw form. Therefore, it is best, of course, to cook raw food dishes from them - fruit salads and smoothies, green smoothies and live desserts.
You can make healthy marshmallow from raw applesauce in a dehydrator, and prepare apple slices in it for the winter - dry it. From time to time I buy dried apples from local grandmothers, soak them in water and give them to children. They are very tasty this way.
Today we are talking about such a versatile product that has found application not only in the kitchen, but also in many other areas of our lives.
Apples are very beneficial for the skin. Didn't you know? To begin with, apple trees are considered excellent honey plants, and this is true for absolutely all types of this plant. With the help of pollen from their flowers, industrious insects prepare their useful bee products.
In addition, apple trees are planted not only to obtain fruits, but also for decorative design of gardens, parks, and household plots. They are also included in forest belts designed to protect fields from bad weather and improve soil composition.
If you don't have your own land yet and live in an apartment, you can grow a miniature apple tree in a regular houseplant pot.
The main thing is to select high-quality dark brown seeds from ripe fruits that were collected in late summer or early autumn. Apple seeds should be washed with running water, dried thoroughly and then placed in a container with clean water for three days. Naturally, the water must be changed every day so that it does not stagnate. During this time, the bones should swell.
After that, you mix them with wet sawdust and moss, which can be replaced with sand or peat, and subject it to a process of stratification, that is, cold treatment. This means that the seed should lie in this form in the refrigerator for 2-3 months. Make sure that mold does not appear in the mixture - for this it is allowed to add activated carbon to it.
When sprouts appear, the seeds should be planted in a spacious pot filled with drainage and nutrient soil, to a depth of about 2 centimeters. A sufficient amount of light, heat and moisture will help your apple tree grow stronger, bloom and even bear fruit.
People have long used the wood of apple trees for the manufacture of various products - furniture, interior items, souvenirs, crafts. Joiners love it for its strength, ease of cutting and polishing.
The apple has also proven itself in cosmetology. The oil obtained by cold pressing from its seeds has unique anti-aging properties - it increases skin elasticity, saturates it with nutrients, smoothes fine wrinkles, eliminates dryness, and activates the process of regeneration of its cells.
This substance also has a beneficial effect on the hair - with regular use, it makes them soft, lush, strong and shiny. This rather rare oil can be added to the usual cosmetics, and it will significantly improve their properties.
Apple cider vinegar, which I already mentioned in the culinary section of the article, is actively used by representatives of traditional medicine for weight loss, getting rid of dandruff, restoring hair structure, reducing heat, treating insect bites, and improving muscle elasticity.
Apple tree is the heroine of fairy tales, songs and poems. The good news is that when the choice of fruits and berries narrows significantly in the cold season, the apple variety continues to please us. These fruits, harvested in summer and autumn, can be stored until spring. In addition, it is always easy to find imported apples in stores and markets - well, at worst. 🙂
It should be borne in mind that the end of spring and the beginning of summer is not the best time to buy apples, since during this period sellers sell the remnants of “luxury”, that is, those fruits that were plucked about six months ago.
In order for them to survive until the ripening season of a new batch, they are probably treated mercilessly with chemicals. While picking good ripe apples isn't difficult, you just need to follow a few simple rules. And here's how to do it:
- Above, I already mentioned that these fruits are easiest to choose by smell. The strong aroma exuded by apples indicates that they are of high quality, “real”.
- Before making a purchase, you need to decide on the apple variety, because the bright ruddy skin does not always indicate the ripeness of the fruit. There are also apples that pleasantly surprise with their taste, being green or pale yellow.
- At the same time, the skin of fruits of any variety should always be integral - without dents, dark spots and cracks. Especially carefully inspect the area near the tail, well, or the place where it once was. Any of these damages provokes the process of decay inside the fruit.
- If the skin is shiny, it means that it was treated with wax, diphenyl or other “charms” of progress, and therefore it is better to rinse such an apple thoroughly with running water with a stiff brush, or even clean it completely.
- The density of the pulp also does not always tell us that the fruit is ripe. In nature, there are both soft and hard varieties of apples.
- Fruits that are too large in size may not be very juicy, and small ones may not be ripe, but, again, it all depends on the particular variety.
- The color of the pits indicates the maturity of the fruit. If they are brown, then the apple is ready to eat, and if they are white or whitish, then they did not let it ripen. Of course, you will not be able to carry out such a check at the counter, but taking a couple of fruits home and conducting a similar experiment there is quite within your power.
- And another amazing quality helps us determine how useful a product we have purchased. Everyone knows from childhood what apples contain. And, cut, they literally rust - the flesh becomes brown and lethargic.
The sooner the process of "rusting" an apple, the more impressive the nutritional value it has.
Ripe apples that you have purchased, try to either store them in the refrigerator or consume them as soon as possible. At a low temperature, about 0 degrees, they are able to lie from several days to 2-3 weeks, depending on the variety and degree of maturity. In a warm room, fruits begin to spoil after about a week.
If you still find spoiled specimens among the purchased apples, set them aside from the “healthy” ones, as this is contagious. 🙂 And these fruits should be stored separately from other types of plant foods, as they speed up the process of their ripening, it is advisable to place them in a paper bag or wrap each apple in a napkin.
There are 62 species of this plant in the world. And the number of varieties of apples is simply amazing. So, only the most common type of plant in the world "Domestic apple tree" includes more than 10 thousand varieties. We will talk about the most delicious, and therefore the most popular varieties of these unique fruits.
Variety "Antonovka ordinary"
There is an assumption that this variety of apples arose by natural crossing of cultivated and forest apple trees. This variety has long been grown in Rus'. The skin of such apples has a yellow color with a greenish tint, sometimes without it. The pulp of approximately the same color has a granular structure, while being quite dense and very juicy. The taste of Antonov apples is sweet with a slight hint of acid.
Variety "Renet Platon Simirenko"
Perhaps one of the most famous plant varieties, which is simply called "Simirenko". These apples are heavy fruits, the weight of which varies from 150 to 200 grams. Their peel is green, thin, and under it lies a juicy greenish pulp of sweet taste with a pleasant refreshing sourness. Such fruits ripen by the end of September and are perfectly stored all winter.
Variety "Idared"
Bright weighty fruits of a rounded shape, the greenish skin of which seems to be densely shaded with a blush of dark carmine or raspberry color. Inside these apples lies a delicate sweet and sour cream-colored flesh.
Variety "Golden Delicious"
The name of this plant variety speaks for itself. Translated from English, the word "golden" ("golden") means "golden". It is this color that the freckled skin of representatives of this variety has, under which soft and juicy light yellow flesh is hidden, which has a pleasant sweet, as if honey, taste.
Variety "Granny Smith"
Representatives of the variety "Granny Smith" first appeared in Australia in the late 60s of the XIX century. They were named so in honor of Anna Maria Smith, who received this variety of plant by crossing wild French and cultivated Australian apple trees. Literally, "Granny Smith" translates as "Granny Smith". These bright green apples have a firm skin, firm flesh, and an invigorating sour taste. Perhaps, there are few people in the world who like to gnaw such fruits in their unchanged form, however, as an ingredient for salads and pastry fillings, Granny Smith fruits are simply irreplaceable.
And here are some other varieties of apples:
| "Altai ruddy" | "Malt Bagaevsky" |
| Altynai | "Mana" |
| "Climber" | "Mantet" |
| "Amur Red" | "Marat Busurin" |
| "Amur Harvest" | "Marina" |
| "Anise scarlet" ("Anise velvet", "Anise morocco", "Anise red") | "March" |
| "Anise striped" ("Anise gray") | "Martyanovskoe" ("Sayanskoe") |
| "Anise pink-striped" | "Mekintosh" |
| "Anis Sverdlovsky" | "Melba" |
| "Arcade Tenkovsky" | "Melba red" |
| "Atlanta" | "Miass" |
| "Aphrodite" | "Migints" ("Migints", "Ice") |
| "Akhtubinsky" | "Reliable" |
| "Aelita" | "Pouring Amur" |
| "Grandma" | "People's" |
| "Baganenok" | "Nastenka" |
| "Bashkir emerald" | "Nizhnevolzhskoye" ("Aromatic") |
| "Bashkir handsome" "Bashkir winter" | "Short" |
| "Bezhin Meadow" | "Nymph" |
| "Belarusian Synapse" | "Olympic" |
| "Belfleur Bashkir" | "Orlik" |
| "Chinese Bellefleur" | "Orlinka" |
| "Ben Davis" | "Orlovim" |
| "Berdskoe" ("Ribbed") | "Orlovsky Pioneer" |
| "Berdskoe sweet" | "Oryol woodland" |
| Berkutovskoe | "Orlovskoye striped" |
| "Bessemyanka Michurinskaya" | "Autumn Striped" ("Streifling", "Shtrifel") |
| "Birskoe pear" | "Autumn Joy" |
| "Bogatyr" | "Autumn Joy" ("Altai") |
| "Boyken" ("Late Winter") | "Ostankino" |
| "Bolotovskoye" | "Pavlusha" |
| "Borovinka" | "Palette" |
| "Borovinka akulovskaya" | "Palmetta" |
| "Bratchud" | "In memory of Khitrovo" |
| "Bryansk" | "Memory of Ulyanishchev" |
| "Buzovyazovskoe" | "Papirovka" ("Alabaster", "White filling", "Baltic") |
| "Wagner" ("Wagner Prize") | "Winter Golden Parmen" |
| "Vadimovka" | "Pepin Bashkir" |
| "Venyaminovskoe" | "Pepin of London" ("Royal Calvil", "Royal Calvil") |
| "Veselovka" | "Pepin Orlovsky" ("Reliable") |
| "Veteran" | "Pepin saffron" |
| "Vita" | "Pepinka Altai" |
| "Cherry" | "Pepinka Lithuanian" ("Glogerovka", "Pepinka", "Sarepka", "Pepin Lithuanian") |
| "Volzhanka" | "Firstborn of Buryatia" |
| "Volga beauty" | "Rtishchev's Firstborn" |
| "Rise of the Kuban" | "Pervinka" |
| "Georgievsky" | "Peach" |
| "Bugler" | "Prikubanskoe" |
| "Gornoaltayskoe" | "Prima" |
| "Greve Rouge" ("Greve Red") | "Primorskoe" |
| "Dagestan winter" | "Ranetka purple" |
| "Dagomysskoe" | "Early Scarlet" |
| "Country" | "Formerly Bolonyaeva" |
| "Grandfather" | "Red Delicious" |
| Delicious (Excellent) | "Renet Gromova" |
| Delicious Spur | "Renet the Golden Kursk" ("Winter Golden Renet", "Zolotarevka", "Renet Zolotorevsky", "Rogulevka") |
| "Jonared" ("Jonathan Red") | "Renet Kabardian" |
| "Jonathan" ("Khoroshavka Winter", "Oslamovskoye", "Winter Red") | "Renet Caucasian" |
| "Divo" | "Renet Kuban" |
| "Dean Art" | "Renet painted" |
| "Friendship of Peoples" | "Renet Sochi" |
| "Dubrovinka" ("Anniversary") | "Renet Tatar" |
| "Ermakovskoye Mining" | "Renet Chernenko" ("Renet Kichunova") |
| "Efremovskoye" ("Efremovskoye No. 1") | "Champagne Renet" ("Paper Renet", "Incomparable Renet", "Paper Renet") |
| "Firebird" | "Christmas" |
| "Zhebrovskoe" | "Rossa" |
| "Desirable" | "Rossoshskoye August" |
| "Zelenka juicy" | "Rossosh purple" |
| "Winter MOSVIR" | "Rossosh striped" |
| "Winter striped" | "Royal Red Delicious" |
| "Winter Saffron" | "Rtishchevskaya beauty" |
| "The Chosen One" | "Ruble" |
| "Amazing" ("Rossoshskoe tasty") | "Blush Sverdlovsk" |
| "Imrus" | "Safare" |
| "Isetskoe later" | "Spartacus" |
| "July Chernenko" | "Spartan" |
| "Kazanishchenskoe" | "Stark" |
| "Kuban Cossack" | "Starkrimson" ("Starkrimson Delicious") |
| "Kalvil white summer" ("Pepin summer") | "Start" |
| "Kalvil Nalchik" | "Stroevsky" |
| "Snow Calvil" ("Snow-White", "Snow-White Calvil") | "Slender" |
| "Kandil Orlovsky" | "Student" |
| "Dwarf" | "Souvenir of Altai" |
| "Karpovskoe" | "Suyslepskoye" ("Suysleper", "Robin") |
| "Quinty" | Terentievka |
| "Kidds Orange Red" | "Titovka" ("Painted Titovka") |
| "Chinese golden early" | "Tubinskoye" ("Eastern") |
| "Large Rtishcheva" | "Uralets" |
| "Kuban crimson" | "Ural souvenir" |
| "Kuban" | "Ural bulk" |
| "Kuban spur" | "Delight" |
| "Kuibyshevskoe" | "Uspenskoe" |
| "Kulikovskoye" | "Cliff" |
| "Kulundinskoe" | "Welsey" |
| "Kurnakovskoe" | "Phoenix Altai" |
| "Major" | "Flashlight" |
| "Malinka" | "Chara" ("Anniversary") |
| "Malychenkovskoye" ("Youth") | "Cherkasy fruitful" |
| "Ebony" | "Black Sea summer" |
| "Saffron Saratov" | "Screen" |
| "Jubilee of Moscow" | "Anniversary" |
| "Southern" | "Young Naturalist" |
| "Apple Spas" | "Yandykovskoye" |
| "Amber Altai" | "Amber" |
show all
Yes, yes, these are just a few! 😆
Do you want to be slim and healthy? Eat apples! The benefits of apples
Everyone knows about the healing properties of apples. And what exactly are they?
- These fruits are a natural and easily digestible source of iron, and therefore they are indicated for anemia, they should be consumed by pregnant women, nursing mothers and children.
- They saturate the body with a whole range of nutrients, therefore, they are the prevention of colds.
- It has a beneficial effect on the state of the cardiovascular system and helps to normalize blood pressure.
- , which is contained in these fruits, helps to strengthen tooth enamel and bones. It is believed that an apple eaten on an empty stomach can replace a full brushing of the teeth. However, after such a procedure, it is still worth rinsing the mouth thoroughly, since no one has canceled the effect of fruit acids.
- Apples are hypoallergenic and very rarely cause allergies. For this reason, they can become the basis of the fruit diet of people suffering from this disease.
- Coarse apple fiber removes toxins from the body and thus promotes natural weight loss. It also reduces the level of "bad" cholesterol in the blood and improves the condition of the liver.
- The antioxidant effect that these fruits have on the body inhibits the growth of cancerous tumors, and is also the prevention of cancer.
- Apple pectin has a positive effect on the condition of the skin, making it fresh, and thus improving the complexion.
- Regular consumption of apples normalizes the digestion process, improves metabolism and helps to get rid of constipation.
Harm of apples
Despite the undoubted benefits of apples for the body, some people should still eat these fruits carefully or even give them up for a while. For those who have digestive problems, coarse apple fiber can exacerbate diseases (for example, colitis, ulcers, gastritis), and also contribute to the development of new ones.
Also, apples are contraindicated for people suffering from high acidity of the stomach and heartburn.
Apple pits contain a substance called amygdalin glycoside, which is converted into poisonous hydrocyanic acid in the stomach. For this reason, it is not recommended to eat more than 5 apple seeds per day. Although I ate apples with cores as a child and nothing, I somehow survived. Maybe because I didn’t know then about the dangers of bones? 🙂
Well, and, as I noted above, if you use a raw apple instead of brushing your teeth, or if you just like to eat these fruits in their original form, do not forget to rinse your mouth after eating. So the fruit acids that are contained in these fruits will not harm your teeth.
- In the human body there are organs similar to this fruit and named after it - the eyeball and the Adam's apple (a bulge on the male neck). By the way, maclura is also called Adam's apple - an unusual fruit of the Mulberry family.
- These fruits are a symbol of eternity, infinity. So decided the ancient people, who philosophically reacted to the spherical shape of apples.
- If you cut an apple into two halves across, then its divided seeds and the holes in which they are located will look like a five-pointed star (pentagram). The famous mathematician Pythagoras believed that this particular figure is perfect and hides the golden ratio.
- In the longitudinal section, the core of these fruits is similar to the female genital organs, and therefore apples have long been considered a symbol of fertility.
- The word "paradise" in Celtic sounds like "avalon", which literally means "country of apples."
- Since the beginning of the 90s of the last century, there has been “Apple Day” in the UK, which is an unofficial holiday, but is celebrated by the British with pleasure on October 21 or on the closest day off to that date. As a rule, fairs are held on this day with apple pastries, plant seedlings and a variety of apple fruits. In America, a similar holiday is celebrated annually on February 20.
- The ancient Slavs sent apples as an invitation to the wedding, and sympathy between lovers began with the exchange of these delicious fruits. And pregnant Slavic women were recommended to “communicate” with flowering apple trees for more time, so that future offspring would be beautiful and healthy.
- An apple can often be found in fairy tales: rejuvenating apples, a pouring apple on a plate, showing what you want like an original TV, and also an apple that poisoned Snow White.
- We all know that Isaac Newton discovered his famous law of gravity precisely as a result of observing ripe apples falling in the garden and one of them falling on the head of the great scientist.
As you can see, these amazing fruits have long been firmly woven into our daily history and culture. In addition, life is unthinkable without them. What is the place of apples in your life?
