Apples

The history of apples: The first trees to produce apples like those we enjoy today, were located many thousands of years ago near the modern city of Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan. The ancient Greeks were growing several different kinds of apples by the late 300’s BC, and the ancient Romans also grew and loved the fruit. Researchers have even found the charred remains of apples at a Stone Age village in Switzerland. Early settlers to North America …

…in 1997, with a wholesale value of more than $1 billion (U.S.). Of those apples, roughly: · 50% were enjoyed as fresh fruit. · 20% were used to make vinegar, cider, wine, juice, jelly, and apple butter. · 17% were canned as applesauce and pie filling. · 13% were exported (sold to other countries). Although people across the United States love apples, apples grow particularly well in the cooler northern states. Washington State is the leading apple-producing state, followed by Michigan, and New York.