Apple History

The history of apples is indeed a long one. Apples have been around since the dawn of time……literally. They were plentiful in the garden of Eden. There must have been an unlimited number of varieties, even then. Of all those apples around on day one, only the fruit of one tree was forbidden. With several thousand varieties to choose from, can anyone explain to me why great, great….great Grandma “Eve” ate an apple from the only forbidden apple tree in all of Eden?

Now fast forward many, many centuries. Along comes a fellow named Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). He’s sitting under an apple tree one day, and “bam!”, an apple falls on his head. Great mind that he is, he starts thinking about, and formulating the “Laws of Gravity”.

At about the same time, settlers began arriving on the shores of America. They brought with them, apple seeds. Sailors knew the value of fruit on board to help avoid Scurvy. The seeds inside the core were later planted in the early orchards of American colonists.

As we move into early the 1800s, we find settlers are heading west across America. John Chapman is among those who are lured west. Along the way, he plants apple seeds wherever he goes. With the rooting of each apple seed in fertile, virgin soil, so grows the legend of …..Johnny Appleseed.

Apple Trivia Having been around since the dawn of time, apples and apple growing has been well studied. This study of apples and other firm fruits is called “pomology” and takes its roots in the Latin word “poma”.