*The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the tree, Malus domestica, a member of the rose family Rosaceae, believed to have been originated in Asia.

*The fruit has edible skin, white edible flesh and inedible seeds inside the core.

*The seeds are not edible, in fact they are mildly poisonous. They contain very small amounts of a cyanogenic glycoside called amygdalin, though not enough to be dangerous to humans.

*The fruits vary in color from green to golden yellow to pink to red.

*Taste also varies greatly from acidic to mildly acidic to sweet to very sweet.

*There are thousands of varieties of apples and are classified as – dessert apples, cooking apples and cider apples.

(1) Dessert apples (Red delicious, Pink Ladies, Royal Gala) are sweet and mainly used for eating fresh, candied or caramalised.

(2) Cooking apples (Granny Smith, Fuji) are not so sweet and mainly used for cooking as in pies, stews, applesauce, etc.

(3) Cider apples are very tart and are used to make the beverage apple cider. These apples give the beverage a very rich acidic flavor.

*Buying and storage: Select fruits that are firm, evenly colored with a sweet apple aroma, without any bruises or softness. Keep well at room temperature for 3-4 days. If refrigerated, they will keep well for over 2 weeks.

Is it raw?

Yes and No.
*Yes, all apples are eaten raw and fresh.
*No, glazed apples or canned apples in syrup are not raw. Make sure you read the label.

Health Benefits

1. Apples are good sources of carbohydrates, dietary fiber, very low in fats and absolutely no cholesterol.

2. They have good amounts of Vitamin C, a natural water soluble antioxidant, which fights against the free radicals that damage our cells, reduces the risk of heart diseases, cancer and other degenerative diseases, enhances the immunity, maintains the elasticity of blood vessels and skin, increases the absorption of iron from the intestines, improves would healing, and prevents the formation of clots in the blood.

3. Apples are good sources of phytonutrients, like flavonoids and phenolic compounds that include quercetin, epicatechin, and procyanidin in their skin, to a lesser extent in the flesh. These demonstrate an antioxidant activity and are protective against certain types of cancers by preventing the proliferation of cells, and heart disease.

4. Good source of both insoluble and soluble dietary fiber. It adds roughage to the contents of the intestines, promotes satiety, promotes the health of the colon, and also helps in relieving constipation, hemorrhoids, diverticular disorders, etc. It also reduces the risk for colon cancer.

5. The insoluble fiber works like bran, latching on to and removing the LDL cholesterol from the digestive tract, while the soluble fiber, pectin, reduces the amount of LDL cholesterol produced in the liver. Thus apples lower the cholesterol in the blood.

6. Fruits have fructose, a simple sugar, instead of glucose. So the blood glucose does not shoot up suddenly after eating a fruit.

7. Apples are also shown to protect from sunburn, because of the phenols present in them, and thus can prevent skin cancer.

8. Moderate source of minerals like calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc and manganese which play a very important role in maintaining proper metabolic activities of the body.