Apple

Also known asMalus domestica · 苹果

Name: Apple, common apple, dessert apple (Malus domestica). Sold under many varietal names — Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and hundreds more — that are all the same species and simply different cultivars of one fruit.

Description

The cultivated apple traces back to a wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, still found growing in the Tien Shan mountains of Central Asia, where it was domesticated somewhere between four and ten thousand years ago. As the fruit travelled west along the Silk Road it repeatedly crossed with wild crabapple relatives from Siberia, the Caucasus, and Europe, picking up much of the genetic diversity seen in apples today.

Distinct named varieties were already being kept more than two thousand years ago, and by the time Europeans settled North America hundreds of types existed. Seedling apple trees spread across the American frontier with settlers and, famously, with the nurseryman John Chapman — better known as Johnny Appleseed. Apples are now grown commercially across the temperate world, with China, the United States, and Turkey the largest producers.

Main nutrition value

Per 100g, raw apple with skin:

Apples are best known for their fiber — most of it just under the skin — along with a modest amount of vitamin C, potassium, and vitamin K.

How best to be consumed

Eating the apple unpeeled keeps most of its fiber and a good share of its vitamin C, both concentrated near the skin. Apples pair well with both sweet and savory foods — cheese, pork, oats, and baked goods — and hold their texture well when baked or stewed, unlike softer fruits. Cut apples brown quickly once exposed to air; a squeeze of lemon juice slows this if they need to sit before serving.

Overconsumption could cause…

Apples are safe in ordinary amounts, but eating a lot of them at once can bring on bloating or loose stools thanks to their fiber and fermentable sugar content, particularly in people sensitive to fructose. Apple juice and cider concentrate the natural sugars while removing the fiber that would slow their absorption, so they add up faster than whole fruit. The seeds contain small amounts of a cyanide-producing compound and should not be chewed and swallowed in quantity, though this is only a concern if eaten in bulk — a few accidentally swallowed seeds are harmless.

GroupsApples and PearsRose family (Rosaceae)Low fatLow sodiumFresh

Made intoApple ButterApple Cider VinegarApple JuiceDried Apple

Related foodsLoquatPearQuinceGreen AppleRed AppleAsian Pear / Nashi Pear

U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central — Apples, raw, with skin (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) (FDC ID 171688), 100g portion: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/171688/nutrients Encyclopaedia Britannica — apple (fruit and tree): https://www.britannica.com/plant/apple-fruit-and-tree