apples all day
From breakfast to dessert, cherished fruit keeps fall sweet
The apple has worked its way into a variety of colloquialisms; phrases that roll off the tongue without much thought as to whether they are true or false. ❚ American as apple pie? ❚ Sorry, apple pie fans, but this one is false. Although a longstanding symbol of Americana, the dessert didn’t actually come from America. Apples are native to Asia and were brought to America by European settlers. And the first recorded apple pie recipe? That was in 1381 in England. ❚ One bad apple spoils the whole bunch? ❚ This is true. As apples ripen, they produce a gaseous hormone called ethylene. When stored together, the gas each apple emits causes the other apples to ripen further. So one rotten apple truly can spoil the whole bunch. ❚ An apple a day keeps the doctor away? ❚ That one falls somewhere in the middle of the true-false spectrum. There is no scientific data that supports this claim, but apples are rich in important antioxidants, flavonoids and dietary fiber that may help reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
Coming to America
North American apple harvesting began with the settlers at Jamestown in 1607, who brought seeds and cuttings from Europe. Many of these apples were fairly bitter, unlike the sweet varieties we enjoy today. Apples did, however, have an important purpose in Colonial society: cider.
Today, apples are grown in every state and rank as the third most important fruit for the U.S. economy, behind grapes and oranges. The nation grows about 2,500 varieties, but just 100
are grown commercially.
Apple seeds were brought to Wisconsin in the early 1800s, with the first orchards planted in the 1830s. Even though the state has a shorter growing season than some, Wisconsin is still home to more than 225 commercial orchards as well as about 100 farm market orchards.
“I feel we have a very conducive climate for growing apples,” said Wayne Geist, president of the Wisconsin Apple Growers Association. “Wisconsin is different from, say, Washington state, where the growing season is much longer.
“In the fall, if you have a good healthy tree and get some good snow cover where frost doesn’t penetrate too far, you should be in good shape for the spring. Basically, Mother Nature is really in control. We just think we are.”
The apple industry as a whole is dramatically different from years past. New varietals are constantly being developed, with growers hoping they have planted the next big thing in the apple community.
Thank the Honeycrisp for the current boom in the apple growing industry.
“The Honeycrisp helped apple growers throughout the country stay in business, buy new equipment and pay the bills,” explained Steve Wood of Wood Orchards in Egg Harbor. “If we were still concentrating
on selling McIntosh, Cortland and Red Delicious, we would have boarded up the doors long ago.”
Finding the ‘next new thing’
The Honeycrisp was developed through an apple-breeding program based at the University of Minnesota. Through programs such as this one, new varietals are developed and then patent-protected for 17 to 20 years.
In the case of the Honeycrisp, every grower who purchased a Honeycrisp tree had to pay a royalty of about $1 per tree to the University of Minnesota. The patent expired in 2008, allowing it to be grown in more orchards throughout the country.
Growers are always seeking an apple that will become the next big thing. Wood hopes the SweeTango is that apple.
In addition to being patented, the apple name itself also has been trademarked. “The name of the variety is actually Minnevesto,” Wood said. “The trademarked name of the apple is SweeTango. No one can sell this apple without paying a royalty to the University of Minnesota. They also control who gets the trees.
“We planted about 10,000 trees in 2008,” he continued. “It takes about three to four years to get a crop on them. We get about a bushel of apples per tree, so we hope to harvest about