12/01/2025
Welcome December and Happy 'Eat a Red Apple Day'!
from Nationaltoday.com:
America’s love affair with apples began in the early 19th century with the travels of Johnny Appleseed, who planted trees in states trailing from the East Coast to the Midwest. Yet these apples weren’t the sort we’re celebrating now — they were small and tart, used primarily for brewing cider.
In 1875, however, the gleaming, sweet, crunchy red fruit we know and love today was discovered in small town Peru, Iowa on a farm owned by Jesse Hiatt when a chance seedling took root. He carted the flamboyant apple to a fruit show in Missouri after his first true harvest and farmers from around the world were taken by it, wanting to plant trees on their own land. And thus, the poster child for America’s apples was born, aptly named the Red Delicious Apple.
By the time the Great Depression rolled around, the red apple was ubiquitous all over the nation. In the face of famine, small communities began to band together to share food and other resources. Since the apple’s peak harvest season is fall, children often brought them to their teachers at the start of the school year. To this day, the red apple symbolizes knowledge and education.
The old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” which originated in Pembrokeshire, Wales, seems to have crossed the Atlantic in the 1860s to arrive here in America. What used to be simply an old adage was confirmed by doctors in the 2010s as actually being true, considering the high antioxidant benefits of the friendly fruit.
