Apples are a popular fruit around the world, which is fortunate because they have so many health benefits. In this deep dive, we’ll look at the varieties available, their nutritional qualities, how you can grow them at home, and how to use them in your kitchen.
In the April 2025 issue of the journal Nature Genetics, researchers at Pennsylvania State University published a finding that suggests the Malus plant lineage is at least 60 million years old.
The apple tree belongs to this genus and is known by its name Malus domesticaIt is part of the rose family (Roasaceae) and is one of the most popular house plants.
Many fruiting plants in this family have small fruits, such as cherries, raspberries, and roses. These small fruits are easily eaten by birds, which disperse the seeds. It’s not easy for your average robin to get its beak around an apple, so apples have become tasty and attractive to larger mammals. Evidence suggests that before the last ice age, wild horses, deer and other megafauna ate the apples and dispersed the seeds. Today, the biggest consumer of apples is humans, and we have been eating them for a long time.
Apples have been depicted in classical art for at least 2,000 years, and seeds from archaeological sites across Western Asia and Europe indicate that wild apples have been part of the human diet for at least 10,000 years.
Recent genetic studies have shown that the modern apple is likely a hybrid of at least four wild apple populations that were traded along the Silk Road. In fact, much of the genetic material of the modern apple was found at the heart of ancient trade routes in the Tien-Shon Mountains of Kazakhstan. Currently, more than 7500 species of this deciduous tree are grown around the world. In Australia, 84 percent of households regularly buy apples, and one Australian eats 10 kg of apples a year.
Since they are very common, it is worth seeing what apples are available, how they affect you and how you can use them at home.
Types
There are 15 varieties of apples grown in Australia and each of them has its own characteristics. Some of the most popular varieties are: Granny Smith This apple gets its name from suburban Sydney gardener Maria Ann Smith, who found seedlings growing in pots at her home. “Granny Smith” recognized the unique value of these apples and used them in cooking and selling them.
Believed to have evolved from French crab apples, Granny Smiths have green skin and brown, tart, white flesh. Since the meat falls apart during cooking, they are ideal for sauces and purees.
golden delicious
Delicious golden apples originated in the USA at the beginning of the 20th century. Although the skin is yellow-green and therefore resembles a granny smith, the flesh holds its shape when cooked, making it great for caramelized apple desserts and stir-fries. Despite sharing part of its name with the delicious red, the only link between the two varieties is the brothers who bring them to the market.
Red is delicious
Delicious red apples date back to the 1880s and come from the USA. The red skin and juicy red flesh make them an excellent snack apple, but the soft flesh is not good when cooked.
The pink lady
The Pink Lady is a relatively recent phenomenon, having originated in the Margaret River (WA) region in the late 1970s. It was the result of a natural cross pollination between Golden Delicious apples and Lady Williams. The pink skin and juicy flesh are great for snacking or cooking.
Fuji
No prizes for guessing that this apple originated in Japan.
The pulp is high in sugar, making Fujis a delicious snack, but they also hold together well in cooking.
Jonathan
The Jonathan apple is from New York and dates back to the 1820s. It was once known by the heavy name “New Esopus Spitzenburg”. Jonathans have a yellow-brown flesh that crumbles slightly when cooked. They have a slightly spicy flavor that makes them ideal for juicing.
The royal herd
Royal Gala apples have skin that is a combination of red-orange and yellow stripes, and the taste is a balance of sweet and tart. They date back to the 1930’s in New Zealand and are the result of a cross between the Golden Delisis and Kidd’s Red Orange.
Royal herons are better eaten raw than cooked.
Cultivation
Apple trees are usually available for winter planting.
They grow in most climates, but do well in colder areas. Apple trees prefer a sunny but sheltered location and need well-draining soil prepared with compost and well-rotted manure. Fertilize abundantly in spring and autumn. Mulch with pea straw to retain moisture and keep the mulch well away from the trunk. Keep the growing area free from weeds and water regularly, especially during harvesting. Cut to shape and support the fruit.
If you have limited space, pear apples are a good option and grow well in pots. Apple varieties bear fruit from January to June. You can tell your apples are starting to ripen when some fruit drops to the ground, otherwise just pick one and taste it. Remove all fallen apples and put them in a box to prevent the spread of the disease.
An apple a day… Apples have long been considered a health-promoting food. An article in the Journal of American Medicine from 1927 stated that apples are “therapeutically effective in all conditions of acidosis, gout, jaundice, rheumatism, all diseases of the liver and liver, nervous and skin diseases resulting from debilitation of the liver, excess acidity and autointoxication.”
Whether or not apples help you get drunk remains a moot point, but there’s plenty of evidence that apples are good for you. They contain vitamin C, quercetin, antioxidant polyphenols, and the skin provides fiber in the form of pectin.
Antioxidant power
The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, included more than 20,000 adults with an average age of 41. None of them had a history of heart disease at the start of the study, and all were followed up for 10 years. In that decade, 233 of the participants experienced a stroke. All participants completed food frequency questionnaires and classified fruit and vegetable consumption into the following color groups:
- Cabbage, lettuce and dark green leafy vegetables
- Oranges and yellows (most were citrus fruits)
- Red and purple (most were red vegetables)
- White (apples and pears make up 55% of this group)
The researchers then compared the risk of stroke with consumption of different “color” groups. They found that the risk of stroke was not affected by consumption of red/purple or yellow/apple fruit. However, high consumption of white-fleshed fruit resulted in a 52 percent lower risk of stroke compared to low consumption of white-fleshed fruit. For every 25-gram daily increase in white fruit consumption, there was a nine percent reduction. The average weight of an apple is about 120 grams, so one apple a day reduces your risk of stroke by about 50 percent. This is because white-skinned fruits like apples are both rich in the antioxidant quercetin and are a good source of fiber like pectin, which can lower blood fats.
Lower cholesterol and lose weight
We know that apples are a source of pectin, a type of fiber that can have a beneficial effect on blood lipids.
Apples also contain polyphenols, which have antioxidant effects, improve fat metabolism, and reduce inflammation. So you would expect that apples can do good for your cholesterol levels, and studies show that this is the case.
In a study published in the Journal of Functional Nutrition, subjects were divided into three groups: one group ate a red or golden apple every day for four weeks; another group took a pill with 194 mg of antioxidant polyphenols daily; and the third group received a placebo. In a four-week study, one apple per day was found to reduce oxidized LDL cholesterol levels by up to 40 percent. This was significantly greater than the effect of polyphenol pills, and according to the researchers, apples are better at reducing LDL oxidation than other powerful antioxidant foods, such as tomatoes, green tea and the spice curcumin. It also appears from these results that it is more than the antioxidant content of apples that has an effect. So it’s probably the whole apple.
In another study published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, women who ate 75 grams of dried apples every day for a year reduced their bad LDL cholesterol by 23 percent after six months. They also had a four percent increase in good HDL cholesterol.
Despite adding nearly 1,000 kilojoules to their daily energy intake through apples, these women lost an average of 1.5kg over the 12 months of the study. It may be apple pectin that makes women feel full, but another recent study has suggested an alternative way apples can help you lose weight.
Ursolic acid
Research conducted in PLoS ONE suggested that a component of apple skin may protect against obesity. The study involved feeding two groups of mice the same high-fat diet for three weeks. The only difference was that one group was also given ursolic acid from apple peels in their diet. At the end of the study, they found that the mice fed ursolic acid actually ate more food, but gained less weight and their blood sugar remained at normal levels, even though their physical activity was no greater than the mice in the other group. There was no sign of fatty liver disease in the ursolic acid group either. This means that ursolic acid not only helps prevent weight gain, but also protects against some of the risk factors of weight gain, such as diabetes and liver damage. Further investigation showed that the ursolic acid mice had more skeletal muscle, leading to increased strength and endurance. Eating your apples with the skin on seems like a good idea to increase your intake of ursolic acid.
Use your apples
Sliced apples make an outstanding addition to your cheese platter. Remember, lightly sprinkling the sliced apple with lemon juice will slow down the browning process. Sliced apples make a delicious addition to many salads. If you’re making mashed potatoes and pork, or even sausage and mash, a little mashed (or baked) apples will take the dish to another level. When it comes to desserts, of course, the possibilities are endless, apples make a divine contribution to pies, strudels, cheesecakes, crumbles and more.
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