Dale’s Daily Data: Apples

New York State is one of the biggest apple growing states in the country with depending on the variety, harvesting stretches from August to November.  There are more than 7500 varieties of apples in the world.  Of that number – one third are grown in the United States, but not all varieties will grow in each state.  The various types of apples are specifically bred for the various climates.  The average person in the United States eats more than 40 pounds of fresh apples and apple products each year!  Some are very sweet.  Others are tart or even sour.  Most apples are red, but others are yellow, green, even striped.  Some are hard and crisp; others are soft or even a little mushy.  Some are best for eating fresh; others are better for pies, or apple sauce, or cider. Some may stay good and fresh in your refrigerator for months while others might spoil in just a couple of weeks.

Of all the different varieties of apples that grow in the United States, 8 varieties account for 80 percent of the total U.S. production – Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, McIntosh, Rome Beauty, Jonathan, York and Stayman.

Washington, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia and California are the top apple producing states, but apples are grown in every state in the country including Alaska.  Washington is the top apple producing state – more than half of the country’s output of apples comes from Washington.  But more apples are grown in China than any other country in the world.

Of the thousands of apple varieties that were grown in the early 1900’s, 88 percent no longer exist.

Apples are not native to the United States.  The colonists brought seeds with them.

Apples float because 25 percent of their volume is air.