The History of Apples:
The ware bouts of the first cultivated Apple is still debated. some say it was grown between the Caspian Sea and the black sea, some say it was in the middle parts of Asia and Kazakhstan. Mostly, it is agreed that it was in Asia and Kazakhstan and after getting the access to the Silk road, this fruit was sent to different parts of Europe and now the biggest cultivator of Apples are the Chinese.
The Silk Road:
This road consisted of many roads connecting many parts of west, east and south of Asia to one another in addition to being a path way of trading between Asia and Northern Africa and Eastern Europe.
Kazakhstan:
This country has different climates with hot summers and cold winters and there is not much rain there. Sometimes the temperature of the capital city would reach up to -40 degree centigrade. Kazakhstan is a Muslim country with low population density and the main languages spoken in Kazakhstan are Kazakh and Russian. It is interesting to know that this country is the biggest country surrounded with dry lands.
Apples are almost a part of all aspects of our lives; in our stories and books, on our tables or in our food and even on our electronic devices!
Apples in History, Religion, Myths and Different Cultures:
Since we were children we have heard the story of Adam and Eve living in heaven and eating the forbidden fruit which was Apple and getting banished to the earth, although it is still disputed whether the forbidden fruit was Apple or something else. Nevertheless, there are a lot of stories where Apples had very powerful impacts.
In Greek mythology, eating Apples gave the Gods eternal life and it was a symbol of immortality and now in their cultures giving someone an Apple means that you like them.
This fruit acts as a symbol in many countries. For example, in china, it’s the symbol of peace.
We all have heard of Newton and how he discovered the force of gravity by observing a falling Apple. This was one of the most impactful events that happened and revolutionized all sciences.
The story goes like this; one day Newton was in a garden and siting under an Apple tree when all of a sudden, an Apple drops from the tree on his head. This made a spark in his mind so he was able to make so many theories and hypothesis about gravity. There are many who denied this story but after a few decades it was proved that the story was true.
In our own culture (Iranian culture) we put Apples on our Haft Seen for every Persian new year. This Red fruit is a symbol of health, beauty and love.
Varieties of Apples:
If we want to talk about all the different kinds of Apples, there are thousands of different kinds of Apples and Apple trees that almost 80% of these varieties do not exist anymore. Even with this drastic loss, there are still many different kinds of Apples which the top 30 varieties of this fruit are consumed. Nowadays, with the aid of technology, many scientists were able to create newer varieties of Apples and all the old school ways of agricultures are giving their places to industries that produce with more efficiency and productivity. The Apples that are cultivated in Turkey are produced the modern way and all the Apples are almost the same size, same taste and same color. This is while in Iran, old ways are still being used to cultivate Apples and produce very tasty and very high quality Apples, which mainly are cultivated in Urmia, one of the best environments to grow and produce this fruit.
A small interesting fact about Apple seed, is that if you plant an Apple seed in the ground and a tree grows from it, the Apple is not going to look or taste like the mother Apple.
translated by Golman Araghi
