The Newsy Neighbour Magazine
April Issue 114
Article Provided By: Kathryn Hartwell for The Newsy Neighbour Magazine
You’ve heard the story of
Adam and Eve and how they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden for swiping an
apple. Well, I know why they did it; apples are good for you! Those crazy kids
just wanted a little bite of the bountiful, a jolt of the juicy, and frankly I
don’t blame them one little bit. Before I go any further, I guess introductions
are in order. My name is Adam—haha! An apple named Adam, it’s kind of like a
cat named Tom, or a dog named Chili. You just can’t make stuff like this up.
Anyway, I’m Adam, and it’s nice to make your acquaintance.
While my most famous
ancestor was a product of the spectacular one-tree orchard at Eden, most of my
relatives originated in Western Asia. I don’t mean to sound immodest, but we
apples really are the rock stars of fruit. Back in the day, Gaia (aka Mother
Earth) presented a golden apple tree to Zeus and his blushing bride, Hera, on
their wedding day. The ancient Persians, followed by the Greeks, then the
Romans, considered apples the very personification of pleasure. (That has a
nice ring to it, doesn’t it? You won’t hear anything like that said of, say,
grapefruit). Wealthy Persians created walled apple gardens, and called them
pairidaeza. The Greeks and Romans followed suit in Latin they were called
pardisus. Sounds like paradise to me.
It was the Romans who, in
the process of conquering most of Europe, brought apples along with their
legions and flush toilets. The Roman poet Horace noted in 100 B.C. that the
perfect meal starts with eggs, and ends with us. While we’ve inspired lots of
love and gastronomic delight over the centuries, we’ve also stimulated the odd
brain cell. For example, it took one of my relatives to finally get fed up and
fall on the head of Sir Isaac Newton back in 1655 to provide the inspiration
for the discovery of the laws of gravitation. We were brought to North America
in the 1600s by European immigrants, if I remember correctly, the first apple
orchard on the North American continent was planted near Boston in 1625.
Now, of course, you can
find us in virtually every state and province in the USA and Canada. Not to
mention much of the rest of the world. From our modest, hard-scrabble
beginnings in the mountains of Kazakhstan, there are now almost 7,000 varieties
of domesticated apples on the planet. Mind-boggling, isn’t it? Most of you eat
us raw; watch out for our seeds, though, they’re slightly poisonous. For those
of you who are a little more industrious, we can be canned or juiced, we can be
milled to produce apple cider, and our juice can be fermented to make vinegar
and distilled to make all sorts of alcoholic beverages. Apple butter (my
personal favourite) and apple jelly are both popular, and we can even be made
into oil.
Remember the saying, “An
apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Well, like many sayings, this one happens
to be mostly true. We are, in fact, very, very good for you. Researchers have
said we may reduce the risk of colon, prostate, and lung cancer. We’re a rich
source of antioxidant compounds. We may also help combat heart disease, promote
weight loss, and our fibre can assist in controlling cholesterol. My green
cousins can act as a liver and gall bladder cleanser, and even aid in softening
gallstones.
Because of our high-water
content, we’re cooling and moistening, and can aide in reducing fever; just
grate us and serve to the patient, et voila. Steamed apples sweetened with
honey are beneficial for a dry cough and may help remove mucous from the lungs,
plus, prepared that way, we’re just plain delicious. Our flavour is a magical
blend of tartness, sweetness, and bitterness, capped by a heady aroma, a
mysterious blend of 250 trace chemicals that awakens the senses (remember,
we’re a highly romantic fruit).
But wait, there's more!
Eating us raw gives the gums a healthy massage and cleans the teeth. And as if
all that wasn’t enough, we’re a good source of potassium, folic acid, and
vitamin C. We also have trace amounts of B vitamins, iron, magnesium, and zinc
for good measure. I could go on, but I don’t want you to think I’m bragging. So,
I’ll stop with the back-slapping and pass on a few ideas for ways you can eat
me. When you toss me into a salad, my little bursts of sweetness will make said
salad special. Slice me on top of your peanut butter sandwich to give it
some sweet crunch, and pleasantly contrasting flavour. Make a vegan Waldorf
salad with diced apples, diced celery, raisins, and vegan mayonnaise. If you’re
fortunate enough to have a juicer in your kitchen, you can enjoy fresh apple
juice throughout the year (yum). And in case you’re felling a little frisky,
try some of these easy recipes featuring yours truly. Enjoy me for your health.
Enjoy me for the sheer fun of it!
ROSIE’S APPLE COFFEE CAKE
1 1/3 cups flour
¾ cups sugar
3 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup butter or margarine
(room temp)
1 whole egg, beaten or use
4 tbsp liquid egg whites
¾ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract.
2-3 cooking apples, peeled
and sliced. Add a squeeze of lemon juice or orange juice to
prevent apples from turning
brown.
Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
Place flour, sugar, baking
powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in or rub butter into flour
mixture until it is
crumbly. Make a well in the center. In another bowl, beat eggs until
frothy. Add milk and
vanilla. Pour into well. Stir just enough to moisten. Place into a
greased 8x8 inch cake pan.
Arrange sliced apples on top of batter, slightly pushing them into the batter.
Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon mix over top of the apples. Bake in a 350°F
oven for 35-45 min. Every oven bakes differently so watch for it to brown
nicely and that apples are tender.
Rose-Marie MacPherson Strathmore,
Alberta
APPLE HARVEST SOUP
4 apples, peeled and
chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 cups butternut squash,
cubed
2 large carrots, sliced
2 parsnips, sliced
1 cup apple juice or cider
3 cups chicken or vegetable
stock
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp curry
1 cup milk
Heat the oil and butter in
saucepan, add the onion and apples and sauté over medium heat
for 5-10 minutes, until
soft. Add the squash, carrots, parsnips, apple juice, stock and spices. Cover
pan and simmer for 25 minutes. Purée the vegetables in a blender or food processor.
Return purée to saucepan, add milk and bring almost to boil. Pour into serving bowls
and top with a few thin apple slices.
BAKED APPLE SALMON STEAKS
2 salmon steaks
1 large apple, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
Place salmon separately on 2 tinfoil sheets large enough to fold and
seal salmon. Add chopped apple and onion divided evenly between salmon steaks.
Pour balsamic vinegar and lemon juice over salmon, apple, and lemon mixture.
Wrap tightly in foil so juice and steam do not escape.
Place on baking pan and bake in 350°F oven for about 20 minutes.
Susan Kane – Strathmore, Alberta
APPLE CRANBERRY CRISP
5 medium apples
1 can whole cranberry sauce
¾ cup sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
Topping:
½ cup grated nuts of your choice
1 cup rolled oats
5 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup melted butter
Preheat oven to 375°F. For filling, peel and core apples then slice.
Combine cranberry sauce, sugar and flour in bowl. Mix well. Pour cranberry
mixture over apples in baking pan.
Combine nuts, oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and melted but ter. Mix
well. Sprinkle
over mixture. Bake 35-40 minutes or until fruit is tender. Serve over
your favourite ice cream.
Sandie Zobell – Chestermere, Alberta
Have the most wonderful day ever!
Adam Apple
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