Apple Savior in the Slavic calendar falls on August 19. On this day, apples are blessed! On this day, everything was filled with the apple spirit. It is the only holiday that pays tribute to the fruit and berry bounty of the Ukrainian lands. On this day, the apple gained special power and brought health and beauty.
The most powerful folklore remedy for old age is the golden apple. In Greek myths, in his twelfth feat, Hercules got golden apples for King Eurystheus from the tree of youth in the garden of Hesperides, which Gaia the Earth presented to Zeus and Hera at the wedding. In myths, the apple was also a fruit for which goddesses could make a fight for the whole world. Eris, the goddess of discord, took revenge for being "forgotten" to be invited by throwing an apple with the inscription "To the most beautiful". And in a dispute between Hero, Athena, and Aphrodite, Prince Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite, who promised to give him Helen of Troy as a bonus for his wife. But Helen became the reason for the hardcore of the Trojan War. Greeks against Greeks. This is how mortals start deadly wars, and the peace and tranquility of nations are destroyed by thievery and treachery, and the celestials make themselves comfortable in the parlor to contemplate this horror.
The apple, once a precious fruit, has become an ordinary and banal fruit. But let's start with the trump cards!
The apple tree is considered a sacred tree of the sun god Apollo, from whose name the English word "apple" is derived.
The word "paradise" in Celtic sounds like Avalon ("country of apples").
In the Renaissance, the apple was the most popular fruit in Europe. From the Latin pomum (fruit) came the French pomme - apple, and from it - the famous "lipstick"! And the science that deals with the study of apple varieties is called pomology (Latin pomum - "fruit"). Whenever another overseas "fruit" appeared in Europe, it was immediately compared to an apple. The word "tomato" is derived from the Italian "golden apple" (pomo d'oro). "Orange" in German means "Chinese apple" (Apfel-apple, Sina-China). In Europe, lemons brought from India by Alexander the Great were originally called Indian apples.
One famous scientific apple fell on an Englishman's head at the age of 23 (!). It happened during a "lockdown" caused by the plague. The scientific apple discovered the law of an unknown force that attracts all bodies in the universe and determines the trajectories of the planets of the solar system - the law of gravity!
The old capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty, is named after an apple (from the Kazakh for "Father of Apples"). There is a monument to the apple in Almaty, where the Almaty Aport variety is cultivated. And Kazakhstan has released a movie presenting the country, Kazakhstan: A Journey to the Land of Apples, and a 500 tenge coin with the inscription "Kazakhstan - the Motherland of Apples" depicting an apple tree with gilded apples.
Another apple appeared on the city's name. Since the 1930s, New York has been called the Big Apple. During these years, New York was a Mecca for jazz musicians. They are credited with the saying: "There are many different apples on the apple tree, but if you are lucky enough to conquer New York, consider the biggest apple in your pocket!".
The works with an apple by the famous surrealist artist René Magritte captured the imagination of the world so much that "Son of Man", which depicts a human son with a face hidden by a green apple, influenced the choice of the name of the music company Apple Records, created by The Beatles in 1968. The Beatles used a photo of the same green Granny Smith apple as their logo.
And then it went down the chain. Steve Jobs, following the spirit of the 60s, practically reclaimed the name for his computer corporation. The name Apple was very successful for the pioneer in the field of personal computers. Without this apple, the modern world would not be what it is today. And Macintosh - the company's line of computers was named after the Macintosh apple variety popular in the United States.
And by apple numbers:
- The apple tree has been cultivated by people since the Neolithic era, almost 5 thousand years;
- the cradle of apple orchards, of course, was Ancient Greece, and the writers of Ancient Rome already described 36 varieties of apple trees;
- in the Slavic lands, the cultivated apple tree first appeared under Yaroslav the Wise in 1051. He laid out an apple orchard, now known as the garden of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra;
- apple orchards occupy almost 5 million hectares on the Earth;
- every second fruit tree is an apple tree;
- there are 7,500 to 20,000 varieties of apple trees;
- the largest apple of the Fuji variety, weighing 600 grams, was sold for a record $10,000 in Beijing at the annual Apple Festival;
- October 21 is the annual Apple Day in England;
- Only three countries managed to export 1 million tons of fresh apples per season: China, our neighbor Poland and Italy;
- a record harvest of apples in the 2018/19 season by Ukrainian gardeners - almost 1.5 million tons;
- the current season of apples in Ukraine will not reach the record, but the harvest is planned according to experts at 510 thousand tons;
- according to the data of 2018, apple orchards in Ukraine occupy 91 928 hectares. Golden Delicious accounts for 27% of the area of Ukrainian orchards, Aidared takes 16%, Gala 14%, and Jonagold and Renet Simirenko 13% each.
- Exports of Ukrainian apples are rapidly expanding and currently total 36 countries.
(Apple export figures for the world are based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO))
In August, summer settles in with heavy, brightly colored fruits, but the apple tree is also an early honey plant. Bees begin their honey collection from apple orchards in early spring. The average honey yield is 25-30 kg per hectare. In addition to nectar, bees collect pollen in large quantities from apple trees. And in the fall, apples are baked, dried, and made into jam, preserves, jam, and mashed potatoes. And in winter, soaked apples are a hit! And apple drinks - juice, jelly, compotes and apple kvass - are always in high demand.
And the Medovyi Spas honey factory presents Sikera honey wine based on apple juice and honey in two variations: "Honey Red" based on honey, apple juice, cherry and chokeberry juices and "Honey Pink" based on honey, apple juice and blackberry, red and black currant juices. The piercing aroma of ripe dark berries in these variations is flavored with an apple component.
