Apple: A Global History

109 Pages·2011·2.64 MB·English

by  Erika Janik

APPLE
Edible Series Editor: Andrew F. Smith is a revolutionary new series of
EDIBLE
books dedicated to food and drink that explores the rich history of cuisine. Each
book reveals the global history and culture of one type of food or beverage.
Already published
Bread Lobster
William Rubel Elisabeth Townsend
Milk
Cake
Nicola Humble Hannah Velten
Pancake
Caviar
Nichola Fletcher Ken Albala
Olive
Champagne
Becky Sue Epstein Fabrizia Lanza
Pie
Cheese
Andrew Dalby Janet Clarkson
Pizza
Chocolate
Carol Helstosky
Sarah Moss and
Alexander Badenoch Potato
Andrew F. Smith
Sandwich
Curry
Colleen Taylor Sen Bee Wilson
Soup
Dates
Nawal Nasrallah Janet Clarkson
Spices
Hamburger
Fred Czarra Andrew F. Smith
Tea
Hot Dog
Bruce Kraig Helen Saberi
Whiskey
Ice Cream
Laura B. Weiss Kevin R. Kosar
Apple
A Global History
Erika Janik
REAKTION BOOKS
To my mom,
who liberally peanut-buttered
my apple slices as a child Published by Reaktion Books Ltd
33 Great Sutton Street
London EC1V 0DX, UK
www.reaktionbooks.co.uk
First published 2007
Copyright © Erika Janik 2011
All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publishers.
Page references in the Photo Acknowledgements and
Index match the printed edition of this book.
Printed and bound in China by C&C Offset Printing Co. Ltd British Library Cataloguing in Publication
Data Janik, Erika.
Apple : a global history. – (Edible) 1. Apples – History.
2. Cooking (Apples).
3. Cider – History.
4. Cooking (Dates)
I. Title II. Series 64I.34’II-DC22
eISBN9781861899583
Contents
Introduction
1 From Almaty to America
2 Food of Legend
3 Cider
4 Wholesome Apple
5 Global Apple
Picking the Perfect Apple
Recipes
Select Bibliography
Websites and Associations
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index

Introduction
Although I grew up in Washington state, a place known for its apples, my first
transcendent apple experience occurred 2,000 miles away in Wisconsin – a place
more known for its cheese, sausage and beer than its apples. But there, at the
Dane County Farmers Market in Madison, a homely, yellow-brown, faintly
blushed Pink Pearl apple seduced its way into my bag and, later that night,
turned my Red Delicious world upside down. The crisp skin gave way to a
marbled pink and white interior so alternately sweet and tart on first bite that
tears sprang to my eyes. How could an apple taste so good? And why had it
taken more than two decades of good – but frankly, not great – apple
consumption to reach this point?
The apple market had clearly changed since this hard-to-find Pink Pearl apple
was developed in 1944, a descendant of an ancient line of red-fleshed Turkish
crab apples. Although thousands of apple cultivars are known around the world,
barely twenty varieties are widely available in local supermarkets. Those twenty
varieties account for 90 per cent of all apples consumed. Apples were one of the
first fruits cultivated by humans and have long been one of the most important
fruits in Europe, North America and other temperate regions of the globe – both
for food and drink. But today apples have become global commodities, valued
more for their long storage life and transportability than for their astonishing
variety and flavour.
William Morris, ‘Apple’ wallpaper, 1877.
The apple’s story is, as Henry David Thoreau observed, remarkably
‘connected with that of man’. Born in the mountains of Kazakhstan, it has
travelled the globe and become, through its own prodigality and attachment to
people, a species at home almost anywhere. The apple did such a convincing job
of making itself at home in America that many Americans wrongly assume the
fruit is a native.
Enmeshed in the folklore and history of nations around the globe, apples
have been associated with love, beauty, luck, health, comfort, pleasure, wisdom,
temptation, sensuality and fertility – and all this in addition to being just good
eating and drinking. The apple has achieved its global prominence through its
adaptability to local cultures and climates, its convenience and nutritional value,
and its easy transport over long distances; all qualities that allowed the apple to
infiltrate the world’s soil and change how people ate in the process.