Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings

Subject: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 26 Oct 10 - 02:38 PM

Great page with a start on apple lore

http://homesteadarts.org/applelore.html

Copy of page in entirety below in case the link breaks.

Give me juicy autumnal fruit ripe and red from the orchard

-Walt Whitman

The Tree

More widely grown than any other tree fruit, the apple originally grew wild in Europe and western Asia.

Apples were cultivated and prized in ancient Rome, and brought to England by the conquering legions. The immigrant apple came to America with the early English settlers. Now widely cultivated in all temperate regions, the apple has become so cherished as a typical American product that we often say something is as "American as apple pie".

The apple tree is a member of the rose family. Wild apple trees, called crab apples, also grow in the U.S.

The Fruit

Most apples are eaten raw. They are also used for making jellies, pies, puddings, applesauce, dumplings, cakes, cookies, juice, cider, and vinegar.

Fresh, raw apples are about 84% water. They are high in fruit sugars and fiber, and aid digestion.

There are nearly 10,000 varieties of apples. More than 7000 are grown in the U.S., but most are found only in home gardens. Commercial growers grow only those varieties that are in demand and that ship without damage. Approximately 20 varieties make up about 90% of the apples produced in the U.S.

Growing your own!

Apple Trees are usually grown using a grafting process called budding. Consequently, planting a seed from an apple you've eaten will more than likely not result in a tree bearing similar apples. Grafted starter trees are available from apple tree nurseries and can be mail-ordered.

Some heritage varieties can be grown from seed, but most of these are home-grown or collector varieties.

The Folk Tradition

Despite popular beliefs, apples are not specifically mentioned in the Bible story of Adam and Eve. The text refers to the "fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden" (Gen. iii,3). In fact, it's believed that the mention of an"apple" in the Song of Solomon, and in Joel, is probably reference to the apricot or orange, which flourished in Asia Minor and were referred to as "apples of gold" in Proverbs.

Interestingly, the apple tree is the central tree of heaven in Iroquois mythology and, in a Wyondot myth, an apple tree shades the lodge of the Mighty Ruler.

The apple tree and its fruit appear in Scandinavian, Irish, Icelandic, Teutonic, Breton, English, and Arabian folklore.

In mythology and folklore, apples have power in addition to taste:

• a means to immortality
• an emblem of fruitfulness
• an offering or distraction in suitor contests
• a means of divination
• a test of chastity , a love charm
• a magic object , a cure

The golden apples of the Hesperides were sought by Hercules for their ability to give immortality. In Scandinavia, the perpetual youth apples were kept by Idhunn in Asgard.

An apple tossed to Conie, son of Conn, by the woman from the Land of the Living provided sustenance to him for a month, but made him long for her and her land, as was her plan.

Gna, messenger of the Scandinavian Frigga, dropped an apple to King Rerir who ate it with his wife, who then bore a child. Frey sent eleven golden apples to Gerda as a marriage offer.

The Greek goddess Atalanta was won by a suitor who threw down golden apples to distract her from their race, which he then won.

An apple in the Arabian Nights cured every ill.

In Black American folklore, apple-shaped birthmarks can be cured by rubbing with an apple and eating apples.

In Danish, German, and English folklore, and in voodoo, apples are used as love charms.

A Danish fairytale uses an apple as a chastity test. The apple fades if the owner is unfaithful.

Apples are used in divination in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. In fact, the custom of diving for apples and catching one on a string is a remnant of druidic divination.

The Apple of Discord, inscribed For the Fairest, was given by Paris to Aphrodite, causing a quarrel among the goddesses and helping to bring about the Trojan War.

Johnny Appleseed

John Chapman (1774-1845), an eccentric, itinerant pioneer nurseryman and colporteur, has been enshrined in American historical, literary, and folk tradition.

He won the respect of settlers and Native Americans alike as he made his way from his native Massachusetts to the Pennsylvania/ Ohio/Indiana frontier, planting apple nurseries, spreading "news right fresh from heaven", mediating and healing. He exchanged his apple seeds and seedlings for food, cast-off clothing and articles and frontier currency enough to take care of his simple needs. Profits went for copies of Swedenborg's works, which he separated into parts for wider and cheaper distribution.

He's generally pictured as a bearded, bare-foot, kindly traveler with a mushpot or paste-board hat on his head and a sack on his back.

Memorials to Johnny Appleseed include the Johnny Appleseed Apple, Johnny weed (dog fennel, which he also planted along with other medicinal herbs) and Johnny Appleseed Week, celebrated in Ohio the last week of September.

Keep it in apple pie order

An apple a day?

Golden Delicious apples are the most popular yellow apples in the U.S. They are good in pies or eaten fresh.

Cortland apples are used in salads due to the fact that they don't turn brown as quickly as other apples do when sliced.

Gravenstein apples are thought to have come from castle Gravenstein (Denmark) in the 1600's. Today they are grown in the U.S. and Europe.

McIntosh apples are popular in the U.S. and Canada. They are eaten fresh or made into applesauce. They serve as a parent to some newer breeds such as the Cortland.

Jonathan apples are eaten fresh, baked into pies, and processed commercially into a wide range of products.

York Imperial apples have an odd lopsided shape as if they were leaning over.

Granny Smith apples have a tart taste and are often baked into pies. They are grown in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Cox's Orange Pippins are famous for their orange color. They are one of the most popular apples grown in England.

Delicious apples total one-third of the apples raised in the U.S. Sweet and juicy, they're usually eaten fresh out of hand.

Rome Beauty apples, because of their size, may be cored, filled with raisins, and baked in the oven.

Rhode Island Greening apples are excellent for pies because they don't wilt and turn mushy when baked.

Winesap apples were grown by early pioneers for apple cider. Today they're raised in the northwest and in the Appalachian Valley.

One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

William Tell

In Austria-ruled Switzerland, William Tell refused to bow in homage to an Austrian nobleman's hat placed in the Town Square. He was forced to shoot an apple off his son's head as punishment. Ultimately he played an important role in Swiss independence.

Sir Isaac Newton

Newton's formulation of the laws of gravity was supposedly prompted by the fall of an apple onto his head.

You need to know!

The projection in the neck formed by the thyroid cartilage is supposed to havebeen caused by a piece of the "apple" caught in Adam's throat.

1 lb of apples = 3-4 medium = 3 cups sliced

According to the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation of Chicago, the smell of green apples helps relieve claustrophobia.

There is small choice in rotten apples.

Don't upset the apple cart.

The apple of your eye is actually your pupil.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 26 Oct 10 - 02:42 PM

Golden delicious and Red delicious are vile, woolly, and tasteless. What a shame they are so widely grown in the USA (and France).

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: Emma B
Date: 26 Oct 10 - 02:50 PM

Granny Smith pre-dates the modern approach to apple development and marketing.

"Like all the best old varieties it has a bizarre history, being discovered in Austrialia in the 1860s as a seedling growing in a rubbish tip.
The true parentage is still unknown.
The discoverer - a Mrs Maria Smith found that the apple was versatile for cooking and eating, and was involved in spreading its popularity. In an inspired piece of marketing she called the new apple Granny Smith.

By the 1960s Granny Smith was practically syonymous with 'apple' and the variety was used by the Beatles as the logo for their company 'Apple Records'. "

From the 'Orange Pippin' site

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 26 Oct 10 - 02:52 PM

I loved golden delicious straight off the tree at local orchard in central Va. Absolutely gorgeous. Sweet, crisp and very juicy. If too ripe they do get a weird cottony texture.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: Rumncoke
Date: 26 Oct 10 - 03:49 PM

I rather regreted taking pity on two little apple trees - the only ones with signs of life amongst a whole crowd of them which looked decidedly dead - as they were Golden Delicious, but I planted them anyway and they grew.

The apples are usually picked and sold in supermarkets when they are green, and not all that good but I changed my mind about them when I tasted them when they had ripened on the tree. Presumably they are picked green as they are harder and so travel better.

I just picked the last bucketful of them last weekend, and they are very sweet, but crisp and live up to their name.

Anne

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: GUEST,julia L
Date: 26 Oct 10 - 10:51 PM

My partner Fred's mom has a book from the mid 1800's that describes over 3000 apple varieties!! Lots of different fruits that ripen different times and have various qualities- fascinating. Apparently, here in Maine we have many of them growing "wild" on old farmsteads and someone is documenting them. Maine was known for its apples in the 19th century

best- Julia L

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 02:50 AM

Could we get back to stories and histories about apples? I know I am guilty of thread drift for rising to Richard Bridges post.

I'll forgive you once, RB. :0)

Now continue with fun facts and fiction please.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 04:22 AM

An apple sliced at its equator will reveal a pentacle of pips - I could do a little promotion here, but in any case see THIS for a practical demonstration at least! There are two immediate significances here. Firstly, according to local lore current in my youth, if one split an apple thus and carved the names of two you would have fall in love (one upon each half) and have the apple bound and buried with charm, then love would surely flourish. Secondly, an apple thus split and fixed to a thorn in a hawthorn bush (as in our wee film) serves to ward off malign influences, or else attract good, in the form of birds perhaps, however so devined or else significant in themselves. In the film Rapunzel intones verses about a dying Robin, though I doubt any robin would eat anything whilst still in the tree.

More well known are various Hallowe'en customs featuring apples - dookin, bobbing, swinging etc. - supposed to derive from Samhain divination ceremonies, though I doubt it. I'm always wondering how in Christian countries the apple isn't regarded with wider suspicion given that it was (symbolic at least of) the instrument Satan used in his tempotation of Eve. I suspect that, deep down, we're rather glad of this Knowledge anyway, and gladly sacrificed the Innocence of Eden for the Wonders of the Wilderness beyond God's divine Ha-Ha, which is but one of the reasons why I like to see Churches decorated with apples for the Harvest Festival.

My personal preference is to eat apples with a knife (my faithful Opinel) leaving only the stork; and whilst generally I look forward to the English varieties I've been a bit remiss so far this year - perhaps this thread will spur me on!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: Mr Red
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 06:17 AM

Valentine Apples

I wrote an unmemorable song about the custom.
basically giving a present to a loved one, which in February would be no mean feat with fruit that can spoil.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: GUEST,Hilary
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 04:31 PM

I think it's fascinating how prominently apples appear in folklore. "The Princess on the Glass Hill"(Norwegian) "The Golden Crab"(German) "Iron John"(German) "Snow White"(German) "The Dancing Water"(Italian)"The Black Bull of Norroway"(Scottish) And those are just a few of the stories with apples. Then of course there's the apple of discord in Greek mythology, the apples of youth for the gods in Norse mythology, Avalon, from the Celtic tradition, wassailing the apple trees... Although, granted, this is all European folklore. Why is this fruit so beloved? Why is it the most popular in all of this folklore? According to Wikipedia, which I wouldn't necessarily trust, I read that "apple" was a generic term for all foreign fruit. Maybe not all these fruits are really apples as we know them.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 08:20 PM

I live a couple of miles from where Granny Smith made her discovery. There's a plaque to commemorate it, and there's a Granny Smith festival in Eastwood every October.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: open mike
Date: 28 Oct 10 - 02:24 AM

We celebrat Johnny Appleseed days in Paradise, CAlif. in the fall.
the source of the apple seeds he distributed across the continent was form cider mills,,,not apple juice or apple sauce producing plants..
hard cider was quite popular back in those days.

I recently heard from a friend who had gone to a potluck dinner where each dish was centered around apples..from dumplings to hard cider...

i have heard of a vegetarian turkey substitute which is stuffed with apples and butternut squash...i think the outside is either gluten from wheat or some soy product...

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: jacqui.c
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 10:50 AM

Nice thread. I love the Mudcat when we get stuff like this - so much in tune with what the site is all about. I'm finding out a lot of stuff I didn't know!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 11:40 AM

St.Michael's-on-Wyre, Harvest Decorations, September 2010

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 12:39 PM

Suibhne - the colours in that film almost hurt the eye... love the music. Re the custom of revealing the pip star and carving names of 2 loves -
I grew up with a wholly different apple custom. Grasp the apple in one hand and stem in the other, and recite the alphabet, one letter for each twist of the stem. The letter that the stem came away on was the first letter of your true love's Christian name.

I am trying to find something about the custom of placing and apple in the boar's mouth. So far only questionable wikipedia entry:

According to folklorists the boar's head tradition was:
"initiated in all probability on the Isle of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons, although our knowledge of it comes substantially from medieval times....[In ancient Norse tradition] sacrifice carried the intent of imploring Freyr to show favor to the new year. The boar's head with apple in mouth was carried into the banquet hall on a gold or silver dish to the sounds of trumpets and the songs of minstrels." [2]
In Scandinavia and England, Saint Stephen may have inherited some of Freyr's legacy. His feast day is December 26 and thus he came to play a part in the Yuletide celebrations which were previously associated with Freyr (or Ingwi to the Anglo-Saxons). In old Swedish art, Stephen is shown as tending to horses and bringing a boar's head to a Yuletide banquet.[3] Both elements are extracanonical and may be pagan survivals. Christmas ham is an old tradition in Sweden and may have originated as a winter solstice boar sacrifice to Freyr.

And another wiki entry on bobbing, dooking and snap apple:

Apple bobbing originates from Celtic times when Halloween was called Samhain in some Gaelic languages, when apples were associated with love or fertility. Some say this comes from the Roman goddess Pomona whilst others note that this game is an important part of the Celtic pagan religious festival of Samhain when families would gather together for a communal feast.

The current game is based on a New Year tradition, where whoever bites the apple first in the group will be the first to marry. The similar tradition of throwing rice at a wedding evolved from this, except apples were thrown originally. However, the popularity of throwing other types of fruits such as peaches and pears is making a comeback.

Strange throwing fresh fruit at the married couple, but then I guess it is better than throwing tinned (canned) fruit at them.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: GUEST,Hilary
Date: 03 Nov 10 - 04:51 PM

This Halloween, I followed the custom where you peel the apple and throw the peel over your left shoulder. It's supposed to land in the initial of your future husband's name, but whether this is first or last, I'm not sure.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: open mike
Date: 03 Nov 10 - 06:45 PM

don't forget to include...crafts such as apple head dolls..
http://www.appledolls.org/
http://www.fruitfromwashington.com/Relative/dolls.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_6196179_make-apple-face-dolls.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4582522_oldfashioned-applefaced-dolls.html

I have made and canned many jars of applesauce...i like it sweet and spicy. I use a strainer to remove the seeds and skins after i have
simmered the apples. I no longer have my Kitchenaid, but there are
other devices you can use to strain fruits and veggies...which do not require electricity..http://www.pickyourown.org/applesauce.htm
http://www.foleyfoodmill.com/
http://www.mendingshed.com/strainer.html

Here is another way to preserve apples.
http://www.pickyourown.org/apples_dried.htm
http://www.cabelas.com/fryprod2-1/716014.shtml?type=product&WT_tsrc=CSE&WT_mc_id=GoogleBaseUSA&WT_z_mc_id1=716014&RID=40&mr:trackingCode=AD6CD0CB-958E-DF11-A0C8-002219318F67&mr:referralID=NA

kitchen gizmos are great...some work savers actually make more work
when you include the time you have to spend cleaning them. It breaks my heart to think of how many gizmos, thing-a-ma-jigs, strainers, whippers, juicers, etc. were lost in the fire...so now I am starting over from scratch....also i miss my dishes...oh yeah,they had apples
on 'em, too http://www.robbinsnest.com/homer-laughlin-china/rhythm/american-provincial-ry104.html

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: Mo the caller
Date: 04 Nov 10 - 07:17 AM

The harvest picture reminds me of a story of the little boy who was sent to church for the Harvest Festival. When asked about it he said that there were apples on the window sill, and then they sent a plate round for the cores.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 04 Nov 10 - 02:22 PM

Can anyone tell me when the appropriate time of year for orchard visiting is? the custom of wassailing the cider apple trees.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 04 Nov 10 - 03:38 PM

Lots on the net, VT - including THIS.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: JohnB
Date: 04 Nov 10 - 06:03 PM

Apple Tree Wassailing to my knowledge is carried out on "OLD Twelth Night" which is January 17th, at least in the Tradition we base ours around. Unfortunately that means around -20 degC on a lot of the Canadian nights we have done it.
We base ours on the Carhampton version and sing their song, amongst others if it's only around -5C. We also Morris Dance and do the cider soaked toast thing. We also had a real musket once.
Our other tradition is to soak a fruit cake in Brandy and NOT manage to light it because it's too damned cold. Last year this un-broken tradition died out in a small blue flame, it was only a couple of degrees below Zero. Such is Tradition.
Loads of Wassailing info HERE
JohnB

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 05 Nov 10 - 04:39 AM

Wow... thanks Suibhne and John... I thought it was after Christmas in deep dark winter.

Very good links too

Wonder if there will be any 12th Night apple tree wassailing in Essex?

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 05 Nov 10 - 05:22 AM

Check YouTube too. Here's a couple - no shotguns, but lots of atmosphere!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUq91R17AAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcCJ_YaUn8s&feature=related

And this piece of local news reportage, featuring shotguns, black-face morris dancers, fakeloric speculations, Kate Rusby & pagan folk horror origins "...lost in the mists of time..." (no earlier than 1971 anyway!) but still great fun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lEugNiQmtg

Subject: RE: Folklore: Apple - lore, stories, history, sayings
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 05 Nov 10 - 05:46 AM

Bum... just reminded me how unlikely I am to take part in such fun...

grumble... rheumatoid arthritis... grumble....

I wanna go out in the cold dark night.... I wanna be a Morris Dancer.... so unfair.

Don't think they needed to overlay the finale with Kate Rusby in that news report. Would have been better to hear the attendants singing a wassail but hey... their call.