Petrofka Bridge Orchard

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away  


APPLE FACTS

  • Apples come in all shades of reds, greens, yellows.
  • A medium apple (approx 2.5” in diameter) weighs 5 ounces.
  • The Prairie Sensation apple is 3 to 3.5 inches in diameter.
  • A medium apple has only 81 calories and a whopping 3.7 grams of fiber from pectin, a soluble fibre.
  • 25% of an apple’s volume is air.  That is why they float.
  • A mature dwarf apple tree (7 years old) can produce 40 to 50 lbs of apples.
  • There are 7500 varieties of apples are grown throughout the world.
  • 25% of apples are processed into juice and cider.
  • Apples are fat, sodium and cholesterol FREE.
  • The science of apple growing is called pomology.
  • Apple trees take four to five years to produce their first fruit.
  • The apple tree originated in an area between the Caspin and the Black Sea.
  • Apples were the favourite fruit of ancient Greeks and Romans.
  • Apples are a member of the rose family.
  • Canadians eat approximately 20 lbs of apples per year
  • Europeans eat approximately 46 lbs of apples per year
  • Most apple blossoms are pink when they open but gradually fade to white.
  • It takes the energy from 50 leaves to produce an apple
  • The world’s top apple producers are China, USA, Turkey, Poland and Italy.
  • Apples ripens six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated.
  • A bushel of apples weighs about 42 lbs - there is four pecks in a bushel.
  • It takes 14 to 18 lbs of apples to make one gallon or 4.546 L of cider.
  • One ton of apples is 48 bushels.
  • Small apples keep longer than large ones.

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Seek out the apples that have not been waxed.  Farmer’s market, your local orchard or Petrofka Bridge Orchard concession are the best place to buy them without paraffin.
  • If you can purchase local apples, it is sometimes the best way to avoid pesticides.
  • Unpeeled apples provide their most plentiful nutrients just under the skin.  Apples are a good source of potassium, folic acid and vitamin C.
  • It is suggested that you peel the skin off if the fruit is waxed.
  • Petrofka Bridge Orchard has calculated that drinking four ounces of our cider per day is like consuming “one apple a day”.
  • Dip peeled apples in lemon or salt water to prevent the flesh from darkening.

 

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

  • Due to high fiber content, apples are cited by health experts for their benefits in reducing the risk of heart attack.
  • The National Cancer Institute has reported that foods containing flavonoids like those found in apples may reduce the risk of lung cancer by as much as 50 percent.
  • A Finnish study published in 1996 showed that people who eat a diet rich in flavonoids have a lower incidence of heart disease.  Other studies indicate that flavonoids may help prevent strokes.
  • Condensed tannins are found in apples.  Tannins have anti-adhesion properties that may help prevent periodontal or gum disease because they inhibit some bacteria from bonding to each other and producing dental plaque.

 


Mike & Anne Noel www.PetrofkaOrchard.com (306)497-2234 designed by