Apples
have been a very important food in all cooler climates,
and is probably the earliest tree to be cultivated. To
a greater degree than other tree fruit, except possibly
citrus, apples store for months while still retaining
much of their nutritive value. Winter apples, picked in
late autumn and stored just above freezing, have been
an important food in Asia and Europe for millennia, and
the United States since the arrival of Europeans. There
are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples. Different
cultivars are available for temperate and subtropical
climates. Apples do not flower in tropical climates because
they have a chilling requirement. Commercially-popular
apple cultivars are soft but crisp. |