Apples are in full-season right now so let’s talk through some fun facts about this popular fruit.

1. Apple trees take 4-5 years to produce their first fruit.
2. It took over 30 years to develop the Honeycrisp apple.
3. Apples ripen faster on the counter than in the refrigerator.
4. There are more than 2,500 varieties of apples grown in the United States.
5. There are over 7,500 varieties of apples grown worldwide.
6. Did you know that 25% of an apple’s volume is air? That’s what makes them float.
7. Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman) was indeed a real person!
8. European pilgrims brought apples to Boston, Virginia, and the Southwest.
9. The Granny Smith apple was cultivated by a granny back in the 1800s in Australia. Her name was Mary Ann Smith.
10. The Red Delicious apple tree was discovered in Iowa.
11. Scientists that study and cultivate apples are called pomologists.
12. Depending on the type of apple, it takes the photosynthetic energy from 10-50 leaves to produce one apple.
13. Apples are from the rose family and are closely related to peaches and almonds.
14. A bushel of apples weighs about 42 pounds.
15. The fear of apples is known as Malusdomesticaphobia.
16.  To help prevent fresh apples from turning brown is to add a few squeezes of lemon juice or lime juice. This is to help prevent a process called oxidation.
17. Apples can help ripen other fruit with the ethylene gas they omit.
18. The heaviest apple ever recorded weighed four pounds.
19. Apple trees can live to be about 100 years old.
20. Apples are high in fiber, vitamin C, and various antioxidants.