Apples and ... apples
I was recently flipping through David Suzuki's Green Guide when I came across a section titled "An Apple's Ecological Footprint." Still feasting on what's left from the height of Canada's apple season, I always have these little round bits of crisp deliciousness on my mind. So naturally, I had to stop and read it.
In his Green Guide, Suzuki explains in layman's terms the ecological footprint of an imported apple. It obviously doesn't take much to imagine how many resources growing, transporting and assuring freshness of an apple takes. But what really made me stop and think was the idea that anyone here in Canada could purchase an imported apple. Take one of my favourite apples, the perfectly tart Empire apple - a cross between the yummy McIntosh and sometimes-too-sweet Red Delicious. When I bite into one of these apples that came right from my backyard (better known as Ontario), my taste buds sing with satisfaction.
Snacking on apples aren't the only joy I get from these Canadian gems, I also enjoy baking with them. Some favourite apple treats of mine are apple pie, apple muffins and apple crumble.
Currently, I'm lamenting over the fact that Canadian apples will soon be hard to come by until fall. Sigh.
Apple trivia: Did you know that the apple tree originated in Central Asia? Also, there are over 7,500 recorded varieties of apples.
Tags: apples, local food
February 1st, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Did you know that there are many people out there who have severe food sensitivity to apples? I haven't eaten a raw apple in almost 30 years. I get severe ear aches and pain shooting down into my neck when I eat raw apple. I love apples. I have not been diagnosed as having an apple allergy because my allergist would not do food allergy tests. He said there were too many false positives in food testing. Has this attitude changed and are there reliable tesings today that could confirm a positive or negative result on allergies to foods?