Yes, they protect your heart, provides your body with fiber, improves your overall health and makes you more.. beautiful. The truth is, that this deep red, juicy fruit from the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil.. can only benefit you! A small apple (100 g) contains about 47 calories and.. countless nutrients for your body. On the other hand, 25% of its “make up” consists of … air! It is for this exact reason that the apple can – besides its weight – float on water but make us full at the same time, without burdening your body! All of these things (plus so much more!) make apples a real treasure, which should definitely have a place in our daily lives. This is well known all over the world. So well known, that somewhere, in some corner of the earth, a different type of apple tree is growing. To be more exact, about 7.000 different varieties of apple trees are growing! This is an unimaginable number if you try to wrap your mind around it! So which are the most popular varieties?

• The Greek Firiki variety can be enjoyed in August. Also called “Centaur apples”. They are small in size with a yellowy-green skin color with red splashes in between.
• Red Delicious variety, with their deep red color.
• The very aromatic Golden Delicious variety, with a yellowy-green color, which ripen in September.
• The Granny Smith variety, with a sweet and sour taste and characteristic green color that you can enjoy in October.

Other varieties: Fuji, Gala and Belfor. Each one of them has their own special characteristics and their own special flavor. And how about our very own Greek varieties? Zagoras Piliou Apples, Kastorias Apples and the Delsious Pilafa Tripoleos.

When should they be planted?

The season apples are sowed depends on each variety and it is well known that the period begins in November and ends in March. This of course, provided that there is no frost and that the variety selected is coincides with the specific sowing period. It is preferable to plant trees and not apple seeds, since the plant will not turn out right (if it has been planted from seeds).

When are they in season?

Just like the sowing of apples, their ripening also depends on their variety and from the area they grow in. They are fruits that basically ripen from the end of the summer, up to the end of fall – without this meaning that we can’t find them almost all year round.

How to choose the best apples

Opt for hard apples with a bright color (red, green, yellow or the corresponding color of each variety), without bruises, rips or tears on the skin. Also make sure to wash them very well before eating. You can also use a special brush that is used to wash fruit and vegetables.

How to use them:

They are used everywhere and for many reasons! In foods, sweets, marmalades, salads, fruit salads, roasts, boiled and raw… In pies, tarts, or with meats… The combinations are truly countless and the flavors unique.

Storing secrets:

If you store them in the refrigerator, and specifically at 2-4* C (35-39* F), apples can stay fresh for about 2-3 months with just a small loss of their nutrients. The best place to store them is in the special fruit and vegetable zone. You can make the environment even better for the apples by adding a damp towel beneath them. Of course, if you own a good refrigerator that has been made with the latest technology, you can just skip this step and let your “smart” refrigerator do all of the work. Finally, do not leave any apples that have begun to spoil along with the rest and generally try to keep them away from intense odors, since they have the tendency to absorb smells. If stored out of the refrigerator, the life span of apples ranges between 2-4 weeks.

Nutritional analysis:

The values represent the percentages offered to cover the needs of most people which are 2000 kcal per day.
Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.