Illinois’ official state fruit is the GoldRush apple – a long-keeping, sweet and tart variety with a rich, spicy flavor. This greenish-yellow apple, which occasionally gains a golden bronze to red blush at harvest, was developed by the disease-resistant apple breeding program of the University of Illinois, Purdue University and Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Fun Facts About Apples
- A peck of apples weighs 10.5 pounds. A bushel of apples weighs about 42 pounds.
- A bushel will yield 20 to 24 quarts of applesauce.
- It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.
- More than 2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States, but only the crabapple is native to North America.
- Apples contain no fat, sodium or cholesterol and are a good source of fiber.
- Apple trees take four to five years to produce their first fruit.
- Apples harvested from an average tree can fill 20 boxes that weigh 42 pounds each.
- Apples ripen 6 to 10 times faster at room temperature than if they are refrigerated.
- Apple varieties range in size from a little larger than a cherry to as large as a grapefruit. The largest apple ever picked weighed three pounds.
- Apples are a member of the rose family.
- The top apple producers around the world are China, the United States, Turkey, Poland and Italy. Washington is the leading U.S. state in apple production.
- Apples account for 50% of international deciduous fruit tree production.
See more: From Blossom to Bushel: Midwest Apple Improvement Association Creates Tasty Apple Varieties
Click on the infographic below to download a PDF version.
Source: United States Apple Association, usapple.org
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