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NATHANIEL STEVENS
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2 Design and Layout by Nathaniel Stevens Text by Nathaniel Stevens (Some text and content has been taken from various sources without the consent of the original author) Illustrations by Nathaniel Stevens Apples and New York Photography by Nathaniel Stevens Photographs and reproductions in ‘The Art Of Love’ section by Unknown Typefaces: Culture Avenir Next Century 751 Pages printed on G.F. Smith - Neenah Environment PC100 Natural
A Book on the History and Rich Symbolism of One of the Most Common Foods on the Planet, the
APPLE
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CONTENTS 8 15 18 21 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40
9 Million Years Ago Apples Today Most Popular Varieties Apple Names Anatomy of the Apple Nutritional Information Health Benefits Global Production A Brief History of Eating Apples Etymology, Proverbs & Sayings Cider: The History of Cider Cider Production Wassailing
A IS FOR MYTH 44 46 50 52 54 56 58
Greek Myths: The 11th Labour of Hercules The Race For Atlanta The Fairest of them All Norse Mythology: The Kidnapping of Idun Arthurian Legend: King Arthur and the Isle of Avalon
A IS FOR LOVE 64 68
Celtic, Greek and Pagan Traditions The Art of Love
A IS FOR FOLKLORE 74 78 80
Sir Isaac Newton William Tell Johnny Appleseed
A IS FOR MODERN WORLD 86 92
The Big Apple A Byte of the Apple
A IS FOR SIN 96
The Fall of Man
A IS FOR DEATH 102 104
The Loss of Innocence The Death of Alan Turing
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Apples have been eaten by animals for millions of years, but once humans started to graft apple trees and spread the fruit around the world, the flavours and varieties changed forever.
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MILLION YEARS AGO...
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The original wild ancestor of Malus domestica our domesticated apple, was Malus sieversii. These first apples were believed to have originated in Eurasia between 9 and 7 million years ago, millions of years before their domestication by humans. It was believed that Megafauna distributed the seeds of the apples, large mammals that could eat the whole fruit. Before the end of the last Ice Age, there were many more large mammals on the European landscape, such as wild horses and large deer. Since the extinction of many of these animals, the dispersal of seeds was diminished. Wild apple populations appear to have
survived the Ice Age through glacial refugial zones such as areas now known as modern France, Germany and Italy, suggesting that these plants have not been moving over long distances or colonising new areas in the absence of their original seed-spreaders. Wild apple tree populations were isolated after the end of the last Ice Age, until humans started moving the fruits across Eurasia, in particular along the Silk Road starting from the Tien Shan Mountains of Kazakhstan between 4000 and 10,000 years ago. Apples in the UK are said
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“Seeing that fruits are evolutionary adaptations for seed dispersal, the key to understanding fruit evolution rests in understanding what animals were eating the fruits in the past,” - Dr. Robert N. Spengler
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to have been eaten as early as 3000 BCE and have been growing wild since the Neolithic period (4000 to 2500 BCE). Many of the modern day varieties originated at this time when humans brought these apple trees and seeds back into contact with each other again, bees and other pollinators did the rest of the work. The results were hybrid trees, which had larger fruits, a common result of hybridisation. Humans noticed the larger fruiting trees and capitalised on their favourite trees by grafting parts of them onto other trees and by planting cuttings. Thus, the apples we know today were primarily not developed through a long process of the selection and propagation of seeds from the most favoured trees, but rather through hybridisation and grafting. This process may have been relatively rapid and parts of it were likely unintentional. The fact that apple trees are hybrids and not “properly” domesticated is why we often end up with a crabapple tree when we plant an apple seed
“Ultimately, the apple in your kitchen appears to owe its existence to extinct megafaunal browsers and Silk Road merchants.”
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APPLES TODAY
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There are 7500 different varieties of apples found across the globe.
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Many of these apples are a result of hybridisation and on some trees several varieties can be grafted onto the same root system.
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MOST POPULAR APPLE VARIETIES IN THE UK
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(According to a YouGov poll)
2nd
Granny Smith
1st
Pink Lady Sharp
Sweet
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Category: Firm-sweet Best Use: Eating and baking Cross Between: Golden Delicious and Lady Williams
Australia
Taste: Banana-like qualities, very floral and fruity with a sweet and mild tropical flavour Texture: Very juicy Season: November - July
Australia Sharp
Sweet
Category: Firm-tart Best Use: Baking Taste: A very sour flavour but has a sweet finish. The classic apple taste that you’d expect from appleflavoured foods. Texture: Crisp and moderately juicy Season: August - July
3rd
(Royal) Gala
Red Delicious
New Zealand
United States of America
Sweet
Category: Tender-sweet Best Use: Eating Cross Between: Golden Delicious and Kidd’s Orange Red Taste: Watery and not too sweet, with an astringent acetone after-taste Texture: Thin-skinned and juicy Season: August - July
Sharp
4th
Braeburn
New Zealand Sharp
Sweet
Category: Firm-sweet Best Use: Eating Taste: Mild, aromatic, classically sweet and almost caramelized in flavour Texture: Very juicy but slightly pithy, lacking crunch Season: October - July
Sweet
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Sharp
5th
Category: Firm-sweet Best Use: Eating, unsuitable for cooking due to lack of flavour Taste: Bland, watery, undistinguished flavours Texture: Mealy, soft Season: August - July
All of these apples on the list don’t have their origins in the UK with most coming from Australasia, however these varieties are now grown in the UK, for example the UK now produces 60,000 tonnes of the New Zealand Gala apples each year.
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POPULAR BRITISH VARIETIES
Knobby Russet
Blenheim Orange
West Sussex, England
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Woodstock, England
Cox’s Orange Pippin
Colnbrook, England
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Discovery Essex, England
Armagh Bramley
County Armagh, Northern Ireland
1. Nonnetit Bastard
6. Ribston Pippin
2. Bloody Ploughman
7. Tower of Glamis
3. Catshead
8. Peasgood’s Nonsuch
4. Dog’s Snout
9. Cockpit Improved
5. Pixie Crunch
10. Kentish Filbasket
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With so many varieties of apples across the globe, some apple variety names are getting more and more inventive and weird, here are a few of my favourites:
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ANATOMY OF THE APPLE
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1/STEM 2/SKIN 3/FLESH 4/SEED 5/CORE 6/CALYX
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NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
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Nutrient
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Calories (Kcals) Water (g) Protein (g) Total Fat (g) Saturated Fat (g) Polyunsaturated Fat (g) Monounsaturated Fat (g) Carbohydrates (g) Total Sugars (g) Glucose Fructose Sucrose Fibre (AOAC) (g) Fibre (NSP) (g) Pectin (g) Sodium (NA) (g) Salt dietary equivalents (g)
Per medium apple (150g) 77 129 0.9 0.8 0.2 0.3 17.4 17.4 3.2 8.9 2.6 1.8 2 ~ 0.75 0.0015 0.004
%RDI 4% 2% 1% 1% 7% 19% 6% (30g) 0%
Potassium (mg) Calcium (mg) Magnesium (mg) Phosphorus (mg) Iron (mg) Copper (mg) Zinc (mg) Chloride (mg) Manganese (mg) Selenium (µg) Iodine (µg)
Vitamins Vitamin A (retinol) (µg) Vitamin D (µg) Vitamin E (mg) Vitamin K (µg) Thiamin (mg) Vitamin B1 Riboflabin (mg) Vitamin B2 Niacin (mg) Vitamin B3 Vitamin B6 (mg) Vitamin B12 (µg) Folate (µg) Vitamin B9 Panthothenic Acid (mg) Vitamin B5 Biotin (µg) Vitamin C (mg)
Per medium apple (150g) 150 7.5 6 12 0.2 0.05 66 6
Per medium apple (150g) 21 0 0.14 8.4 0.06 0.06 0.2 0.11 0 0 0.2 1.7 9
%RDI 8% <1% 2% 2% 1% 5% 0% 8% 0% 0% 4%
%RDI 0% 0% 1% 11% 6% 4% 1% 8% 0% 0% 3% 3% 11%
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Minerals
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HEALTH BENEFITS A Public Health Announcement from the HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
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Apples are rich in quercetin and pectin, both of which are credited for supplying apples with their health benefits. Quercetin is a flavonoid, a type of naturally occurring plant chemical that has antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects. Pectin is a type of soluble fibre that may help prevent constipation and have a modest effect on lowering LDL, the “bad” cholesterol. Pectin is also fermented by beneficial bacteria in the colon, which produces short chain fatty acids that may play a role in the prevention of chronic diseases, including certain cancers and bowel disorders.
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Fresh, whole apples offer the most nutrients. Discarding the skin removes much of the fibre and the majority of flavonoids. Dehydrating or drying the apples removes vitamin C, which is predominantly in the flesh. In addition, sugar (along with
extra calories) is often added to dried apples. Clear apple juice undergoes filtering and pasteurization, which removes most of the flavonoids and fibres. Overall research shows a benefit when adding apples to the diet. The studies below looked at the health effects of apples in the diet over time, or examined the effects of specific phytochemicals in apples. Cardiovascular health. Animal studies have shown that plant chemicals, particularly in the apple peel, combined with pectin fibre can help to protect against free radical damage in the heart and blood vessels and have cholesterol-lowering effects. Human intervention studies using fresh apples, fresh unpasteurised and unfiltered apple juice, or apple supplements show
Population studies on coronary heart disease and flavonoid intake, including quercetin from apples, also show mixed results: • A study of more than 66,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study found that, when comparing the highest and lowest intakes of flavonoids, there was no difference in rates of heart attack or deaths from heart disease.
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A cohort study following almost 75,000 Swedish men and women for 10 years found a significant association: lower risk of stroke was seen in the group with the highest intakes of apples compared with the lowest intakes.
Type 2 diabetes. The antioxidant effect of flavonoids in apples may protect cells from damage in the pancreas, an organ responsible for secreting insulin in response to extra sugar in the blood. An epidemiological study of more than 38,000 women in the Women’s Health Study followed for almost nine years supported a beneficial relation between apple intake and risk of type 2 diabetes. Those who ate one or more apples a day had a 28% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those who ate none. Although the study established a link with apples in the diet, it did not show an association when examining specific flavonoids like quercetin.
Weight control. The fibres in apples can slow digestion, helping one to feel greater satisfaction after eating. After following three large prospective cohorts of 133,468 men and women for 24 years, researchers found that higher intakes of fibre-rich fruits with a low glycaemic load, particularly apples and pears, were associated with the least amount of weight gain over time. Eating low glycaemic load foods tends to produce fewer and smaller spikes in blood sugar, which may lessen hunger later on and prevent overeating. Cancer: The phytochemicals and fibre in apples have antioxidant effects that may protect a cell’s DNA from oxidative damage, which is a precursor to cancer. Animal and cell studies have found that these chemicals can prevent new cancer cells from growing and the spread of existing cancer cells. Results from human studies are mixed, depending on the type of study performed. • Specific cancers: Evidence suggests that a decreased risk of lung cancer with higher intakes of all fruits (including apples) applies mainly to smokers and former smokers. In a meta-analysis of 41 case-control and cohort studies found that when comparing the highest with lowest levels of apple intake, there was a lower risk of lung cancer in both types of studies. It also found a lower risk of colorectal, breast, and digestive tract cancers in the case-control studies but not cohort studies. Other epidemiological studies have shown a small association of higher intakes of fruit and a lower risk of colon and upper digestive tract cancers (e.g., oesophageal, mouth, larynx)
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mixed results, showing no effect or other times lowering cholesterol. A review of five clinical trials noted the effects of fruits on cardiovascular diseases, and found an improvement in cardiovascular parameters (decreased triglycerides and LDL cholesterol) with intakes of whole fresh apples or dried apples, though not with apple juice.
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REST OF THE WORLD
26.2 million tonnes per year 30.8%
*The UK Ranks 28th with an annual production of 450,000 tonnes.
INDIA
2.3 million tonnes per year 2.6%
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2.4 million tonnes per year 2.7%
IRAN
2.5 million tonnes per year 2.8%
TURKEY
3.6 million tonnes per year
4.1%
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POLAND
4 million tonnes per year
4.6%
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Million Tonnes Produced per Year (2018)
CHINA
40 million tonnes per year 46.5%
USA
5 million tonnes per year
5.8%
GLOBAL APPLE PRODUCTION
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF EATING APPLES One of the earliest ways of preserving apples was to dry them, either peeled, unpeeled, cored and cut into pieces or slices. These pieces were then hung up using a needle and thread around a chimney or fire and left for about a week to thoroughly dry out. Once dried the apples could last for years.
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The Apple Pie originated in England with culinary influences from France, the Netherlands and the Ottoman Empire with the first recipe recorded in 1381. It first appeared in the American cookbook ‘American Cookery’ by Amelia Simmons, published in 1796, where it’s popularity grew to become one of the most recognisable symbols of Americana alongside the Ford Truck. England - 1381: The earliest Apple Pie Recipe in the World
FOR TO MAKE Tak gode Applys and gode Spycis and Figys and reyfons and Perys and wan they are wel ybrayed coloured wyth Safron wel and do yt in a cofyn and do yt forth to bake wel.
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TARTYS IN APPLIS.
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ETYMOLOGY, PROVERBS & SAYINGS
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ETYMOLOGY
PROVERBS
The word apple, formerly spelled æppel in Old English, is derived from the Proto-Germanic root ap(a)laz. European languages including Greek, Latin, English and French used to use the word apple to describe all hanging fruit containing seeds and even nuts right the way up until the 17th century. The exact transition and reason for the apple we know today to carry this name is unclear, however there has been speculation that as apples were easier to keep over long periods of time and were more readily available, the connection to that word became synonymous to that fruit, in the same way brands represent items, such as sellotape for clear adhesive tape, biro for a ball point pen and hoover for a vacuum cleaner.
One of the two partners always bites the best part of the apple. - Indian One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel. - English Adam ate the apple, and our teeth still ache. - Hungarian The apple does not fall far from the tree. - Traditional You can count the apples on a tree but you can’t count the trees from one apple. - Gypsy An apple never falls far from the tree. - English Good looking apples are sometimes sour. - Dutch If you want apples, you have to shake the trees. - Bulgarian A stone from the hand of a friend is an apple. - Mauritanian When the apple is ripe it will fall. - Irish Sometimes it is better to give your apple away than to eat it yourself. - Italian No apple tree is immune from worms. - Russian
Because the word apple meant all fruit other fruits used to contain the word apple, for example, the banana used to be referred to as the Apple of Paradise.
SAYINGS An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away Meaning: an expression often used to emphasise the importance of eating fruits and vegetables regularly.
As Sure As God Made Little Green Apples Meaning: to express absolute certainty that something is going to happen.
The Apple Of My Eye Meaning: used to describe a person that you cherish or favour.
To Upset The Applecart Meaning: to ruin carefully laid out plans.
Like Comparing Apples To Oranges Meaning: making an unfair comparison or comparing to things that are not similar at all. To Be American As Apple Pie Meaning: to live a life that is often stereotypically American Green Apple Quickstep Meaning: diarrhoea. How Do You Like Them Apples? Meaning: often it is used after a recent triumph to express that one’s idea is superior. It can also be used after a statement to convey the idea that you are not going to change and the person has to accept it. Road Apple Meaning: horse manure. One Smart Apple Meaning: used to describe a smart or clever person.
Apple-Polisher Meaning: a flatterer. Second Bite Of The Apple Meaning: to be given a second chance or opportunity to do something. To Trade Off The Orchard For An Apple Meaning: used to describe a person who instead of looking at the big picture is overly concerned about the small unimportant details. A Wise Apple Meaning: a person who has the reputation of being sarcastic.
The term ‘Adam’s Apple’ is in reference to the story of the fall of man in the Bible where a piece of the forbidden fruit from The Tree Of Knowledge of Good and Evil got stuck in Adam’s throat after he took a bite
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Apple Pie Order Meaning: to be in a neat or well-organised state.
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Cider is one of the most popular drinks in the world, in America, cider refers to any fruit drink that has not been filtered in any way, however in the UK and Europe, Cider refers to the fermented and alcoholic drink made from apples, that can be filtered or not . Cider has a huge impact on apple production in the UK, with 56% of all apples grown going into making this delicious drink.
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CIDER
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THE HISTORY OF CIDER As told by Jane Peyton
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Cider was consumed in the Roman empire, ancient Greece and the Middle East and the name itself probably derives from the Hebrew shekar or Greek sikera meaning ‘strong drink’. There is evidence that Celts in Britain made cider from crab apples as long ago as 3000 BCE, but the Roman invasion introduced apple cultivars and orcharding techniques to England. After the end of Roman occupation and once the Dark Ages began there is little information about cider in Britain, although cider-drinking Vikings and Anglo-Saxons colonised in this period so we can assume that apples were still being pressed and the juice fermented.
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After the Normans invaded in 1066 they improved cidermaking in Britain forever by introducing tannic and acidic cider apples. They planted orchards and brought advanced pressing technology with them to make the
extraction of juice from apples more efficient. Norman means ‘North Man’, and many of them were Vikings that had moved south from Scandinavia in the early ninth century. Vikings were keen cider drinkers and this explains why in France, a land dominated by wine, there is a proud tradition of cider in Normandy, which exists to this day. By the beginning of the fourteenth century, cider was being made in almost every county in England as far north as Yorkshire. As agriculture and market gardening increased during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, so did orcharding and cider-making on a commercial basis. Soil conditions and climates in counties such as Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Somerset suited apple cultivation perfectly, and even today the West Country is the leading cider-producing region. It’s also home to the world’s largest cider maker HP Bulmer.
37 Between the fourteenth and nineteenth century Western Europe underwent The Little Ice Age. Apples can survive cooler temperatures whereas grapes need a warmer climate, and so began a golden age for cider at the expense of wine. Two political factors had a major impact. War with France and Spain interrupted wine, brandy and sherry imports into England, while the English Civil War and subsequent execution of King Charles I in 1649 made aristocratic courtiers redundant. They retired to their country estates and some of them started experimenting with cider, cross-pollination of apple cultivars, glassware and corks. There is evidence that seventeenth-century cider-makers were producing sparkling cider using a secondary fermentation in reinforced glass bottles sealed with corks on papers stored in the archive of the Royal Society in London. The significance of this is that they were doing it before the man widely credited as inventing
Champagne, Dom Perignon, was born. West Country cider-makers were the precursors of one of France’s greatest sources of national pride. During the Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815) British farmers were pressured into producing grain and livestock to ensure a domestic supply. Consequently, cider orchards were neglected. As nineteenth-century commercial cider producers increased in size, small farmers started selling their apple-growing land to those powerful businesses. Ancient orchards were destroyed and with them old cider apple cultivars. By the 1960s big producers were using fewer tannin-rich, intensely flavoursome apple varieties, preferring apples that would make easy-drinking and unchallenging cider. This meant that once again heritage apple cultivars were lost
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A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO
CIDER PRODUCTION
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Choosing and harvesting apples
Most traditional English cider is blended, using a mix of bittersharp and bittersweet varieties to give a balanced drink with plenty of “body” (from the tannins). Popular Apple Varieties: Bittersharp varieties: Herefordshire Redstreak, Kingston Black, Stoke Red Bittersweet varieties: Dabinett, Harry Masters Jersey, Yarlington Mill Sweet varieties: Morgan Sweet, Ashmead’s Kernel Sharp varieties: Bramley’s Seedling, Grenadier, Tom Putt Cider apples are optimally harvested when ripe to ensure all sugars are available for fermentation and that the full spectrum of flavours are available.
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When apples arrive from the orchards, they will be graded, washed and sorted. They are then milled and pressed to maximise juice extraction. In most traditions, cider milling traditionally takes place in two stages: first, milling or grinding the apples into a pulpy mass called pulp, and a second stage, pressing the pulp to release the juice or “must”. The remaining solids after juice extraction is “pomace” or “pommage”.
STEP 2
Milling and Pressing
Fermentation
Not all cider will go though the maturing stage however simply put, it is a process of gentle oxidation where the tannins and acid begin to give way to secondary flavours as the primary fruit flavours of fermentation fall away, it is a chance for this ‘young’ cider to sit and develop its range of complex flavours and aromas, in oak barrels for example; a process taking anywhere from a few weeks to many months.
STEP 5 Blending
Carbonation and packaging
Maturing
Depending on the fermentation process and if extra ingredients such as tannins are added at that stage, blending is where different ciders are blended to create the desired balance of bitter and sweet flavours and aromas. This process is completely dependent on the desired style of cider that the producer is looking to make.
Many traditional ciders such as scrumpy are left unfiltered and hazy however this optional step is for filtering out all of the leftover pulp, sediment and yeast to create a clear bright cider, which is how most commercial ciders are treated.
STEP 7
STEP 4
STEP 6 Filtration
Again this is an optional step, while packaging the cider, it can be left still, be carbonated and kegged for draught or packaged in bottles and cans.
STEP 8
Drink and enjoy.
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STEP 3
The naturally sugar-rich apple juice is placed into fermentation vessels. The introduction of wild, or cultured yeasts, will convert all of the sugar present in the juice into alcohol. The cider is left to ferment at a temperature between 20-27°C for about 5 to 14 days or until the yeast has converted all the sugars to alcohol.
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WASSAILING This pagan tradition dictated that at the beginning of each year, the lord of the manor would greet the assembled multitude with the toast waes hael, meaning “be well” or “be in good health”, to which his followers would reply drink hael, or “drink well”. The Wassailing celebrations generally take place on the Twelfth Night, 5th January, however the more traditional still insist in celebrating it on ‘Old Twelvey’, or the 17th January, this was the original date for wassailing before the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1752. This ancient custom is still practised across the country today, and is particularly popular in the cider-producing areas of England, such as Somerset, Devon, Herefordshire, Kent and Sussex. The celebrations vary from region to region, but generally involve a wassail King and Queen leading the assembled group of revellers, comprising the farmers, farm workers and general villagers, in a noisy procession from one orchard to the next. In each orchard the wassailers gather round the biggest and best tree, and as a gift to the tree spirits, the Queen places a piece of cider or beer soaked toast onto the bows of the trees to feed and thank the
trees for giving apples. This is partly where the term to ‘toast’ someone comes from. During these processions between orchards, those involved would drink from the communal wassail pot, a large vessel that would be full of warm spiced cider and drunk in celebration of the new year and to the anticipation of that years harvest. As well as singing to the trees, people would also go doorto-door singing songs to their friends and neighbours, this tradition has evolved in what we would consider to be carolling today. Examples of songs sung by revellers:
“Apple tree, apple tree we all come to wassail thee, Bear this year and next year to bloom and blow, Hat fulls, cap fulls, three cornered sacks fulls” “Here we come a-wassailing Among the leaves so green, Here we come a-wassailing, So fair to be seen: Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail too, And God bless you and send you, A happy New Year, And God send you, A happy new year.”
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The wassailing, or blessing of the fruit trees, most commonly involves going to apple orchards and singing to the health of the trees in the hope that they will provide a bountiful harvest in the autumn. As well as singing, revellers make a racket by banging pots and pans, and even firing shotguns, generally making as much noise as possible in order to both waken the sleeping tree spirits, and to ward off evil demons that could be hiding in the branches and affect the fruit.
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Apples have been used in myths and legends from as far back as the ancient Greeks, with the Golden Apples of Gaia, Norse apples of Idun and the Isle of Avalon.
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MYTHS
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GREEK MYTHS
The Golden Apples in the Garden of Hesperides promised immortality and anyone who ate them would never again experience hunger, thirst, suffering or illness. These apples were given as a wedding gift to Hera and Zeus from Gaia and were protected by the great Ladon, a 100 headed dragon. The Hesperides, demi earth goddesses or nymphs and daughters of the Titan, Atlas, tended the Apples as well as the rest of the Garden. The Garden itself rested in an inaccessible spot near the edge of the world under the power of the Olympians.
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MYTHS
After 8 years and one month of performing 10 superhuman labours, King Eurystheus demanded two more labours from Hercules as he did not count the slaying of Hydra and the cleaning of King Augean’s Stables as properly done. So for the 11th Labour Eurystheus set that Hercules bring him 3 Golden Apples from the Garden of Hesperides.
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THE 11TH LABOUR OF HERCULES
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The apples from the Garden of Hesperides belonged to Zeus and were given to him as a wedding gift. The exact location of the Garden and the Apples was unknown to Hercules and all he knew was that it was at the northern edge of the world. He knew it was heavily guarded not only by the hundred-headed dragon, Ladon, but also by the Hesperides, nymphs who were daughters of Atlas, the titan who held the sky and the earth upon his shoulders.
sky and the earth and hated that he was bound to do this forever. Hercules carried on his journey and managed to kill Ladon. He then went to Atlas and proposed to him that if he went to collect the apples for Hercules, then Hercules would hold up the earth and the sky for him, giving him much needed respite. Atlas agreed and left to collect the apples, leaving Hercules with the weight of the earth and sky on his back.
First Hercules had to find out where the garden was, he travelled across north Africa and Asia, battling and having adventures on the way until he met Neresus, the Old Man of the Sea, who knew the garden’s secret location. Nereus transformed himself into all kinds of shapes, trying to escape, but Hercules held tight and didn’t release Nereus until he got the information he needed.
When Atlas returned with the golden apples, he told Hercules he would take them to King Eurystheus himself, and asked Hercules to stay there and hold the heavy load for the rest of time. Hercules slyly agreed, but asked Atlas whether he could take it back again, just for a moment, while the hero put some soft padding on his shoulders to help him bear the weight of the sky and the earth. Atlas put the apples on the ground, and lifted the burden onto his own shoulders. So Hercules picked up the apples and quickly ran off, carrying them back, uneventfully, to Eurystheus. After the ordeal, Athena took the Apples from Eurystheus and returned them to the Garden, anticlimactically.
Hercules came to the rock on Mount Caucasus where he found Prometheus chained to the mountain. Prometheus, was a trickster who made fun of the gods and stole the secret of fire from them. As punishment he was sentenced by Zeus to a horrible fate. He was bound to the mountain, and every day a monstrous eagle came and ate his liver, pecking away at Prometheus’ tortured body. After the eagle flew off, Prometheus’ liver grew back, and the next day he had to endure the eagle’s painful visit all over again. This went on for 30 years, until Hercules showed up and killed the eagle. As thanks, Prometheus told Hercules the secret to getting the apples. He would have to send Atlas after them, instead of going himself. Atlas was tired holding up the
The trials of Hercules to obtain the Golden Apples only for them to be promptly taken away from Eurystheus are representative of the futility of attempting to attain immortality. It is a lesson to show that immortality only belongs to the gods and not to mere mortals
MYTHS
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MYTHS
Atalanta was the daughter of Iasus and Clymene however as a child, she was raised by a bear and taught the skills of the hunt. She proved more skilful than all the hunters who trained her and she quickly became famous throughout Greece, not only for her prowess as a huntress but also as being able to run faster than any man. She was reluctant to get married as there was a prophesy that this would be her downfall, but when she did promise to wed, it had to be the first man who could outrun her. But there was little hope of that happening and she did not want to give up the freedom she had living wild in the forest. Hippomenes fell in love with her but knew he could not beat her in a straight race so he prayed to Aphrodite for help. She gave him three apples made of gold and told him to use them. Hippomenes declared his love to Atalanta and challenged her to a race, to which she agreed. During the race he tossed one of the apples in front of her every time she would pass him. Each time she would stop to pick up
the mysterious fruit. They proved to be extremely heavy and each apple slowed her down. In the end Hippomenes defeated her, but only by a single stride. After they wed, Atalanta had him turned into a lion so that he could be by her side during the hunt. Hippomenes was supposed to pay penance to Aphrodite in return for her help and forgot afterward, so she turned them both into lions as punishment for his lack of appreciation. In the end, the prophecy of Atalanta’s downfall came true. In this story, the apples symbolise selfishness and distraction. Atalanta, though attached to her freedom as a virgin huntress, could not resist golden fruit that were thrown in her path. Once she picked them up, she was not able to put them down and that, ultimately cost her the race. This greed was Atalanta’s flaw. When Hippomenes neglected to pay tribute to Aphrodite, the apples are given increased symbolism as objects of greed and selfishness. Hippomenes’ desire for Atalanta caused him to call on Aphrodite, his only hope of obtaining his bride
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THE RACE FOR ATALANTA
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THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL
MYTHS
Eris, the goddess of discord had not been invited to the wedding of Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis due to her disruptive nature. In her rage of being left out she gate crashed the wedding feast and on the table, threw one of the coveted golden apples, on the side of this apple was inscribed “to the fairest one”.
Zeus was not keen on making this decision and so gave the apple to Hermes and told him to find Paris of Troy, the fairest man alive. Paris had demonstrated his exemplary fairness previously when he awarded a prize unhesitatingly to Ares after the god, in bull form, had bested his own prize bull.
Three goddesses claimed that the apple must be for them, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, they brought the apple to Zeus and asked his to decide which should have the apple.
The job was now Paris’ to make the decision. The three goddesses promised bribes to help him make his decision, Hera offered him power and the chance to be king of
53 Europe and Asia, Athena offered wisdom, wealth and skill in battle and finally, Aphrodite offered him love from the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. Paris chose Aphrodite and so claimed the hand of Helen of Sparta, Aphrodite then made Helen fall in love with Paris and go with him to Troy, however she was already married to King Menelaus of Sparta. When Paris Took Helen from Menelaus, it was a declaration of war and so the decade long siege of Troy and the Trojan war began which lead to the ultimate destruction of both Paris and his city of Troy.
In this tale the apple comes to represent vanity, for it was the desire of the of the three goddesses to be “the fairest one”, to assume that they were the most beautiful and so most deserving. This vanity spilled out into a war that engulfed both the gods and the mortal world, and cost many gods and mortals their lives. Finally, if Eris had been invited to the party, rather than cast out for being disruptive, then perhaps all of this could have been avoided in the first place
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NORSE MYTHOLOGY
Idun is the Norse goddess of spring and rejuvenation, she is married to Bragi, the god of poetry but most importantly, she is the keeper of the golden apples of immortality. The Norse Gods are not immortal and rely on these apples keep them young, beautiful, strong and to maintain their powers.
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THE KIDNAPPING OF IDUN
MYTHS
Once when Odin, Loki and Hoenir were on a journey far from Asgard, while trekking through the mountains they became too hungry to continue and so stopped to set up camp. Loki managed to kill an Ox and Odin and Hoenir built a fire. No matter how long they kept the ox on the fire, the meat would not cook and remained raw. The gods were perplexed until they heard an eagle in the sky tell them that he had put a curse on the feast and the ox would not cook unless they agreed to allow the eagle to take a share of the meat. The gods reluctantly agreed and the eagle swooped down and took a hefty share of the bounty. Loki was outraged at the audacity of the eagle and felt that it had broken their agreement, so he took a branch and swiped at the eagle. The eagle grabbed one end of the branch and launched into the air with Loki still attached to the other end. While airborne
the eagle revealed his true identity to be the giant Thjazi, fearing for his life, Loki made a deal with the giant to let him go, under the condition that Loki would bring Thjazi Idun and her golden apples of immortality. When back in Asgard, Loki approached Idun and told her that he had found fruits even more magical than hers and tricked her into following him into the forest, where Thjazi in eagle form was waiting. Thjazi took Idun in his talons and left for his fortress in Jotenheim. As time passed in Asgard all the gods were beginning to get old and weak without Idun’s apples, they grew grey and weary. They summoned a committee to try and ascertain what had happened to Idun, and it came to light that she had last been seen leaving Asgard with
57 Loki. Loki was brought before the council and threatened him with all manner of pain if he did not reveal what had happened to the goddess. Loki cracked and told them what had happened, he was then given an ultimatum, to rescue Idun or be killed. Loki decided to save the goddess and with the help of some hawk feathers, managed to change himself into a hawk and head to Jotenheim. When he arrived at the castle he was relieved to find that Thjazi the giant was out fishing and Idun was in the castle alone. He quickly seized the opportunity and turned Idun into a nut and grabbed her in his talons and made haste back to Asgard. When Thjazi returned to find Idun gone, he knew that only Loki would have been able to retrieve her. He turned himself into an eagle once more with a flap of his wings he went after Loki and his prize.
As Loki was approaching Asgard, Thjazi was right behind him and catching up fast, others in Asgard could see Loki coming and built a pile of kindling and wood shavings at the boundary of the city. As soon as Loki flew over the boundary the people lit the fire and the flames shot into the air. Thjazi was travelling at such a speed that he was not able to stop himself flying through the flames that rose into the air, scorching his wings and bringing him to the ground. The Asgardians quickly killed the eagle and ensured the safety of Idun. After Idun’s return she was able to give out her rejuvenating apples once more and restore the gods to their glory
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MYTHS
Avalon is the mythical island connected to the legend of King Arthur, it is also known as the Isle of Apples as the Celtic word Avallo, Old Irish aball, Middle Breton avallenn and Middle Welsh afall all refer to the apple.
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KING ARTHUR AND THE ISLE OF AVALON
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60 Once again the apple in these stories is likely to represent immortality, similar to that of the Norse or Greek myths. The island’s legendary healing powers were said to restore King Arthur after he was mortally injured at the Battle of Camlann while fighting Mordred. The legends tell that he was placed on a barge and taken to the island of Avalon. While there, King Arthur was healed and nourished back to health. It is said that King Arthur still remains there, alive, and will one day return when England needs him the most. His sword, Excalibur, was forged there too, according to Arthurian authors.
MYTHS
The island was first mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae or History of the Kings of Britain, written in 1136 AD. From these first writings of this island it has sparked many more legends and stories.
According to the original legend, Avalon was an island full of wild apple trees, grapevines, and grain plants, which grew there instead of wild plants. The inhabitants of the island were also said to have very long lifespans because the people did not have to farm and lived out an idyllic existence. One of the more popular speculations of the location of the Isle of Apples is Glastonbury town and tor in Somerset. Although it is not an island today, Glastonbury is on higher ground and used to be surrounded by marsh, making it a veritable island, with the only access being a boardwalk across the marsh to the town. In fact, the name of the county it resides in, Somerset, is named as such as after the summer months, much of the Somerset levels would flood and spend the winter months underwater. Until
61 1539, Avalon was thought to be the site of Glastonbury Abbey. Glastonbury Abbey is a famous pilgrimage site associated with early Christianity as well as the Arthurian legends. According to local legends, the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea and visited by Jesus himself. Glastonbury became associated with the Arthurian legends when, in 1190 AD, the monks claimed that they had found the tomb of King Arthur and his wife Guinevere, as well as a cross carving which identified the tomb as such. This discovery brought many pilgrims who came to see the tomb of King Arthur. Other speculations place the island as the Isle Of Man because of its association with Celtic Emain Ablach which roughly translates “island of apple trees.” The island was said to be a realm of healing where youth was eternal and
where there was no winter. Legends say it also contained large forests of wild apple trees. This close similarity to the story of Avalon and it’s association with apple trees and healing seems reasonable to suggest that the Arthurian idea of Avalon was inspired by the earlier Celtic myth about Emain Ablach. As no tangible physical evidence of Avalon really exists, it remains in the realms of other worlds and perhaps in the myths of King Arthur and when he was taken to Avalon, he was taken to an entirely new world
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From its depictions in artwork with Cupid, Venus and Aphrodite, the apple has often been associated with love and fertility.
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This is only one of many examples of how apples have been used as a symbol of love over the centuries. In ancient Greece it was said that if a man threw an apple to a maiden, it was his declaration of love to her and if she caught it, or at least attempted to, then his love was reciprocated. It was also believed that the apple was a symbol of abundance and fertility and so it was customary on the wedding night for the bride to eat an apple ensuring sexual desire, fertility to birth children and abundance within the marriage. Apples are often associated with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, this may well have been because Paris decided to give her the golden apple in exchange for the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. Because of this exchange, apples have taken up the mantle of being the symbol of love and desire. Finally, although not necessarily a gesture of love but more of appreciation, a shiny red apple was often given by students to their favourite teachers.
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Allantide was a Celtic festival held on the 31st October, one of the most important parts of the festival would be the giving and receiving of Allan apples, large glossy highly polished red apples. For those that were unmarried, these shiny apples would be placed under their pillows every night, as it was believed that it would make you dream about who your future wife or husband would be.
A IS FOR In paganism the apple is referred to as ‘The All’. This is due to the apple being seen as the fruit of mother earth and it’s connections to other religions and myths such as
the fruit of Adam and Eve, Norse and Greek mythology. It has two main functions of symbolism and this is down to the arrangement of seeds inside the apple.
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The 5-Pointed Star
LOVE
If you slice an apple horizontally and look at the cross section, you will notice that the seed are laid out as a 5-pointed star. The 5 pointed star or pentagram has many symbolic meanings in paganism. First of all it is a symbol of humanity, as each point represents each extremity of the human body, 2 arms, 2 legs and the head, think of the Vitruvian Man example from Leonardo Di Vinci where the body is stretched out like a 5 pointed star. The number 5 also represents the spiritual and unseen aspects of life and creation, with the number 2 representing the feminine and the number 3 representing the masculine. The number 5 encompasses the representation of the 4 elements of earth, wind, fire, water and then the final 5th element, which alchemists refer to as the Aether, the vital life force, the Divine Essence which holds everything together and provides the Spiritual Energy, life, to all things in all realms and dimensions. This means that the apple sliced horizontally is a symbol of spiritual energy.
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The Seeded Vulva If you slice an apple vertically and look at the cross section you are likely to see 2 seeds within a darker area of the fruit at the core. The oval shape of this darker area in the core is often referred to as the vulva, the feminine, due to its shape, and inside this vulva are the seeds, the masculine element. When these two parts are combined, the feminine vulva and the masculine seed, it is a symbol of physical reproduction and the symbol of new life, the union of duality. This is why the apple is referred to as ‘The All’. It encapsulates the physical realm with the seeded vulva and the creation of new life along with the spiritual realm, the 5-pointed star and its representation of the vital life force and spiritual energy, all surrounded by the circle of the fruit
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THE ART OF LOVE Venus with the Apple Awarded by Paris Bertel Thorvaldsen,
LOVE
(1816)
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Much of the artwork depicting the Roman goddess of love, Venus, includes the golden apple that was given to her by Paris. This story has been adapted from the Greek tales of Aphrodite.
Cupid complaining to Venus Lucas Cranach the Elder, (c. 1526-27)
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Venus Disarming Cupid Alessandro Allori,
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(c. 1570)
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The apple has been entwined into many legendary stories, some of these have their origins in real places and with real people. So what really happened in some of our most famous stories?
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Artwork based on an illustration by William Stukeley from his memoirs on Newton
R
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Sir Isaac Newton’s equation for gravitational relationships where F is the force, M1 and M2 are the masses of the objects interacting, R is the distance between the centres of the masses and G is the gravitational constant.
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F= G
M 1 M2
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The story of Sir Isaac Newton and the apple is one of the most told and famous stories in scientific history. A young Newton was seeking shade from the sun, sat underneath an apple tree, all of a sudden was struck in the head by a falling apple and bang, sparked his thinking on why the apple fell from the tree and was the basis for is theory of gravity! All story tellers and scientists know that the story has been embellished over time as there was no official written evidence of this story by Newton himself. However a book now belonging to the Royal Society written by an antiquarian and proto-archaeologist called William Stukeley, has documented some evidence on the validity of this fabled tale. Stukeley wrote the first biography of Britain’s greatest scientist, entitled Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’s Life, published in 1752.
FOLKLORE
Stukeley spent some time in conversation with an older Newton, and the pair met regularly as fellows of the Royal
Society, and talked together. On one particular occasion in 1726, Stukeley and Newton spent the evening dining in London.
“After dinner, the weather being warm, we went into the garden & drank tea under the shade of some apple tree; only he & myself,” Stukeley wrote, “amid other discourse, he told me, he was just in the same situation, as when formerly the notion of gravitation came into his mind. Why sh[oul]d that apple always descend perpendicularly to the ground, thought he to himself; occasion’d by the fall of an apple, as he sat in contemplative mood. Why sh[oul]d it not go sideways, or upwards? But constantly to the Earth’s centre? Assuredly the reason is, that the Earth draws it. There must be a drawing power in matter. And the sum of the drawing power
in the matter of the Earth must be in the Earth’s centre, not in any side of the Earth. Therefore does this apple fall perpendicularly or towards the centre? If matter thus draws matter; it must be proportion of its quantity. Therefore the apple draws the Earth, as well as the Earth draws the apple.”
distance from Earth, but that this power must extend much further than was usually thought. Why not as high as the Moon said he to himself & if so, that must influence her motion & perhaps retain her orbit, whereupon he fell a calculating what would be the effect of that supposition.”
This is the best account of what could have happened on that day however it is not the only one. In an account written by John Conduitt, the husband of Newton’s niece and his assistant at the Royal Mint, which Newton had run in his later years. Conduitt wrote:
Both of these written accounts were created through Newton telling these stories about 50 years after they had happened, was this really the true tale or had Newton just become very good at telling them? Either way, the apple remains a great symbol of this scientific breakthrough
“In the year 1666 he retired again from Cambridge to his mother in Lincolnshire. Whilst he was pensively meandering in a garden it came into his thought that the power of gravity (which brought an apple from a tree to the ground) was not limited to a certain
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“If matter thus draws matter; it must be proportion of its quantity. Therefore the apple draws the Earth, as well as the Earth draws the apple. ”
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THE STORY OF
William Tell was a farmer who became a Swiss legend when his defiance sparked an uprising against their tyrannical Austrian ruler. He became the symbol of political freedom across Switzerland and there is a bronze statue of him in Uri, a mountain village that is the birthplace of modern Switzerland. He is considered to be one of the countries founding fathers, and it all started with an apple. The story goes that in 1307, Gessler the Hapsburg Duke of Austria placed one of his Hapsburg hats on a pole in the centre of the Uri village, his orders where that any man that walked by the pole must remove their hat and bow to the pole. Tell refused to do such a thing, laughing at the idea of the subordination that the Duke was demanding, this angered Gessler who felt that others might follow Tell’s example. Tell was famed for being one of the best hunters around and a great marksman with a bow and arrow. With Gessler seeking to make an example of Tell he ordered his men
to take Tell’s son and bring him to the town square where they told Tell that he must prove how good he is as a huntsman by shooting an apple off the head of his child from 120 paces. If he refused or if he was unsuccessful then they would both be killed. Tell had his trepidations but eventually agreed to this and with a single arrow, he aimed and fired and the arrow took flight. It landed right in the centre of the apple and carried it clean off of his son’s head. As Tell then turned to face the Duke, a second hidden arrow fell from his coat, when he was asked what the second arrow was for, Tell replied “Tyrant! This arrow was for your heart if I had hurt my child.” Tell was promptly detained and deported by boat, bound for a dungeon in a neighbouring castle. He escaped, managed to kill the Duke and galvanised others in an uprising. What happened next kicked off a revolution among the poor, medieval inhabitants and led to an overthrow of their foreign rule and the story became a proud part of Swiss history
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WILLIAM TELL
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THE STORY OF
John Chapman better known as Johnny Appleseed, was born September 26th 1774 and was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as the northern counties of present-day West Virginia. He became an American legend while still alive, due to his kind, generous nature, his simple outdoor nomadic life, and his planting of many apple trees across America. When Johnny was 18 he and his younger brother, Nathaniel, headed west with a caravan of immigrants travelling across America. During his 20’s he travelled alone and continued moving west to Pennsylvania. From there he travelled into the Ohio Valley country and later, Indiana. He was always ahead of the other pioneers and often planted apple tree nurseries in areas that he rightly believed would become settlements.
He always carried a leather bag filled with apple seeds he collected for free from cider mills. The legends state that he would be distributing and planting apple trees wherever he went, along the roadways and the streams. However research suggests that he planted numerous nurseries that he would fence off with fallen trees, logs, bushes and vines to stop the animals from getting to the trees. He would then leave the nursery to his neighbour and return every year or two to help tend to the nursery and sell the trees. He planted his first nursery on the bank of Brokenstraw Creek, south of Warren, Pennsylvania. Next, he moved to Venango County, along the shore of French Creek, but many of the nurseries he planted were in the Mohican River area of north-central Ohio. Many of the apples that he planted were cider apples and were not the sweet apples we know and eat, instead these smaller apples were quite unpleasant and were used to brew and ferment alcoholic cider. This was a staple of
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“ but [he] found it occupied by a bear and cubs , so he removed his fire to the other end and slept on the snow in the open air, rather than disturb the bear. ”
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the American diet, especially for pioneers who didn’t always have access to sanitary drinking water. He soon was known as the “apple seed man” and later he became known only as “Johnny Appleseed.” He made friends with many Native American tribes and was known to have learned many Native American languages well enough to converse. He lived on food provided by nature and he never killed animals. Though appearing poor, he was not a poor man. He accumulated more cash than he needed by selling his apple trees and tracts of land. He never used banks and relied instead on an elaborate system of burying his money. He preferred to barter and trade food or clothing rather than collect money for his trees. It was more important a settler plant a tree than pay him for it.
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Folklore has also described him as “funny looking” because of the way he dressed. It is said he traded apple trees for settler’s cast-off clothing. He was known to give the better clothing to people he felt needed it more than he. He rarely wore shoes, even during the
cold of winter. It is said he could walk over the ice and snow barefooted and that the skin was so thick on his feet that even a rattlesnake couldn’t bite through it. He rarely sought shelter in a house, since he preferred to sleep on bare ground in the open forest with his feet to a small fire. Stories collected by Henry Howe in the 1830’s helped illustrate Johnny’s love of all animals and even insects, writing:
“One cool autumnal night, while lying by his camp-fire in the woods, he observed that the mosquitoes flew in the blaze and were burned. Johnny, who wore on his head a tin utensil which answered both as a cap and a mush pot, filled it with water and quenched the fire, and afterwards remarked, “God forbid that I should build a fire for my comfort, that should be the means of destroying any of His creatures.” Another time, he allegedly made a camp-fire in a snowstorm at the end of a hollow log in which he intended to pass the night but found it occupied by a bear and cubs, so he removed his fire to the other end and slept on the snow in the open air, rather than disturb the bear.”
In 1842, Johnny made his last trip back to Ohio after spending 50 years walking throughout the countryside. While there, he moved into the home of Nathaniel, the half brother with whom he began his remarkable journey. On March 18, 1845, he died of pneumonia at the age of seventy-one. He was visiting his friend, William Worth, in Indiana. Legend says it was the only time he was sick in his whole life. There are various theories as to his final resting place. Johnny Appleseed left an estate of over 1,200 acres (490 ha) of valuable nurseries to his sister. He also owned four plots in Allen County, Indiana, including a nursery in Milan Township with 15,000 trees, and two plots in Mount Vernon, Ohio
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There are also stories that Johnny had a pet wolf that would follow him everywhere after he helped heal the wolf’s injured leg.
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These days, the apple is no longer just associated with the common fruit but has become synonymous with cities and one of the largest companies on the planet.
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BIG APPLE
Over the years, there have been many theories about how New York City came to be called “The Big Apple.” Some say it comes from the former well-to-do families who sold apples on the city’s streets to make ends meet during the Great Depression. Another account posits that the term comes from a famous 19th-century brothel madam named Eve, whose girls were cheekily referred to as her “Big Apples.” But the nickname actually springs from a catchphrase used in the 1920s by The Morning Telegraph sports writer John J. Fitz Gerald in his horse
racing column, “Around the Big Apple.” Beginning on February 18, 1924, he began every column with the header, “The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York.” At that time, the jockeys and trainers of smaller horses were said to want to make a “Big Apple,” which was their term for the big money prizes at larger races in and around New York City.
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A IS FOR Fitz Gerald reportedly first heard “The Big Apple” used to describe New York’s racetracks by two African American stable hands at the New Orleans Fair Grounds, as he explained in his inaugural “Around the Big Apple” column:
“Two dusky stable hands were leading a pair of thoroughbreds around the ‘cooling rings’ of adjoining stables at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and engaging in desultory conversation. ‘Where y’all goin’ from here?’ queried one. ‘From here we’re headin’ for The Big Apple,’ proudly replied the other. ‘Well, you’d better fatten up them skinners or all you’ll get from the apple will be the core,’ was the quick rejoinder.”
Fitz Gerald took that colloquialism and applied it to his column, where it quickly began to gain traction.
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Once the term had entered the vocabularies of societies up north, its popularity slowly spread outside of the horse-racing context, and everything from nightclubs in Harlem to hit songs and dances about the city were named after “The Big Apple.” Most notably, New York jazz musicians in the 1930s, who had a habit of using the nickname to reference their hometown in their songs, helped the nickname spread beyond the northeast.
MODERN WORLD
Throughout the mid-20th century, it remained New York City’s nickname however it had fallen out of fashion in the 50’s and 60’s until it was officially adopted and re-launched by the city in the 1970s. The New York Convention & Visitors Bureau hoped that using the moniker would brighten the image of an economically downtrodden and crime-ridden city in decline and revive the tourist economy. In 1997, to give Fitz Gerald his (somewhat unjust) due, then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani signed legislation naming the corner where Fitz Gerald and his family lived at West 54th Street and Broadway between 1934 and 1963 “Big Apple Corner”
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A BYTE OF THE APPLE
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Apple Computers, Inc. was founded on April 1, 1976, by college dropouts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who attended the Homebrew Computer Club together; a computer hobbyist group that gathered in California’s Menlo Park from 1975. Wozniak had seen the MIT computers and kits and wanted to build something that was more user friendly.
countries GDP (gross domestic produce) and Apple creates more revenue than countries like Italy, Brazil and Canada. So why is the largest tech company on the planet called Apple?
Jobs and Wozniak star ted out building the Apple I in Jobs’ garage and sold them without a monitor, keyboard, or casing until 1977. Then came the Apple II, which revolutionised the computer industry with the introduction of the first-ever colour graphics.
When the company was first being set up, Jobs had come up with the name while on one of his fruitarian diets, where he had spent some time in Oregon at a place called the “apple orchard” which apparently was some sort of commune. While travelling back with co creator Steve Wozniak from this commune he suggested the name Apple Computers because it sounded “fun, spirited
MODERN WORLD
Now in the twenty first century you can’t hear the word ‘apple’ without thinking of computers. The Apple Computers brand and it’s products, most notably the iPhone has now become as ubiquitous to the word apple as the fruit itself. The company has become one of the most popular and profitable of all time with a net worth of $2.08 trillion, this is a higher market cap than most
There are many theories to this but the answer is actually more straightforward than you think, Steve Jobs liked apples.
and not intimidating.”
There was also a practical consideration when choosing this name. When the company was founded in 1976, most companies would choose names that would appear first in the phone book starting with the A’s, so Apple
“partially because Apple is ahead of Atari in the phone book and I used to work at Atari.”
Finally Apple is called Apple because apparently they couldn’t come up with anything better. In his biography, iWoz, Steve Wozniak says that Apple was better than any other name they could think of. “We both tried to come
up with technical-sounding names that were better, but we couldn’t think of any good ones.”
Some of the theories behind this name are far more colourful, for example the urban myth that Apple, and it’s logo of the apple with a single bite, was in homage to Alan Turing, the founder of modern computing (you can read more on Turing on page 105) who took his own life when he allegedly injected an apple with cyanide and took one fatal bite. However this was not the reason for the bite in the Apple logo, as Rob Janoff, the creator of the logo explained that it is there purely there as a way to represent scale, so that the fruit would not be confused for something else such as a cherry. Also the colour bars that were on the original Apple logo designed by Janoff were not there as a representation of the pride flag, again with reference to Turing’s, at the time, demonised homosexuality, but merely to represent that this computer was one of the first to work in full colour. When Steven Fry asked Jobs about the potential connection to Turing he responded that he wished it had been the case. Other theories include Sir Isaac Newton, whose theory of gravity was sparked by the apple was not the reason for the name. Newton did appear on the first but very short lived Apple logo designed by Jobs, which depicted Newton
sat underneath an apple tree with a glowing apple and the Wordswor th quote: “Ne wton… a
mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought alone”.
Finally there is the potential connec tion to the Christian stor y of Adam and Eve (read more about this on page 98) and taking a bite of the apple from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge to gain wisdom, however this theory was also dismissed by Jobs. The Apple name however has come at a cost. The Beatles set up the company Apple Corps (named as McCartney thought it was a good play on the words apple core) to manage their wealth and success, with the subsidiary Apple Records which was set up to release and distribute The Beatles releases. After some initial and fruitless court battles, the legal bids between the two companies about the name were set aside as the companies effectively did two very different things, so there should not have been any confusion between the tech company and the music company, however these legal battles started again when Apple Inc. released iTunes. When this was brought to the High Court of Justice in 2006, Apple Corps stated that Apple Inc. had broken the previous agreement by moving into the music industry domain, however the court ruled in favour of Apple Inc. and no further legal action has been taken
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was not only a good name in that respect but it also came before the rival computer company Atari. Jobs stated in a presentation in 1980 that he chose the name
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In all stories across human anthropology, Adam, Eve and the bite of the apple from the Tree of Knowledge has to be one of the most famous stories in history. So how did the apple come to represent original sin?
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FALL OF MAN
Genesis 3:6: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
A IS FOR It is never mentioned in the bible that the fruit from The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that Eve takes a bite of and gives to Adam to eat after her is in fact an apple, however in depictions over the last few hundred years in art and in the modern day tales the apple has been the fruit depicted in this scene time and time again. So why has the apple become the fruit that represents The Tree Of Knowledge and the fall of man?
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There are several factors that have contributed to this, most notably the apple could have arisen as a result of translation and a Latin pun. When the bible was translated from Hebrew to Latin in the 4th century, the Pope Damasus ordered his leading scholar of scripture, Jerome, to carry out the work, a task that took him 15 years. In the original Hebrew Bible, a generic term, peri, is used for the fruit hanging from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the words for evil and bad in Latin are malum and malus, these are exactly the same as the Latin word for apple which is also malus. So when these early translations were made the word malus was inserted due to its dual meaning of both evil and fruit. As mentioned on page 32 the word ‘apple’ in the English language was used to describe all fruit which was the same for the Latin translation, where malus could have meant any fresh hanging fruit containing seeds, which is why in Italy, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel fresco (c. 1510) features a serpent coiled around a fig tree, and in Asia depictions of figs and olives were common depictions. But the apple began to dominate artworks in Europe, especially in France and Germany after the German artist Albrecht Dürer’s famous engraving depicted the First Couple counterpoised beside an apple tree (1504). This became a template for future artists such as Lucas Cranach the Elder, whose Adam and Eve painting is set with them stood beside an apple tree.
Another reason why the apple was adopted, especially in Europe where apples were cultivated, was it’s use in Greek mythology, most notably the apple of discord thrown by Eris onto the banquette table with the words “to the fairest one” inscribed upon it. This example of vanity from the three goddesses, Hera, Aphrodite and Athena and the temptation of Paris to chose Aphrodite because of his own desires for love and lust could have been another contributing factor as to why the apple was chosen to depict the fruit. Taking wider examples into account, in paganism the apple as ‘The All’ with its symbolism for sexual desire, the divine essence, the symbol of reproduction and the masculine and feminine, all represent what the fruit from The Tree of Knowledge awakened in Adam and Eve once they ate it. The fruit itself can also create good symbolism, with depictions of the fruit with a red skin representing flesh and blood or passion, a golden skin representing greed, it’s round shape symbolising fertility and its sweet taste representing desire. John Milton also referred to the forbidden as an apple in his speech Areopagitica (1644) which was on the relaxation of publishing laws and censorship and a first plea to freedom of speech. He draws on the biblical story of the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve sin by eating the apple, Milton praises Adam for giving humans ‘freedom to choose, for reason is but choosing’. The apple as the ‘forbidden fruit’ has widely been adopted in popular culture to represent desire today, it has also been used as a symbol of overcoming original sin, with paintings and sculptures of the apple either being placed in the mouth of the snake or in the hands of the Virgin Mary, the new Eve
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There is an old boat builder’s superstition that you should never build a boat from the wood of the apple tree as this wood was used to build coffins and any connection to death was avoided at all costs, the sailors did not want to feel as if they were sailing in a giant coffin.
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THE LOSS OF INNOCENCE The story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is a childhood classic and a story that most people are familiar with, in it the evil Queen asks her magic mirror who is the fairest of them all to which the mirror replies that she is, until one day the mirror changes it’s answer to say that Snow White is the fairest of them all. Riddled with jealousy and rage, the Queen decides to trick Snow White by disguising herself as an old woman and poisoning her with one bite of her apple, putting her into a sleeping death, once again making herself the fairest of them all.
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This story seems very similar to that of Eris, Paris and Aphrodite, where the apple was the symbol of ‘the fairest one’. However in the story of Snow White, the use of the apple has been subverted, so although Snow White, the
fairest one, is the one to receive the apple, the reward is not an apple of immortality as it is in Greek myth but in fact, an apple of death. The apple also carries a striking resemblance to the Christian story of Adam and Eve where a single bite of this unknowingly forbidden fruit in this tale, takes away her innocence and her life, much like Eve.
“The poison apple that the evil Queen offers Snow White is inarguably the most religious symbol in the Disney film. It represents a comparable story to that of Adam and Eve, where Eve is tempted by the forbidden fruit and is corrupted by her acceptance of this fruit. Just as in the Bible, Snow White is tempted by the
103 poison apple and ultimately suffers for it. Just as Eve was warned against accepting the fruit, Snow White knows she should not be talking to and accepting gifts from strangers. Her weakness for the apple results in a “sleeping death”, whereas for Eve, her acceptance of the fruit results in a spiritual death.” - Bettelheim The apple also carries connotations to sexual maturity and awakening, womanhood with the red apple signifying menstruation, all these combined are a symbol of Snow White losing her innocence. The apple presented to her is half-red and half-white, symbolising both a good and dangerous side of love and sexuality. The white half represents a love that is pure and not hurtful in any manner, and hence it is from this side that the Queen takes
a bite to prove the apple is safe to eat. The red half of the apple represents more of the dangerous side of love and sexuality.
“The redness of the apple evokes sexual associations like the three drops of blood which led to Snow White’s birth, and also menstruation, the event which marks the beginning of sexual maturity” Snow White’s choice to take a bite from the red half of the apple shows that while she may feel prepared for sexual maturity, she in fact is too young and immature, hence she falls into a sleeping death. She cannot be awoken from her sleep until enough time has passed that she is mature enough to experience love and sexuality
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DEATH
ALAN TURING
Alan Turing can easily be regarded as the founder of modern coding and computers, a mathematician from London, he was a pioneer of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence, where he developed a test, known as the Turing Test, to determine the effectiveness of A.I. which is still used to this day. In 1936 he pioneered the idea for the Turing machine, which was the basis for the first computer, and during WW2, he was instrumental in breaking the German Enigma code, leading to Allied victory over Nazi Germany.
having a sexual relationship with a man, which was against the law at the time. He had to undertake the chemical castration to suppress his “sexual desires” otherwise he would have lost his post at Manchester University and with it, access to working on the only computer in the world.
However this brilliant man’s life was cut short when he was found dead, aged 42 after cyanide poisoning. The investigation to his death in the 1950’s concluded that his death was an act of suicide, and next to his bed was an apple with a single bite taken out of it.
His death and its connection to the apple has been seen as the real life story of Snow White and is a poignant reminder to discrimination and persecution of the LGBTQI+ community by the British government, as well as the wider society. Now with 60 years of hindsight it has been speculated that his death may have been accidental, as he was known to be careless in his experiments, but may have also been a plot by the government itself as a way to make sure that Turing could never defect after his treatment for being homosexual. Whatever the reason behind his death, the apple will forever be intertwined with the loss of one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century
It has now been widely speculated that Turing injected this apple with cyanide and took one fatal bite as a way to finally escape the frustration of persecution from others, especially the police and the state. It was said by the courts examining his death that he was overwhelmed by the chemical castration the British government forced upon him after he admitted to being homosexual and
When Turing died, he was regarded as a criminal. It wasn’t until 1967 that Britain decriminalised homosexuality but it wasn’t until 2013, 59 years after his death that Queen Elizabeth II gave him a royal pardon.
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