A Brief History of The Apple

Posted on August 30th, 2022

Since the beginning of time, apples have inspired folk tales, myths, poems and art. Explore the impressive history of the awesome apple.

1500 BC – A clay tablet found at Nuzi, an ancient Mesopotamian city that was located near the Tigris river in modern-day Iraq, makes reference to the sale of an apple orchard.

AD 77-79 – Pliny the Elder mentions at least 20 apple varieties in his famous work, ‘Naturalis Historia’.

1066 – Apple cider becomes a popular drink in England as the Norman conquest is celebrated.

1666 – When an apple falls on the young Isaac Newton’s head, an “a-ha” moment changes the course of history: the theory of gravity, and our understanding of gravitational force, is born.

1704 – The ‘Arabian Nights’, a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian folk tales, is published in English. One of the stories features a magical apple that cures all diseases. Centuries later, many of us still believe that “an apple a day can keep the doctor away”.

1851 – By the mid-1800s, the apple has become an important part of British food and culture – so much so that Robert Hogg, secretary of the British Pomological Association, declares: “There’s no fruit, in temperate climes, so universally esteemed and so extensively cultivated, nor is there any which is so closely identified with the social habits of the human species, as the apple”.

1914 – Robert Frost, one of America’s most celebrated writers, writes his memorable poem, ‘After Apple-Picking’.

1964 – Belgian artist René Magritte completes his most famous work, ‘The Art of Man’, depicting a self-portrait in which the artist’s face is obscured by a floating apple. The fruit featured in many of his paintings, including ‘Ceci n’est pas une pomme’ (1964) and ‘The Habit’ (1960).

1996 – The first Cripps Red apple trees are planted in South Africa. This variety of apple is later sold under the JOYA® trademark, adhering to strict quality specifications.

2010 – The complete set of genes of the apple (the genome) is decoded by a consortium of Italian and American researchers.

2012 – The year in which Cripps Red apples are first sold under the JOYA® trademark. It’s an apple for the young and young at heart.

2013 – More than 80 million tons of apples are produced worldwide. One million tons are produced in South Africa.

Source: Joya