An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

09/19/2024

By Chester Freeman

If you love apples, there is no better place to be than in Upstate New York.

All apple research takes place at The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY. Many years ago, I befriended the director of the apple research department and he gave me twenty apple trees that he was parting with. 

Because of the deer in my area, only five of those trees survived, three Crispin apple trees and two Gala apple trees. Each year, I asked one of the tree pruners from the Experiment Station to come and prune our trees, so I was sure I was taking care of them properly. These trees produced so many apples that we put a stand in front of our house to give apples away. People loved getting bags of apples from us. 

About eight years ago, I decided I wanted to make my own apple cider. I found a local mill a few miles from my home and asked them if they would press the apples for me. To make it worth their time, they said I had to have a certain number of apples. So, I harvested all the apples from the trees and saved them for the apple press. When I had the right number of apples, I asked a friend who has a truck, to take me to the mill with my apples. It was so much fun to watch my own apples being pressed by the old-fashioned wooden press.

I thought it would interesting to make a unique apple cider, so I had Gala and Crispin apples pressed together. The taste was remarkable! It was so unique and everyone loved it. I was able to get 52 gallons of cider. 

Since it was right out of the press, I decided to give a gallon of cider to all my friends.  So, I loaded the trunk of my car, so I could deliver cider all over in Geneva, Seneca Falls, Canandaigua, Oaks Corners and the town of Stanley. When I had just a few gallons left, I began to give my remaining friends two gallons because I knew I couldn’t store it in my refrigerator. Everyone raved over the taste of the cider and I was really pleased that it turned out so well.

We’ve all heard the aphorism, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” The story behind this saying began in Wales in 1866. At that time, the original version of the saying was, “eat an apple on going to bed and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.” It’s probably clear that the people of that time period were not very pleased with the service physicians were providing. Then in 1913, the current familiar expression came into existence.

From history, we know that medical practices in the 19th and 20th  centuries were not as sophisticated as they are today. And no one wanted crude medical care practiced on them by a physician.

As it turns out, apples are a great source of fiber and antioxidants and I do believe they help us on many different levels. 

This is the season for picking apples and some of my favorite varieties are Gala (my favorite to use for making apple crisp), Honeycrisp (my favorite snacking apple), Crispin (my favorite for making an apple pie), Fuji (a good apple to eat and it has a long shelf life), Zester (great to use in salads), Jonagold (makes great applesauce), Jonamac (good for making a sauce) and Northern Spy (great for baking). 

There are so many different varieties to choose from. And I am looking forward to picking up some apples at our local farmer’s market.

Let’s eat an apple a day in the hope that it will help all of us!