All About Apple

For evoking sweetness to the world’s largest computer company, for gravity was found when Newton fell to his head, not only in terms of health, apple is an important fruit in every aspect. No matter which country we go, it is one of the fruits which can be found easily and its health benefits are extensive. Are the content and benefit of all apples equal?

Although there are 400 apple species, approximately 12 of them (eg Jonagold, Gala, Granny Smith) are sold in Europe. There are differences in the types and amounts of sugar, phenols that give their taste and color, and acid amounts according to the type of self-fertile apples and grafted apples with integrated farming. This difference is due to weather conditions and soil differences as well .

In dietary recommendations, the sugar content of 100 g apple is usually calculated as 12 g, but we find that traditional organic production apples do not fit this comparison. This balance is very important for diabetic patients.

When we look at the apples produced by integrated agriculture, the average sugar ratio of Gala, Elstar, Idared, Golden Delicious, Braeburn and Fuji are 115 – 150 g/kg and Jonagold is 183 g/kg.

Jonagold contains the most sucrose, while Jonagold and Fuji contain the most furcose.

Organically growing species contain 115-160 g/kg sugar on average, whereas 3 species (Steirische Schafnase, Steirischer Maschanzker ve  Lavantaler Bananenapfel) contain higher sugar (200 g/kg).

The high content of fructose and low glucose in all apple species is an important factor for diabetic patients to maintain a certain level of blood sugar.

Another issue is the association the sour taste of the apple with the amount of sugar. Traditionally grown Steirische Schafnase gives a sour taste due to the high amount of acid when it is tasted, but it contains almost twice as much sugar as Golden Delicious or Braeburn.

Regular consumption of fruit acid is important to prevent metabolic diseases. Malic acid dissolves uric acid, thus it prevents us from catching gout or rheumatism, also fruit acid is natural toothpaste.
* People who are sensitive to fruit acid should prefer low acid apples.

One of the reasons for the production of hybrid apples is to ensure that the brown appearance does not occur immediately when cut and to extend the storage time. This results in a decrease in phenolic compounds that cause the fleshy part to turn brown when the apple is cut in hybrid apple species.

As mentioned above, phenolic compounds give the apple taste and color. It has been observed that the phenol content of organically grown apple species is much higher and that the phenolic compounds are present in the bark and fleshy parts of the apple. In addition to antioxidant effects, phenolic compounds are known to reduce thrombosis risk, increase HDL cholesterol and decrease LDL cholesterol.

Chlorogenic acid is the main phenolic acid in the apple and has the ability to remove free radicals. The antioxidant level of 100 g apple is equal to 1,500 mg Vitamin C (100 g orange contains 50 mg vitamin C).

According to a research, apple, the second most consumed fruit (grape, strawberry, peach, lemon …) in the USA after blueberries was determined to be the 2nd highest antioxidant fruit.

Compared to conventional juicing, most polyphenols remain in the oxygen-free juice packaging.

If we evaluate the antioxidant capacity, we can do the grading as following: peel>core>fleshy
In fact, we can say that the shell contains 2-6 times more phenol than the flesh.