An interesting news article about apples and how it can make our daily snacking diets much healthier. With all the fiber and phenols in this fruit, it's a sure way to lower our cholesterol. So instead of munching your favorite chips when you're at work, try apples. Read on for more details:
Apples come in more than a thousand varieties, each one full of nutrients
Nature’s perfect snack food. Amy Thom gets ready to taste a fresh Ontario apple. Produce bins are brimming with local varieties perfect for eating, baking and preserving. Jennifer Harker photo
MIDLAND – An apple a day might not actually keep the doctor away, but it can play a role in promoting good health.
Packed with Vitamin C, potassium, antioxidant flavonoids, phenols to fight high cholesterol, and a healthy dose of fibre, apples are a convenient on-the-go snack food that comes in its own natural, neat and tidy package.
A medium-sized apple has about 80 calories and, with its natural sugars, can curb candy cravings without the high calories and tooth decay of regular sweets.
What’s more, scientific findings reveal this family favourite can fight neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s with its phytonutrients.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham, meanwhile, recently showed that people who eat five or more apples per week have lower rates of respiratory problems, including asthma.
Consumers have a rainbow of choices when it comes to apples, and produce bins are brimming with a selection of Ontario varieties. Heather Smith from Gianetto’s Fruit Market in Midland said there are more than 1,000 types of apple grown around the world, but the most popular Ontario-grown apples are McIntosh, red and golden delicious, empire, idared, mutsu/crispin, cortland, northern spy, russet, honey crisp and gala.
“Many varieties are crosses between different apples,” Smith explained. “For example, crispin is a cross between golden delicious and the Japanese indo apple.”
Most Ontario apples are available beginning in October and lasting in dry storage until the spring. Taste varies between tart apples such as idared and sweet varieties such as honeycrisp; textures range from soft varieties like red delicious to firm apples like the northern spy.
“Different varieties are used for different purposes,” Smith said. “People will say, ‘What do I use for this?’ or ‘I want a sweet apple. I want a tart apple.’ McIntosh are good for eating and apple sauce, spy for pies and baking, and cortland for salad and fruit plates.
“Most customers are looking for a quick and healthy snack, but we also have many people that buy for baking pies, cobblers, apple sauce and many other types of desserts.”
Smith said they aim to stock local apples at their King Street store whenever possible.
“When available, we carry local McIntosh apples from Elmvale, but most of our varieties are from the Collingwood-Meaford area. At present, we have eight Ontario varieties and continue to carry them as long as they are available.”
More from here: http://www.simcoe.com/community/food/article/898073--nature-s-perfect-snack-food
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