Alan Davidson

Apple

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

The apple, Malus pumila, one of the first fruits to have been cultivated, is now the most important fruit in Europe, N. America, and temperate regions in both northern and southern hemispheres.

There are about 7,000–8,000 named varieties, although only a small proportion of these are of commercial or historical importance. An alphabetical list of some interesting ones is given under the section on apple varieties below.

© the Estate of Alan Davidson 1999, 2006, 2014 © in the Editor’s contribution to the second and third editions, Oxford University Press 2006, 2014.