Apple (Pyrus malus)
There are many varieties of apples, all of them having some medicinal and cooking purposes. To list them here would be futile effort, as nearly everyone is familiar with the apple and has a personal favorite. Of the apple trees, perhaps the most beautiful is the crab-apple tree. When in bloom (which unfortunately lasts only a short time), the blossoms are pink and very lovely. They resemble cherry blossoms.
HEALING
To eat an apple going to bed
Will make the doctor beg his bread
Digestion: The malic and tartaric acids in the apple can be attributed to most of the apple's medicinal properties. They can be used to help balance out the acid in the system, which especially useful for digestive problem. Eat sweet apples if you have too much acid, sour apples if you have too little or are constipated.
Fever: Apple water can be a good drink for bringing down a mild fever. A decoction of apple bark can also be used to cool high fevers.
Skin: Apple cider vinegar can be diluted with mineral water or rose water and splashed on the face in the morning to refresh and restore skin. Or, a cup of apple cider vinegar added to your bath water will make your skin soft and supple.
Teeth: Apples act as a multi-purpose dental aid. Their acidic juices are a natural tooth cleanser, and they are just firm enough to push the gums back so that the border between the teeth and the gums is clean. Sometimes a loose baby tooth can be pulled out by biting into an apple.
CULINARY USES
The taste of apple is familiar to most people, it is tangy, sweet, and juicy. It is found in everything from pie to jelly. But the fruit itself is not the only part used in cooking. The bark of the apple tree produces an edible oil. An alcholic solution has also been used which is called Apple Essence, and is used as a flavouring liquid.
FOLKLORE and HISTORY
Here's to thee, old apple-tree!
Whence thou may'st bud, and whence thou may'st blow,
Hats full! Caps full!
Bushel - bushel-bags full!
And my pockets full too! Huzza!
According to A Modern Herbal by Mrs. M. Grieve, the above is a toast to health used in an old Christmas Eve ceremony. In Devonshire, England, wassailing was once a popular custom on Christmas Eve. It is nearly forgotten, but the ceremony still exists in remote parts of Devonshire.
If a woman has several suitors and can't choose just one, she would remove the seeds from an apple. She would then throw them one at a time into a fire, saying the name of one of her suitors with each one. If one of the seeds popped in the fire, she should marry him. Another bit of lore says that a young woman would take a whole apple peel and throw it over her shoulder. If it formed a letter when it landed, that would be the initial of the man she would marry.
In Scandinavian mythology, Idun kept apples in a box that would renew the youth of the gods if eaten.
In Celtic lore, apples are revered as the fruit of the faeries ("fruit of life of the Sidhe") and are believed to be a passport to the Otherworld.