Would you eat this apple?

I always thought that the apple tree in my backyard was an ornamental apple tree.  In the five years we have lived in the house, the tree only produced small green apples.  I don’t know what happened to my apple tree this year, however, not only do we have a phenomenal yield but the apples are red and larger than usual. 

During the summer, we would pick them up and put them in the compost but I told my husband that I thought that they might be edible. He scoffed.  The apples themselves have spots on them, likely from worms that got into them or birds taking a bite out of them. Remember the old joke: What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple? Finding half a worm in your apple. I decided to put the apples to the test and cut one open to see for myself. 

The apples looked fine inside and I decided to try one.  It was surprisingly delicious! I am not sure of the variety but it seems to be a macintosh type apple.  It is quite firm and a bit tart. With the harvest being so great, I had too many apples for us to use.  In addition, these apples are organic and pesticide free which likely makes them healthier than store bought ones. Since I didn’t want to waste these less than perfect apples, I offered them to my neighbors and even brought some to work for people to take.

When I mentioned the imperfections of the apples, I received two main responses.  Either it was along the lines of “No problem. If there’s a worm, it’s just extra protein” to a nervous “Uh, no thanks” and a quick exit.  My family was definitely in the “no thanks” camp, especially when I put some apples from our tree in the fridge and a worm looking for the way out was later observed.  

It brought me to think about how we expect the fruits and vegetables that we eat to be “perfect”.  Just like people, fruits and vegetables come in all shapes and sizes, with a variety of imperfections.  Also, our perfect fruits and vegetables come at a price. Oftentimes, our food has been treated with pesticides to make them look good. What is the price to our health? In addition, to prevent food waste, we need to embrace irregular fruits and vegetables.

A study has shown that each family throws out fruits and vegetables that could feed one additional person per week.  Since food waste is one of the leading contributors to climate change, we each of us need to do our part to reduce food waste.  I like to think that eating these apples is my way to do my part.

To that end, when I decided to make a pie from the apples, the response from the family was decidedly more positive.

The pie was delicious as was the apple crumble that I made.

Challenge for the Week: How do you feel about imperfect fruits and vegetables?  Do you eat them? Would you eat or bake with my apples? They are certainly not for everyone but I am glad to have tried them.