The Apple Cart
There are over 10,000 kinds of apples. The most common in the grocery store are Red Delicious, Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, and the tart, green Granny Smith. In the right conditions, some types of apples can be stored for up to a year. Apples that mature late in the year, like Fuji, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Honeycrisp, tend to last longer. And the smaller ones last longer than the big ones, so eat the large apples first.
Pears Around the World
There are two main types of pears: European pears—the pear-shaped ones—and Asian pears, sometimes called apple pears. Asian pears can be juicier and crisper but have a milder flavour than European pears.
Ripe Pears
European pears are ripe when they are a tiny bit soft. To ripen pears that are still a bit hard, store them at room temperature in a closed paper bag. Once they get a bit softer, store them in the fridge. Once ripe, they only last about a week in the fridge.
Cleans up the Trash
Both apples and pears have lots of compounds that clean up harmful molecules (free radicals) in your body. Red pears also have plant compounds in the red colour that are good for your health. They measurably increase the protective compounds (antioxidants) and reduce damaging molecules in your blood for up to 24 hours after eating.
Gut Farm Food
Both pears and apples are great for your gut farm. They have a compound, pectin, that keeps your gut bacteria in shape.
Health Assist
An apple a day for 4 weeks lowered cholesterol in tests. In another study, eating 2 pears a day for 12 weeks improved heart health. Both fruits also contain potassium, which helps lower blood pressure. In 2 big studies in Europe, consuming apples or pears every day reduced the risk of various cancers from 7% to 40%.
Sweet and Slow
Although apples and pears are both sweet, they are low-GI foods, meaning they don’t spike your blood sugar. In fact, they increase your blood sugar less than some vegetables. The secret is the fibre. In fact, a pear has a quarter of a day’s fibre. The fibre in apples and pears slows the release of the sugar. That gives you long-term energy, not an energy spike.
Apple Tools
If you eat apples regularly, get an apple corer and an apple slicer that cuts a whole apple at once. It makes prepping a lot easier and eating them more pleasurable. An easy way to eat apples and pears is to remove the core (with a corer) and cut them into slices around the center. Cutting them up before eating also makes them easy to share.
Eat the Packaging
When you eat apples or pears, make sure to eat the packaging---the skin is where most of the fibre is. Both make a great portable snack, being about 100 calories each.
Apple & Pear Pairs
Slice up an apple or pear, grab a yogurt and use the slices to scoop the yogurt---a quick, healthy breakfast. Another way to eat apples and pears is to dip them in peanut butter or sprinkle a little cinnamon on them.
The Apple Truth
Next time you want to reach for a sweet treat, grab an apple or pear. The old wisdom is true---an apple (or pear) a day really does keep the doctor away.
