The Apple: A Delicious History

Sally Coulthard, bestselling author of A Short History of the World According to Sheep, tells the 10,000-year story of the apple in crisp and sparkling style.

The Apple: A Delicious History tells the engrossing and richly informative story of a fruit with a unique attachment to the human story. The 10,000-year tale of the round and pleasantly crunchy products of the trees of the genus Malus embraces not only culinary, horticultural, social and commercial history but also age-old traditions in mythology, folklore and religion. Best-selling author Sally Coulthard takes the reader on a fascinating and strikingly international journey – from the apple’s earliest beginnings in the mountains of Kazakhstan to the explosion of apple-growing in twenty-first-century China. Along the way, we learn how the apple made its way along the Silk Road from Central Asia to Europe and about its role in the grisly rituals of the Druids; and we discover why, despite there currently existing more than 7500 varieties of apple – from the ubiquitous, astringent Granny Smith to the purple-skinned Black Diamond of Tibet – only a handful of cultivars are available in modern supermarkets. Amplified by apple recipes and the stories behind them, from apple fritters to apple crumble and from verjuice to pomade, The Apple: A Delicious History is the perfect gift book for gardeners, nature lovers – or indeed anyone who likes a drop of cider or a slice of apple pie.