Hi there! Have you ever seen a Pink Lady apple? It’s one of my favorites because it’s a mix of sweet and sour, which makes it taste tart. I get really happy when I find them at the grocery store because they’re not always there.
Did you know there are many different kinds of apples? Maybe you’ve tried a Granny Smith apple, which is really sour. Or perhaps you’ve tasted a sweet Fuji apple. There are so many varieties, and each one has its own special taste. Some apples even taste a bit like bananas!
Apples can also look different. Some are shaped like donuts, and others come in colors like dark purple, yellow, or even red on the inside. But why don’t we see all these apples at the store? Well, there are just too many kinds to keep in stock!
Are you ready for a big number? There are more than 4,000 varieties of apples! But how did we get so many different kinds? It all started with one type of apple tree from Central Asia.
Apple breeders are people who plant and grow apple trees. They know a special secret: just like people and animals, baby plants inherit traits from their parents. This means that when you plant an apple seed, the new tree will have some traits from its parent trees, but it will also be unique.
For example, if you plant a seed from a big, sweet, red apple, the new tree might grow apples that are still red but a little more sour, or maybe smaller and greener. By using this knowledge, apple breeders have created many different kinds of apples through a process called selection.
Thanks to apple breeders, we now have a huge variety of apples, including the largest one in the world called Hakuto. The biggest Hakuto apple ever grown was in Japan and weighed over four pounds, about the same as a small watermelon!
Now, here’s something fun! My friends and I have made a step-by-step activity where you can create a device to help you pick apples. You can find the link to this activity at the end of the video.
For the next episode, I have three questions you can help me choose from: How do people grow carrots? Can a shark and a dolphin have babies? Or, why do we have lines on our hands? After the video, you can vote on which question you’d like to explore next. Remember, there are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next time!
Apple Taste Test: Gather a few different types of apples, such as Granny Smith, Fuji, and Pink Lady. Cut them into slices and have a taste test with your family or friends. As you taste each apple, think about these questions:
Apple Observation Journal: Start an apple observation journal. Each time you eat an apple, draw a picture of it and write down its color, shape, and taste. Over time, see if you can spot any patterns or similarities between the apples you try. Consider these questions:
Apple Seed Experiment: Save the seeds from an apple you eat and plant them in a small pot with soil. Water the seeds and place the pot in a sunny spot. As you watch the seeds grow, think about these questions:
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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(phone ringing) – Hi, it’s Doug. What I’m holding here is an apple. But it’s not just any apple; it’s my favorite kind called a Pink Lady. I get excited when I see these at the grocery store because they don’t always sell them. A Pink Lady is somewhere between sweet and sour, which people often describe as tart.
Someone named Audriana has a question about another kind of apple. Let’s give her a call now. (phone ringing) – Hi, Doug. – Hi, Audriana. – I have a question for you. What’s the largest apple in the world? – That is a great question! When you hear the word “apple,” you probably think of this. But you might know that there are different kinds or varieties of apples. For example, have you had a Granny Smith apple? It tastes really sour.
At the grocery store, I’m guessing you’ve seen a few others. Maybe you even have a favorite. I know whenever I ask people, it seems like Red Delicious and Fuji are a lot of people’s favorites, at least in the U.S. where I live. Fuji is a kind of apple that tastes really sweet. But what if I told you that there are even more varieties of apples than what’s sold at the grocery store? There are so many different varieties of apples with various tastes, not just sour and sweet. Some varieties even taste a bit like a banana!
There are apples that come in different shapes, some looking almost like a donut. There are also apples that come in different colors, like dark purple, yellow, or even red on the inside. The main reason you can’t find most of these apples at the grocery store is that there are just too many different kinds for them to keep in stock.
How many different kinds of apples are there? Are you ready for this? There are more than 4,000 varieties of apples! But where do all these different kinds of apples come from? How did we even get different kinds of apples in the first place? What do you think? Before I say anything more, now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss.
Okay, you ready? One idea you might have is that different places in the world have different kinds of plants and animals, so maybe there are just different kinds of apples that grow in different places on Earth. That would be a great guess! But it turns out that nearly all of the different kinds of apples we eat today come from just one kind of apple tree that originally grew in Central Asia.
So, how do we have over 4,000 varieties of apples from just one kind of tree? The answer is thanks to people like apple breeders—those who plant and grow apple trees. You probably know that an apple tree grows from one of the seeds you find inside an apple. You can think of that seed as a baby apple tree, and the tree that the apple came from was one of the baby’s parents.
Apple breeders know an important secret about apples and all plants: just like with people and animals, baby plants inherit some traits from their parents. When an apple seed gets planted, it will have some of the same traits as its parents, like similar-looking flowers and leaves. However, just because a baby gets some traits from its parents doesn’t mean it’s exactly the same. We all have differences that make us unique, and the same is true for apples.
If you plant the seed from a big, sweet, red apple, the baby apple tree that grows won’t be exactly like its parents. It might still be red but a little more sour, or it might still be sweet but a little smaller or greener. Using this knowledge, apple breeders have created many different varieties of apples through a special process known as selection.
Apple breeders have been doing this for many years, managing to create a huge range of apple colors, tastes, and sizes, including the currently largest apple in the world, a variety called Hakuto. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest Hakuto ever grown was in Japan and weighed over four pounds—about the same weight as a small watermelon.
In summary, using their knowledge of how apples pass on traits, apple breeders have created over 4,000 different varieties of apples, with the largest being the Hakuto. That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks, Audriana, for asking it!
Now, we have something special for this week’s episode. My friends and I here at Mystery Science have created a step-by-step engineering activity where you’ll create a device to help you pick apples. You can find a link to the activity at the end of this video.
For the next episode, I reached into my question jar and picked out three questions that I’m thinking about answering next. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from: How do people grow carrots? Can a shark and a dolphin have babies? Or, why do we have lines on our hands? So submit your vote when the video’s over. I want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next week!
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