to bottom and from the core outwards. Pears
are often noticeably more flavorful at the
flower end than at the stem end. Both apples
and pears contain an indigestible, slightly
sweet sugar alcohol, sorbitol (0.5%), so a
large helping of cider can cause the same
discomfort as do inulin-rich foods (p. 307).
Apples Apple trees are especially hardy and
are probably the most widely distributed fruit
trees on the planet. There are 35 species in the
genus Malus. The species that gives us most
of our eating apples, Malus x domestica,
seems to have originated in the mountains of
Kazakhstan from crossings of an Asian
species (Malus sieversii) with several cousins.
The domesticated apple spread very early
through the Middle East. It was known in the
Mediterranean region by the time of the Greek
epics, and the Romans introduced it to the rest
of Europe. These days apple production is an
international enterprise, with southern