Washington Apples Are More Important Than You Realize

I remember before I moved to Washington, my uncle would always bring a special gift when he visited us in Iowa; a box of Washington Apples. He had worked for one of the big produce companies in the Tri-Cities and knew how much I loved Golden Delicious apples.

It's just one of those things I've sort of taken for granted since I've lived in Washington. We have easy access to the freshest apples in the country. Don't believe me? Check out these fast facts about Washington's most famous crop.

• Washington Apples are sold and eaten in 60 countries.
• In the United States, 6 out of 10 people eat Washington Apples.
• To this day, all apples in Washington are hand-picked.
• Over 10 billion apples are picked in Washington every year.
• Those 10 billion apples could be wrapped around the earth 29 times.
• The apple's peel has the most nutrition in it.

No matter where you live in the United States, the chances you'll end up buying Washington Apples are astronomically high. Even though I've never hand-picked a bushel of apples myself, it's kinda cool knowing how much of the world Washington feeds. I knew that apples were a big deal but I had no idea that the global impact was as much as it is.