Adam — who always looks like a Caucasian in the Biblical pictures — would have knocked back the fruit as too tough for his taste.

Consequently, the Tree of Knowledge would have remained out of reach and Isaac Newton wouldn’t have discovered gravity by sitting under an apple tree in 1665 pondering the physics of windfalls.

The Manalagi (”give me more”) apple was developed from the Golden Delicious imported by the Dutch, and became famous for its long shelf life. It’s a small, white-green apple, slightly sweet and usually too hard for Western palates.
And indigestible for many Indonesians too if supermarket sales are any guide. Put a tray of Manalagi against the imports and the local produce will still be there when the other bins are empty.

Fresh produce prices rock and roll through the year according to supplies and seasons. Earlier this year researcher David Cook found the price of Batu apples, both Manalagi and the thick-skinned Rome Beauty above Rp 15,000 (US $1.60) per kilo compared with Fuji from China at below Rp 10,000.

Apples are among the earliest-known edible fruits, with references dating back more than 5,000 years.
The tree is a native of Kazakhstan in central Asia. There are now more than 700 cultivars worldwide.

(Duncan Graham)