I have been reading a book that some of you might be interested in,
Botany of Desi A Plant's-Eye View of the World. It is about the
domestication of four different plants and how they have been
genetically altered to suit humans. The first section of the book is
about the apple and the author talks a lot about Johnny Appleseed and
how this eccentric character spread apples through the US. As he points
out, people didn't eat apples back then. Since sugar was very expensive,
they were often used to provide sweetness in various dishes. The main
use for apples was cider.... hard cider.

The rest of the book is about tulips, marijuana and potatoes. I have
more good reading to go with this one.