Station: [8] Health Anecdotes

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away” – a popular saying even now. Though it sounds as if a marketing company may have invented it. Is it even true?

Apples contain valuable minerals, trace elements and dietary fibres such as pectin, which lowers cholesterol levels and flushes harmful substances out of the body. Secondary plant metabolites called catechins may offer protection from bronchial and lung diseases. Flavonoids and carotenoids protect the cells in the body from free radicals and even reduce the risk of cancer. The fruit acid in the apple destroys bacteria in the mouth and prevents the formation of tartar – so there are some good reasons for the saying.

But bear in mind that up to 70 per cent of the vitamins in apples are found right under the skin – so it’s best to eat your apple, peel and all.

The final stops here, on the upper floor of the Lake Constance Museum of Fruit, present a number of little challenges –though only in German, unfortunately. Test your knowledge, estimate or guess. Maybe you’ll be right!

Let me also draw your attention to the information panels, including the images, which illustrate the local heritage cultivars, for example “Salemer Klosterapfel” or “Sipplinger Klosterbirne” -- the "Salem Monastery Apple" or the "Sippling Monastery Pear" respectively.

When you’ve seen all you want to see, please head back downstairs to our permanent exhibition in the old cowshed.

All depictions: © Gemeinde Fricklingen