Apples are an excellent source of nutrients including water, amino acids, sugars, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. However, within the fruit the nutrients are not homogenous, and therefore certain parts of the apple may be more or less nutritious than other parts. Further the nutritional content of apples is not fixed, with various nutrients changing in their concentrations depending on growing conditions, harvest time and length and method of storage. The main sugars present in apples include sucrose, glucose and fructose, with much lower amounts of sorbitol. Acids present in apples include malic and succinic acids. Levels of fructose, sucrose and glucose increase during ripening, but the sugar content of apples remains fairly even following harvest. The malic acid content of the apples decreases during growth and levels continue to decline following harvest. The falling acid and increasing sugar content of apples during growth therefore reflects their increased sweetness and improvement in perceived taste.
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