According to a representative survey by the SINUS Institute and YouGov, the most eaten fruit in Germany is the apple. And the survey also answers questions about Germany’s favorite taste and the meaning of organic apples for the consumers.
In Germany no other fruit is consumed as much as the apple. Four out of five Germans (79%) regularly eat apples. Followed closely by bananas (78%) and strawberries (77%). And most Germans (74%) believe that apples aren’t just tasty but also healthy. They agree with the age old: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away“.
Looks aren’t everything
Two out of five Germans (38%) prefer multicolored apples, almost as many (36%) prefer red apples, and one fifth (21%) prefer green varieties. But the color of the apple doesn’t matter when it comes to peeling, three quarters (76%) eat their apple unpeeled. But almost as many (73%) do remove the apple core before eating.
There is more agreement on taste, as almost half prefer sweet apples (46%) and only a quarter like tart apples (24%), the rest (29%) like both sweet and tart. Naturally, Germans love to eat apples as a healthy snack (78%) but they also enjoy in apple pie (63%) and applesauce (55%).
89% of Germans have picked apples
Quite a lot of Germans (43%) have found, at one time or another, a worm in their apple. This may also be related to the fact that almost every German (89%) has picked apples themselves. About half of the apples (51%) came from other people’s trees, for instance of a neighbor. But most apples are bought in large stores such as supermarkets (95%) or discount supermarket (86%). In contrast, smaller vendors such as the weekly farmers’ market (58%), greengrocers (55%) and farms (53%) are less frequently visited. Only very few (5%) buy their fresh produce online.
Regional or organic - Austrians find the origin of their apples more important than the Germans
Consumers find it particularly important that their apples come from Germany (74%) or from their region (72%). In contrast to organically cultivated apples, this is only important for about half (53%). Germans value the Fairtrade label the least (44%). However, the study also shows that the importance of origin is not shared by all groups of respondents alike. And it is very important for almost one-fifth of Germans (18%) that apples are organically grown. More information about the different social groups of respondents can be found on the homepage of the SINUS Institute.
The origin of the apple is even more important in Austria and research of partner INTEGRAL has shown this. Austrians highly value the Austrian origin of the apples (92%) or the regional origin (88%). More than two-thirds of Austrians (70%) find organic apple cultivation important and just under half (49%) care about a Fairtrade label.
The most common apple varieties are Golden Delicious and Belle de Boskoop
In Germany the most common apple varieties are Golden Delicious (86%) and Belle de Boskoop (83%) and Granny Smith (80%). Jonagold (79%) and Elstar (75%) are also very popular. While Santana (12%), the Glockenapfel (13%) and Berlepesch (14%) are more uncommon varieties.