Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Celebrate National Pork and National Apple Month

I love the month of October for many reasons - cool weather, the changing colors of the leaves, harvest, Halloween and my birthday!  I also enjoy the month of October because it is a great excuse to eat savory pork and delicious apples, since October is also known as National Pork Month and National Apple Month.

To celebrate the first day of this great month, I thought I'd share some fun facts about both pork and apples!

  • Iowa's pork producers raise 28% of all US Pork, making Iowa the top producer of pork in the nation.
  • There are more than 8 million pigs in Iowa, so yes, it is true, there is almost three times as many pigs in Iowa, as there are people.
  • Americans, on average, eat more than 60 pounds of pork each year, and with the popularity of bacon rising, that number is surly to rise!
  • Red Delicious Apples, America's favorite apple, was developed on a farm near East Peru, Iowa in the 1880s.
  • Apples are grown in all 50 states, but only 36 commercially.  There are over 2,500 varieties of apples grown nationally.
  • Apple blossom is the state flower of Michigan.

Also to celebrate be sure to cook and bake with pork and apples.  One great recipe that includes both pork and apples is my Harvest Brats recipe - check it out here.

Harvest Brats
Delicious pork brats with a apple and onion mustard slaw

2 comments:

  1. Mmm pork and apples are terrific together. One of my favorites is pork chops with sauteed apples! I will have to try your recipe.

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  2. Yum! That looks delicious!! Will have to try it!!! Thanks for the recipe!

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