Sitting side by side an apple and an orange are strikingly different, but despite their physical dissimilarities, their origins run a parallel course. From their humble beginnings to becoming two of the most commercially important fruits in the world, the apple and the orange share much of the same path. .
These two pinnacles of produce perfection grow on every continent in the world (excluding Antarctica), and now come in multiple varieties, but where is the actual birthplace of the apple and the orange? Surprisingly they are practically neighbors, with only the Caspian Sea and roughly one thousand miles of desert between them. The mainspring of the apple is in the Caucasus Mountains which lie in the vicinity of the Caspian Sea, Russia, and the country of Azerbaijan ("Apples"). The orange begins life slightly farther to the East near China, India, and many other countries with difficult names ("Orange History"). It is in these native Asian habitats that people first see the apple and orange for the true delicacies that they are. .
As the two fruits become more popular and trade begins to open up between Europe and Asia, the apple and the orange both leave their secluded mountain homes and make a move to Europe, where they flourish in feudal society. The apple takes the most direct route of the two and flies hurriedly across the continent from East to West, making itself well know to all people who praise it for its beauty and taste ("Apples"). The orange however, meanders first into North Africa before coming to rest in the South of Europe where it is lauded by nobles and peasants alike ("Orange History"). Both of them enjoy tremendous success and become staples of life throughout Europe.
With the discovery of the New World in 1492 the famous fruits go on the move again traveling across the Atlantic by way of ship. The orange quickly makes its way to the Americas, mainly through the European explorers around the year 1500 ("Orange History").