The Romantic History Behind The Halloween Tradition Of Bobbing For Apples

As bobbing goes, apples are the premier pick for submerging in water and almost immediately trying to liberate with your face. But why is this frankly strange tradition as synonymous with autumn as more sensible activities, such as hay riding and pumpkin picking? Why, for the same reason that many of life's most confusing rituals exist: A little flirtatious fun.

Although the data isn't quite as convincing as the evidence that identifies other foodstuff mysteries, such as who invented the Cobb salad, apple bobbing does have a decently linear thread. As lore seems to have it, apple bobbing may have originated as a kind of slobbery relationship predictor. The earliest details date back centuries, so they're as murky as the water into which so many strangers chomp, but there is a fair amount of agreement that ladies led these fruity, toothy fishing expeditions.

Apples would be named for the objects of these fair maidens' desires, which the women would then attempt to pierce with their pearly whites. The apples, that is, not the guys. Success would, apparently, all but ensure a future with said gents. There does not appear to be any evidence indicating that these hunts were in any way legally binding, although that would be darkly fitting for the season. The most likely scenario was that apple bobbing was just done in good fun. But still, the stakes do feel higher than the no-commitment apple bobbing of today, in which most folks partake for the joy of wetting one's head with DNA-infused H2O alone.

For as many shining examples as you can find at your local grocery store, there are even more apple varieties that you might not even know exist. They're also mostly already named, so if you're playing by old-timey rules, prepare to wed a Knobbed Russet or a Catshead. If you're bobbing for more platonic fun, smaller spheres might be easier to bite, so stick with something like a relatively petite Gala. Try to spy some with long stems, too, as nabbing one from the top without so much as breaking its flesh is the ultimate apple bobbing hack.

This is also the one occasion that the pesky layer of wax on your apples might actually come in handy. Run your thumb over an unwaxed apple and it glides with ease. That sucker gets even slicker once it's underwater. Now do the same with a waxed apple. It drags a bit. That's just the near-tacky quality you want when you're trying to nab one with little more than your incisors.