There is a theory that the "centers of origin" of a species can be found in the places where you find the highest diversity of that species. That idea was developed by Nikolai Vavilov, a remarkable Soviet-era botanist who dedicated his life to finding the biological origins of major food plants in an effort to combat hunger. (It is not without irony that he died of starvation in a gulag). Vavilov studied the origin of the apple, and concluded that the domestic apple (Malus domestica) had evolved from a species of wild apple (Malus siversii), endemic to Southern Kazakhstan. That all domestic apples originate from the mountains in southern Kazakhstan has since been confirmed by modern genetics. While there, I followed in his footsteps, leaving Almaty for the Tien Shan Mountain range, to find wild apple forests.

In these forests, no two trees produce identically flavoured apples. At each tree we came across, we took a cautionary bite of a first fruit to find out if we hit gold or not. Some trees produced apples that were bitter, astringent, and puckering, but others were sweet and juicy. The interesting thing about Malus siverssii is that unlike many other wild trees, the fruits from one tree are completely different from the next—the flavours are remarkably diverse. We found some reminiscent of Sauternes wine, through apricot to bitter lemon or rhubarb. Tastes ranged in intensity through notes of sweet, sour, and bitter. The texture could be anywhere from crunchy to mealy, and the size anywhere between a cherry and a tennis ball.