The Unusual Way Abraham Lincoln Liked To Eat His Apples

President Abraham Lincoln was famously tall and thin. At 6 feet 4 inches, his weight hovered only between 160 and 185 pounds, making him the tallest, skinniest President in US history. All that to say, the man was not known for his raging appetite and gastronomic gluttony. Among the list of simple foods he liked, apples were high on the list. His former law partner, William Herndon, shared that Lincoln liked to eat the entire apple, starting from the bottom and munching straight through to the top, seeds and stem included.

Apples great for snacking were one of the few foods Lincoln consistently enjoyed, along with gingerbread men and chicken fricassee. Raised on the unforgiving American frontier, Lincoln grew up in a world where waste was unthinkable and food was just fuel. Apples were portable, widely available, and durable. It was the ideal nourishment for a man who spent much of his life traveling, thinking, and working long hours.

Lincoln wasn't shy about his love for apples, and while in the White House, his guard recalled that his wife Mary always kept a large supply of apples in the pantry. He once told fellow Springfield attorney Charles S. Zane that "Apples agree with me," adding, "A large percent of professional men abuse their stomachs by imprudence in drinking and eating, and in that way health in is injured and ruined and life is shortened." So while Lincoln probably wasn't taking shots of bourbon every morning like Harry Truman, he knew what he liked and stuck with it.

Helen Dupre Bullock, a food historian who catalogued the papers of Lincoln, once wrote: "Authorities agree that Lincoln was indifferent towards food, not particularly knowing or caring what was placed before him, whether it was cold or hot, and even whether he ate it or not. If not reminded of meal times, he forgot them." However, one of the few dishes he liked was served at his 1865 inaugural ball: oyster stew, an old-school holiday staple.

Abe Lincoln's hardscrabble youth probably played a role in his simple appetite. According to his biographer, when his mother died when he was just nine years old, Lincoln and his older sister, Sarah, took over domestic duties in their one-room log cabin. Later on, he helped his wife Mary with cooking for their three boys. Legend has it, he was so enthralled by Mary's almond cake that he couldn't help but propose to her. But during times of immense stress (like, say, the Civil War), the man lost his appetite entirely. 

Interestingly, Lincoln may have been ahead of his time when it came to good gut bacteria. Recent studies suggest that mowing down an entire apple can actually be beneficial to your gut microbiome. The "good" bacteria, such as Lactobacillus, was found to be more prevalent in the core and apple seeds. So while Lincoln led us through a Civil War, advanced equality, and preserved the Union — he might have also been an accidental early adopter of probiotics.