If you want your fruit to ripen faster, store it in a paper bag with a ripe apple to speed the process. And embrace other apple uses!

"Those are all good ideas, but can't we just eat these things?"

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—According to evidence uncovered by archeologists, people having been enjoying apples since at least 6,500 B.C. In that time, we've mastered baking apple pies, pressing fresh cider, and hundreds of handy uses for apple cider vinegar. So in honor of Organic Apple Week, we're providing you with even more (and possibly offbeat) apple uses, and some additional reasons to embrace this wonderful fruit.

Here are six things you may not know you can do with an apple:

# 1: Ease your allergies. Apples are abundant in the plant compound quercetin. The compound seems to slow down the secretion of histamine, a chemical your body releases during an allergic reaction. A 2000 study in the journal Thorax also found that men who ate five or more apples a week enjoyed better lung function.

# 2: Mitigate a migraine. Some studies have found that the smell of green apples can reduce the brain-thumping symptoms of a migraine, and can shorten a migraine episode. Researchers are also trying to figure out if it could help alleviate joint pain. If you feel a headache coming on, you can cut a green apple in half and smell it. You be the judge if it works or not! Just don't sniff artificial apple fragrances—they could cause a headache!

# 3: Convert them into leather. Ok, not a leather jacket or anything like that, but fruit leather, a cheap, organic snack that the whole family will love. Visit the Nickel Pincher's story on drying and preserving fruit for step-by-step instructions.