COUNTIF Function

I am pretty much stuck on ignorant when it comes to spreadsheets. I did however, mudle my way to understanding the basics of the COUNTIF function. Herre is what I am trying to do. Count if a cell matches either of 2 values.

Column1
Bananas
Oranges
Apples
Peaches
Bananas
Apples

Now, I want to count if a cell in the above column contains either bananas or apples. I hope I have explained my question clearly.

 

Maybe a better way, but this should work.

If the values are in cells a1 to a10

Then the calculating cell would read

=countif(a1:a10, "bananas ")+countif(a1:a10, "apples ")

 

Thanks Whitphil, I wasn't aware one could have more than one function strung together like that. Whether there is a better way or not, your solution will serve my purpose well. Thanks again.