Apple varieties Alphabetical Chart - which apple to pick and why!

Below is a description of dozens of varieties of on the market in the United States and Britain to help you choose the apple that you will like best! There are new varieties appearing on the market every year and some the go away. For example, there is a new cross between Honeycrisp and Fuji, called Evercrisp. Apple growers simply prune their existing apple trees down to a strong trunt, then graft cutting of the new variety onto it. This way they can be producing the new paples in a couple of years! Meanwhile, there are heirloom varieties that have been around for hundreds of years. New or old, the big difference is which apple meets your neeeds in taste or flavor profile, , storing ability, sweetness, and other properties like resisting browning when cut.

Scroll down this page for a table of dozens of apple varieties including photos and their characteristics and best uses. This page has tips about harvesting and storing apples. And if you bring home some apples and want to make applesauce, apple butter, apple juice, apple pie, apple cobbler, apple crisp, even apple cider, just click the links for each to follow directions and recipes or see this page see this page for a master list of simple, reliable, illustrated canning, freezing or preserving directions. There are plenty of other related resources, such as this list of local regional and apple festivals - click on the resources dropdown above.

If you have questions or feedback, please let me know!

Notes for March 2023: The northern half of the U.S. (and most of Canada, of course) are under snow. So, the crops to pick are pretty much limited to Florida, Texas, southern California and a few other areas of the Deep South.  Citus, for one, is a crop that is usually available now; and in those areas, soon also strawberries and blueberries. Check your area's copy calendar (see this page) and call your local farms for seasonal updates.

Children's Consignment Sales occur in both the Spring and Fall  See our companion website to find a local community or church kid's consignment sale!

Next year, don't miss an Easter Egg Hunt for your children: See our companion website to find a local Easter Egg hunt!

We also have a website for both Valentine's Day information, facts and fun and one for St. Patrick's day (including great recipes for corned beef, Irish stew, etc.)

We also have home canning, preserving, drying and freezing directions. You can access recipes and other resources from the drop down menus at the top of the page or the site search. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to write me! It is easy to make your own ice cream, even gelato, or low fat or low sugar ice cream - see this page. Also note, there are many copycat website listing U-pick farms now.  They have all copied their information form here and usually do not ever update.  Since 2002, I've been updating the information every day but Christmas; so if you see anything wrong, please write me!

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Apple varieties Alphabetical Chart - which apple to pick and why!

2023 looks to have apples ripening on their normal schedule. There have been few late frosts in the main apple growing regions, rain and temperatures have been good, so the year is shaping up well for a good apple crop. It's too early for prices, but I expect most areas to see $14 to $30 a bushel, depending on variety! Scroll down the page to see the chart, or click here for a PDF print version. And for an explanation of why apple slices turn brown and how to stop it, see this page! To see how to properly store apples for the winter, see this page! Finally, if you have an apple tree and want to know what variety it is, see this page.

Alphabetical List of American Apple Varieties and Detailed Characteristics

Click here for a PDF printable version of this table

If you are looking for the summary table, click here.

Ashmead Kernal

• A small heirloom apple, covered with a thick russet,
• often found in Virginia, originated in England around 1700 and was brought to the United States much later.
• Very sweet and acidic
• Ripens from late September into October

Arkansas Black

• A medium to large apple
• dark purple to almost black
• Very, very hard texture and an excellent keeper.
• Almost too hard-textured at harvest. Best after some storage time.
• Great for baking; and terrible for applesauce
• A Winesap type.
• Late season

Autumn Crisp

• Sweet tart flavor
• flesh resists browning
• high in Vitamin C
• late season
• Good for applesauce

Baldwin

• good quality large red apple
• An old variety, subject to cold injury in the winter
• late mid-season
• medium sweet

Bevan's Favorite

• Very early season
• Mostly used for cooking
• Old variety, from 1859

Black Twig

• a Tennessee apple that was introduced about 1830
• popular dessert apple, tart apple; good for fresh eating and high tannic acid which adds body to cider.
• mid to late October
• medium to large size with varying color, usually green to yellow skin that is streaked and flushed red to burgundy and yellow, firm flesh
• excellent keeping apple, store in the refrigerator for best flavor
   

Blondee

• Smooth yellow skin with slight russeting at the stem and scattered tan-colored pores
• Sweet-tart flavor,
• Crisp, juicy white flesh.
• Excellent for eating fresh and also a good cooking apple

Blushing Golden

• Medium-sized waxy coated modern yellow apple with a pink blush
• Jonathan/Golden Delicious cross.
• Firm flesh with flavor like Golden Delicious, but tarter.
• Keeps well
• Late season

Braeburn

• Rich red color with white flesh
• Sweet
• Best for eating
• Late season

Cameo

• A large, round sub-acid apple
• Red blush stripe over yellow.
• Late ripening
• Sweet/tart, good all-purpose use apple

CandyCrisp

• from New York State.
• Early October
• very sweet, low acid, very juicy, firm yellow-skinned apple
• best eaten fresh, Good for eating, baking, sauce, and juice.
• can store for up to four months

Cortland

• A Ben Davis/McIntosh cross
• large flat, dull red apple with a purple hue and soft, white flesh
• Less aromatic than McIntosh
• Good keeper.
• Very good in salads.
• Mid season

Cosmic Crisp(The variety has its own Cosmic Crisp website)

• Breeding began in 1997 at the Washington State University (WSU) Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, Washington,
• Cosmic Crisp is a cross between Honeycrisp and Enterprise apples, intended to have the texture and juiciness of the Honeycrisp, and the late-ripening behavior and long storage of the Enterprise.
• Storage is very good,
• Dark red skin, dense firm flesh
• Ripens at the same time as Red Delicious
• First available to consumers in 2019,
• High in both sugar and acidity, making it as good overall or better than Red Delicious, Gala and Fuji

Cox's Orange Pippin

• Popular in English markets.
• Medium sized, golden yellow skin, with brownish orange
• often russeted.
• Flesh tender, crisp, semi-tart
• early

Crimson Crisp

• Tart and Juicy
• Fresh Eating
• Disease Resistant
• mid to Late Season
   

Crispin/Mutsu *

• Light green to yellowish white
• Sweet, rich, full flavor, very juicy and super crisp.
• Firm, dense texture
• Best for: eating fresh
• Mid - late season

Earligold

• medium to large, round-conical apple
• early season
• tart but good for an early apple.
• Stores reasonably well

.

Empire*

• A McIntosh type apple
• Long shelf life
• Aromatic and crisp with creamy white juicy flesh.
• Flesh does not brown quickly when sliced
• Tasty blend of sweet and tart
• Best for: eating fresh and baking
• Early - Mid season

Enterprise

• Large, red apple
• Disease resistant
• Ripens 3 weeks after red delicious
• Stores well, flavor improves in storage

Evercrisp

• a cross between Honeycrisp and Fuji
• sweet, crisp, firm and dense just like its parent cultivar Honeycrisp.
• late-season apple, ripening in mid-October and harvested in October to November depending on the region.
• skin is blushed rosey red over a cream background.
• stores well

Fuji

• Very sweet, aromatic flavor
• Yellow-green with red highlights
• Originated in Japan.
• Best for: eating, salads, best applesauce apple
• Late season
   
  

Gala

• Developed in New Zealand.
• Sweet, aromatic flavor
• Best for: eating, salad, best applesauce apple
• medium to smaller in size with a distinctive red and yellow striped heart-shaped appearance.
• Early to mid season
  

Ginger Gold

• Very slow to turn brown, so it's a great choice for apple slices.
• Early yellow apple that's sweet and mildly tart.
• Best for: eating, sauce, salad
• Early ripening

Golden Delicious

• Firm white flesh which retains its shape
• Rich mild flavor when baked or cooked.
• Tender skin
• Stays white longer when cut;
• Best for: salads, blend in applesauce
• Early season

Goldrush

• late season, mid to late October
• flavor is mild, sweet, like Golden Delicious
• dessert apple
• specifically developed for scab-resistance and powdery mildew. makes it good for organic gardens
• tart, tangy flavor that sweetens with age.
• Good for fresh eating or in pies and crisps.

Grimes Golden

• Firm white flesh which retains its shape
• Rich mild flavor when baked or cooked.
• Tender skin, with a "grimy mottled surface"; (but there IS also Mr. Thomas Grimes, who developed the variety, see Wikipedia)
• Stays white longer when cut;
• Best for: salads, blend in applesauce
• Early season

Granny Smith

• Very tart
• Bright green appearance, crisp bite and tart apple flavor.
• Best for: people who like tart apples rather than sweet ones :-)
• Mid to late season
• Firm crisp , white flesh
• Not good for applesauce unless you add sugar (or like a very tart applesauce)

Gravenstein

• Greenish-yellow with a lumpy appearance
• Tart flavor
• A good, all-purpose apple,
• Good for applesauce and pies.
• originated in the 17th century or earlier.
• Picked in July and August and
• Does not store well,

Hokuto

• A Mutsu/Fuji cross
• crisp texture of Fuji,
• large size and shape of Mutsu,
• sweet flavors
• late mid-season

Honeycrisp

• Introduced in Minnesota
• Very sweet and aromatic
• Great for juice, as it is a very juicy apple
• Best for: Eating, pies, baking
• Mid season

Idared

• Crisp and juicy with a sweet tart flavor.
• Great for pies and fresh eating.
• Late season
• developed at the University of Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station in 1942
• it is a cross between Jonathan and Wagener
• white flesh with a firm body,
• Excellent for apple sauces, pies, and cakes.
• harvested at the end of September to the middle of October.
• EXCELLENT keeper, storing apple remains good until the end of January,

Jazz

• Cross between Royal Gala and Braeburn, developed in Australia
• Very sweet, more flavor than Gala
• Vewry good fresh eating and applesauce, apple butter
• A "Club" variety, meaning licensed with limited commercial growing, first appeared on the shelves in 2004.
• late ripening

Jersey Mac

• early season (August)
• medium sized red apple with yellow/green splashes.
• Flesh is crisp and juicy with a tart flavor.
• It is an excellent for eating fresh, apple sauce,

Jonathan

• One of the first red apples of the fall
• Sweet-tart taste with firm texture
• Light red stripes over yellow or deep redd
• Best for: eating and cooking
• Early season

Jonalicious

• Flavor like Jonathan but a little less tart and darker red skin.
• Larger, crisper, and juicier than Jonathan, and a better keeper.
• Slightly sour/acid balance.
• early midseason
   

Jonamac

• A medium-sized Jonathan/McIntosh cross
• Sour flavored, aromatic and tender fleshed like McIntosh.
• Early season, a few days prior to McIntosh.
• Poor keeper.

Jonagold *

• A cross of Jonathan and Golden Delicious.
• Best for: eating, sauce, pies, salad, baking
• Mid season
• A sweet/tart flavor

Jubilee

• Best for: eating, sauce, pies, salad
• Mid season
• developed in British Columbia
• It is a cross between McIntosh and Grimes Golden.
• flavor is sweet, but is only crispy when just picked.

Keepsake

• Best for: baking, sauces or eating raw.
• Small apple with a red outer skin and a cream colored fine textured flesh.
• very sweet flavor with a high sugar content
   

Liberty

• A highly disease-resistant introduction from Geneva New York.
• Liberty has superior dessert quality, similar to one of its parents, Macoun
• Best for: eating, sauce, salad
• flavor improves in storage
• late season

Lodi

• Very early apple
• yellow
• also called Yellow Transparent
• hybrid of the 'Yellow Transparent' and 'Montgomery Sweet'
• originally from the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in 1924
• commonly grown in the Southern US

Macoun

• Named after a famous fruit grower in Canada
• Best for: eating, sauce, salad
• Very good, sweet, all-around apple
• cross between the 'McIntosh' and 'Jersey Black' cultivars.
• developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva,
• first introduced in 1923,

McIntosh *

• Popular in America since 1811
• Best for: eating, sauce, salad, good as part of a blend for applesauce
• Sweet, tart, mild flavor
• It is, the national apple of Canada.
• red and green skin, tender white flesh
• Ripens in late September.

Melrose

• The official apple of Ohio
• Similar to a Jonathan but sweeter.
• Good for pies: the slices hold together in pies
• Keeps well

Mutsu

• Lousy name, but a great apple
• It is sweet and crisp
• It is similar to Golden Delicious. but keeps a little bit better
• Best for eating fresh and it makes a great applesauce

Northern Spy

• Large, high quality fruit commonly used for desserts and pies, as well as juice and cider.
• Green base color, flushed with red stripes
• Good for storage, Mid-late season
• Originated in East Bloomfield, New York in about 1800
• Juicy, crisp and mildly sweet white flesh with a rich, aromatic subacid flavor, tarter than most popular varieties, noted for high vitamin C content.
• Flesh is harder/crunchier than most, with a thin skin.

Opal

• mid to late October
• Does not brown when sliced (see this page for more info)
• first U.S. apple variety to be verified by the Non-GMO Project
• cross of 'Golden Delicious' with 'Topaz'
• naturally low in polyphenol oxidase making it resistant to browning

PaulaRed

• A tart apple
• bright red with some yellow and tan spots; the skin often has a dusty sheen with light to creamy flesh.
• Good for eating, in pies and sauces.
• Paulared arose as a seedling next to an orchard of 'McIntosh' trees
• ripens late in the summer
• becomes extremely soft when cooked, which suits them to some dishes (applesauce) and not others (pies).

Pink Lady

• Rich red/pink color with white flesh
• Very sweet and crisp
• Best for eating and makes a naturally sweet, smooth applesauce and it is good in salads and pies.
• A cross between a Golden Delicious and a Lady William.
• Late season

Pristine

• Very early yellow apple
• Very sweet and juicy,
• bruises easily, not a good keeper
• the tree is known for its resistance to apple scab, but is susceptible to cedar-apple rust

Red Delicious

• WAS the most popular apple variety in the world! for decades (now being replaced by Fuji and Gala)
• Best for: eating, salad, very good as a base apple for applesauce
• Thin bright red skin with a mildly flavored fine-grained white flesh.
• Bruises easily and does not keep well.
• Early to mid season
• There are many, many varieties of red delicious, so there is a range of properties. Not all red delicious are the same!

Redfree

• early season, ripening around mid-August.
• Firm and crunchy flesh
• Can be stored up to 2 months without loss of quality or firmness.
• early-season apple
• The flesh is light cream. medium grained

Rome

• Best for: baking and cooking - but not applesauce - not sweet enough, and it has a fairly bland flavor
• Very smooth red apple with a slightly juicy flesh.
• Very hard flesh
• Mid to late season

RubyFrost

• tart, all around apple
• can be compared to Empire and Granny Smith.
• stores well,
• Late season, ripens later in the fall

Sansa

• Sweet
• Early season
• Good for Fresh Eating
• Not a great keeper

Shizuka

• Mid season
• great for salads, eating fresh or juicing
• Fruit is juicy, firm with and it's slow to brown when cut
• A sister to Mutsu/Golden Delicious and Indo apples developed in Japan, with milder flavor.
• Sweeter with less acid than Mutsu, but an excellent flavor and lack of acidity

Snowsweet

• from the University of Minnesota, released in 2006
• sweet taste, with a slight tart balance and rich overtones.
• white flesh is very slow to oxidize and turn brown after cutting.
• fresh eating, snack trays, salads, sauces
• Late, approximately 2 weeks after Honeycrisp

Snapdragon

• Newer variety, derived from Honeycrisp so it is very crisp and sweet
• Spicy-sweet flavor
• Long shelf life.
• crispy apple has a juicy, sweet flavor

Spartan

• A cross between the McIntosh and Pippin apples.
• Good all-purpose apple.
• medium size and has a bright red blush, but can have background patches of greens and yellows.
• introduced in 1936 from the Federal Agriculture Research Station in Summerland, British Columbia, now known as the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre
• a small sweet apple, like a McIntosh"
• bright crimson skin and very bright white flesh

Stayman

• Juicy, cream-colored to yellowish flesh with a tart wine-like flavor.
• crisp crunch flesh
• Good storing apple, bruise resistant, dull red coat.
• Best for: Cooking, pies and cider
• mid-season, Early September

Stayman-Winesap

• Juicy, cream-colored to yellowish flesh with a tart wine-like flavor.
• Stayman-Winesap is a cross between a Stayman apple and a Winesap apple.
• Exceptional eating quality.
• crisp crunch flesh
• Good storing apple, bruise resistant, dull red coat.
• Best for: Fresh, cooking, pies and cider
• late season, mid to late October

Strawberry

• A crunchy, juicy apple
• a red striped exterior with slight yellow blush
• sweet-tart flavor.
• Antique variety, originates from Chenango, New York, circa 1854.
   

Summer Banana

• Mid-August
• A sweet apple for eating or making fried apple pies.
• Old variety from South Carolina in the 1800s
• When fully ripe it has the faint smell of banana.
  

 

Suncrisp

• A hard tart, long keeping apple.
• Red over orange color; Golden Delicious-type
• Ripens late in the season
• Best for Baking, storing
• Formerly known as NJ55, SunCrisp was developed at Rutgers University
• Cross of Golden Delicious, Cortland, and Cox's Orange Pippin apples.

Sundance

• Sweet, tart yellow apple with reddish highlights
• very firm, very crisp and breaking flesh.
• Late season
• Good for eating fresh, applesauce
• cross between Golden Delicious and 1050 NJ 1,
• released for sale in 2004

SweeTango

• Similar to Honeycrisp
• Ripens mid August - September
• Developed at University of Minnesota
• Tightly licensed

Ultra Gold

• mid to late September
• Yellow, sometimes flushed with light red blush;
• crisp, juicy, sweet
• A long-lasting,
• all-purpose apple good for snacking and cooking.
• Excellent for sauce, pies, and juice when mixed with another variety

Virginia Gold

• cross of Albemarle Pippin and Golden Delicious around 1976 at Virginia Tech
• mid-season
• Bright yellow when ripe
• has a pink blush and a smooth, clear skin,
• flesh is crisp, juicy
• mildly subacid flavor characteristic of the Pippin.
  

Wild Crisp

• New (2019) Cross between Honeycrisp and Cripps Pink  (AKA Pink Lady)
• Juicy crunch of Honeycrisp combined with the intricate flavor of Cripps Pink
• Very juicy with sweet, balanced flavor also very crunchy
• Test at 17.5 brix sweetness (very sweet)
• From Pennsylvania.
•  Great for snacking or in a fruit salad

 

 

William's Pride

• A cross of Jonathan x Melba x Mollie's Delicious, Rome found in 1975 in West Lafayette, Indiana, by the Indiana, New Jersey, and Illinois (PRI) joint apple-breeding program, and released commercially in 1988
• early-maturing, early July, the very earliest known commercial red apple in the Midwestern United States. It ripens 1 week after 'Lodi' and 7.5 to 8 weeks before 'Delicious'.
• very attractive entirely dark red/purple apple, medium to large in size, slightly conical, .
• Slightly tart, with complex sweet and rich flavor
• attractive, dark red apple

Winesap

• Rich red color with white or yellowish flesh
• Crisp texture and juicy
• Sweet, tangy flavor
• Best for cooking
• Winesap is an old apple cultivar of unknown origin, dating at least to American colonial times.
• all-purpose, being used for fresh eating, cider, apple butter, and pies.
• late season.

Yates

• Mid to late season
• Rich red color with white flesh
• Sweet
• Best for eating
• Late season
• Small

York

• Crisp and flavorful
• "lop-sided" shape
• Deep red with green streaks
• Best for eating. holds texture during cooking and freezing

Zestar

• Sweet-Tart
  Best for Fresh Eating and Cooking
• Early-Mid season

Tart or Sweet?

Check the chart below for a comparison

Images from the U.S. Apple Association (mostly)!

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English Apple Varieties

These links take you to photos on GardenAction.co.uk

• Bramley - The English gush over this apple with a fever (fevour?:) that borders on mania. It's basically a granny smith type, a higher acid content and lower sugar apple, with a stronger, more tangy taste. Bramley's are considered to be an ideal cooking apple.
• Charles Ross
• Crispin
• Early Victoria
• Early Worcester
• Ellisons Orange
• Epicure
• Gibsons Scarlet
• Golden Spire
• Greensleaves
• Howgate Wonder
• Ingrid Marie
• James Grieve
• Jonagored
• Jupiter
• Katy
• Orleans Reinette
• Peasgood Nonsuch
• Red Gravenstein
• Red Victoria
• Rev W. Wilks
• Ribston Pippin
• Rosemary Russett
• Spartan
• Sturmer Pippin
• Sunset
• Superb
• Tydermans Late Orange
• Warners King
• Winston

More about apple varieties can be found:

University of Illinois Apple page

More Apple Varieties

Apple photos and brief descriptions

Credits:

photos:
Jonamac, Macoun, PaulaRed: Courtesy of New York Apple Association, © New York Apple Association

And if you are looking for shipping containers for apples and other fruit, see this page.

Home Canning Kits This is the same type of standard canner that my grandmother used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and spaghetti sauce. This complete kit includes everything you need and lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, Jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer, and the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book. It's much cheaper than buying the items separately. You will never need anything else except jars & lids (and the jars are reusable)! There is also a simple kit with just the canner and rack, and a Pressure Canner, if you want to do vegetables (other than tomatoes). To see more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!

Lids, Rings, Jars, mixes, pectin, etc. Need lids, rings and replacement jars? Or pectin to make jam, spaghetti sauce or salsa mix or pickle mixes? Get them all here, and usually at lower prices than your local store! Get them all here at the best prices on the internet!