From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1909 illustrations by
depicting apple cultivars , ,
Over 7,500
of the culinary or eating
(Malus pumila) are known. Some are extremely important economically as commercial products, though the vast majority are not suitable for mass production. In the following list, use for "eating" means that the fruit is consumed raw, rather than cooked. Cultivars used primarily for making
are indicated. Those varieties marked agm have gained the 's .
This list does not include the species and varieties of apples collectively known as crab apples or crabapples, which are grown primarily for ornamental purposes, though they may be used to make jelly. These are described under .
Common name
First developed
A dessert apple. Similar flavour to Russet, first introduced under the name "Norfolk Pippin".
Czech Republic
New very popular variety.Flesh firm, crisp, juicy with very good taste. Robust, healthy, scab resistant variety with excellent keeping qualities and taste.
Apple is large in size, weighing 250–300 g. It is yellow, juicy, and bittersweet with a weak aroma.
(Newell-Kimzey red flesh, Aerlie's Red Flesh)
Oregon, US
A large, conic apple. Light yellow-green skin strewn with white dots, occasionally with a faint reddish orange blush. Light pink to deep red flesh is crisp, sweet and mildly tart.
× . Tangy taste.
15th century
Apple is egg-shaped, medium to large in size, sweet and aromatic. Best in November, keeps well till February. Oldest cultivar in Northern Europe, grown mostly in Sweden and Estonia.
Cox's Orange Pippin ×
Lincolnshire, UK
A versatile English dessert apple raised by
some time before 1884. Exhibited as Brown's South Lincoln Beauty, the name was changed to Allington Pippin by
in 1896. A cross of
and . A small apple, aromatic, with a pineapple-like flavour, keeps its shape when cooked.
Eating, Cooking, Dessert
British Columbia, Canada
Medium to large in size, mostly red coloration with yellow patches. Has cream-coloured flesh with a sweet, crisp, aromatic flavour and low acidity. Ambrosia trees are hardy and no major disadvantages have yet been identified.
Colour is yellow with a red blush. This variety does not grow well in the cold and prefers heat and humidity.
Campania, Italy
1876 (documented)
V possibly one of the oldest of all. Believed to be older than first mention in Pasquale's Manuale di Arboricultura, 1876.
Kursk, Russia
17th century
A very old Russian variety, often planted at . Apples are large, yellow-green and bracingly tart to eat out of hand, but superb for cooking, as they keep their shape. Extremely tolerant of cold weather, and because it produces a single, deep
(unusual among apple trees), Antonovka is propagated for use as a . Antonovka rootstock provides a cold-hardy (to -45 °C), well-anchored, vigorous, standard-sized tree.
Cooking, Cider
Cox's Orange Pippin × Geheimrat Dr. Oldenburg
Angers, France
Scab resistant. Developed at the National Institute of Agricultural Research in France.
Arkansas, US
H stores well. Very deep red, appearing black from a distance.
large golden cooker: prone to mildew but scab resistant
Small, very sweet and very tart.
British Columbia, Canada
D medium size, sweet, juicy, crisp, firm, very long storage life.
Washington, US
The Autumn Glory variety is a hybrid of the
apple, featuring a red over golden background. Very sweet, firm flesh with a subtle "cinnamon" flavour. Produced only by Domex Superfresh Growers in Washington's Yakima Valley.
Red apple with considerable white flecks. Has some russeting.
Massachusetts, US
Sweet to subacid flavour. Also known as "Woodpecker". Very old variety for North America. Makes lots of juice.
Cooking, Eating
County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
A large, round apple with firm, dry, sweet, slightly tart white flesh. Excellent keeper. Scab and canker resistant.
Cooking, Eating
A medium-sized eating apple with a unique lemon aroma. Sweet and juicy. Skin color red over gold. Very disease resistant. Single tree discovered on Bardsey island in 1998, age of original tree unknown. May have monastic origins.
Minnesota, US
Lively, good for baking. Does not keep very well.
Cooking, Eating
Deep red flush and streaks of red with a little russet. Early maturing but short season. Formerly grown commercially in England for local markets. Good flavour in its home climate if it is eaten soon after picking. Poor flavour if distributed long distances and stored for weeks, so now rare.
Boskoop, Netherlands
Bright red, fairly large, early in season (end of August to early September).
Cooking (applesauce)
Southeastern US
Noted for keeping well prior to refrigerated storage, but flavour has been compared with cork.
California, US
Slightly tart flavour. Likes warm weather.
A cross between
Victoria, Australia
Medium-sized fruit with a green and red skin, sharp in flavour and not a common apple.
Has greenish-yellow to orange skin streaked with red. Distinctive nutty flavour excellent for cooking. The vigorous tree is slow to come into crop but then produces heavily.
Cooking, Eating
, Scotland
A medium-sized, very dark red, heavily ribbed apple. Crisp, mildly sweet white flesh, sometimes pink-streaked. It is reputed to have got its name from a ploughman who was caught stealing apples near
and was shot by the gamekeeper. His wife got the bag of apples and threw them on the compost heap where a seedling then grew and - voila - Bloody Ploughman.
Produces large fruit. Has thick skin, but juicy.
Eating, Cider
New Zealand
Chance seedling. The fruit is widely sold commercially in the UK.
(Bramley's Seedling) agm
Nottinghamshire, UK
The fruit is the most widely sold cooker in the UK. Large sized fruits with waxy skin, green with a red flush. A favourite ingredient in many traditional British puddings.
18th century
A small, juicy and sweet apple, considered one of the best Portuguese apples
Sweet flavour. Originally raised by a parson in Berkshire. Rare.
Resistant to scab. Spreading habit with full flowering season is medium-late, production is heavy, fruit is medium or medium-large, white lenticels, no russet, excellent taste characteristics. Ripens first week of October (Trentino).
Noted for unusual looks (somewhat lumpy on the side) but excellent reward when tried. Noted for having unusually high vitamin C content. Apple of choice for tarte tatin in France.
Washington State, US
Existence owed to freak accidental crossing of two most popular apples in world: Red and Golden Delicious. Retains prongs on bottom of latter parent but has flavour more resembling Golden.
Tennessee, US
Has unusual habit of blossoming twice, and producing two crops per year. Very popular Civil-War-era Southern apple. Does beautifully in humid weather. Good choice for backyard gardener in subtropical climate.
Cooking, Eating
Ripens early.
Alabama, US
Medium to large, skin green or greenish yellow washed with dull red with darker red broken tripes, covered with a heavy bluish bloom. Crisp, juicy, sugary, aromatic, mild subacid. Foliage also has a blue hue. Ripens September and keeps until November. Once widely grown in the American South, then thought extinct. Reintroduced to America in 1994 after being discovered at the National Fruit Trust in Kent, England, where it had been added in 1947 from a collection in Rhone, France, after it had been acquired around 1860 from the Fruitland Nursery in .
Eating, Cooking
, Shampion or Sampion
A cross between
and a . Attractive colour. This tree bears attractive fruit, extra-large sized, deep red, juicy, and crisp. Keeps fresh for a long time. Starts bearing at a young age. Harvest time is October.
Eating, Juice
Sharp flavour. Lumpy shape and electric green colouring. Known to have been a variety planted in early
by settlers as well as native England. Extremely rare in native UK; occasionally still found growing in southern US.
Berkshire, UK
Has been an
winner. Orange to red. Best cooked early in season. Good flavour, and sweet when eaten later in season.
Multi-purpose
A large long keeping yellow-skinned apple with diffuse orange pink flush. [1]. Still grown in Essex orchards including .
Multi-purpose
Histon, Cambridgeshire, UK
Medium to large oblate apple. Red flush over greenish yellow skin. Crisp, juicy, sweet white flesh. Flavour can be variable but at its best is very well balanced. Grown by
(now a brand of ) for apple sauce.
Multi-purpose
Claygate Pearmain agm
Suitable for northerly, cold, wet climates: rich, nutty flavour
Geheimrat Dr. Oldenburg × Cox's Orange Pippin
Cornwall, UK
Discovered as accidental seedling. Shy bearer.
Pale crisp flesh. Ripens in October in state of origin. Classic red coloration, nice crunch.
Extremely old variety, may date from as early as
times. Popular during the . Yellow to light green, flushed with red.
One of the most celebrated apples in the UK, valued for its aromatic "orange" colour and flavour. The fruit is widely sold commercially. Mainly grown in UK, Belgium and the Netherlands but also grown for export in New Zealand.
('Pink Lady')
Crisp, very sweet and slightly tart. Light red, pink and light yellow-green striped skin.
Cooking, Eating
Washington
Crimson Delight is a multi-purpose apple intended for snacking, baking and fresh recipes. The fruit size is medium to large with a firm texture and is crisp and juicy.
Eating, Baking etc.
California
developed by
who named it Little Rosybloom for its cute size and attractive ruby red flush. He died before completing the patent papers. Fruit was later rediscovered and renamed. Very crispy and keeps texture in backing.
Eating, Baking etc.
One of parents believed to be Ben Davis, but very tart unlike parent. Dark red skin underlaid with stripes.
Cooking, Eating
, Essex, UK
A medium-sized apple with yellow-green skin, a red blush where exposed to the sun and covered with an spotty ochre russet. White flesh is aromatic, firm and crisp with noticeable hints of
Tentation delblush
, Golden Delicious × Grifer
Delbarestivale delcorf,
Golden Delicious × Stark Jonagrimes
Delbardivine delfloga,
× Florina, scab resistant
Delbard, France
Sampion × Florina, scab resistant
Cybèle delrouval,
Delcorf × Akane
Delbard Celeste deltana,
(Golden Delicious × Grive Rouge) × Florina, scab resistant
England, France?
1685 (documented)
Possible French parentage or ancestry. Crimson red peel. Juicy.
Possibly from an open-pollinated Worcester Pearmain, or could well be a Worcester × Beauty of Bath. Sharp, sweet flavour. Fruits are sold commercially in the UK.
Grown from chance seedling of Golden Delicious. One of the most southerly apples grown in North America.
Australia, New Zealand
Red Doughtery is a recent mutation discovered in New Zealand from the old Australian Doughtery
18th century
Has red stripes with splashes of green. Excellent resistance to freezing temperatures.
Cooking, Eating
Castle Hill, Maine, US
19th century
A medium-sized oblate apple with greenish-yellow skin covered with red stripes over a solid red blush. Flesh is firm but tender, juicy, aromatic and quite tart, becoming milder as it ages. Good for fres rated by many as one of the best for apple pies and sauces. Tree is a natural semi-dwarf, very hardy and bears heavily annually.
Cooking, Eating
agm also known as Dumelow's Seedling
, Leicestershire, UK
18th century
Large, roundish-oblate apple with pale greenish-yellow skin strewn with large russet dots, occasionally covered with a delicate pinkish-orange blush. Yellow-tinted white flesh is aromatic, firm, crisp, tart, and very juicy. One of the most widely grown culinary apples of , esteemed for its fine flavour and good keeping qualities.
1899 (introduced)
Possibly from Lord Grosvenor × Keswick Cod. Also called Emmeth Early. Ripens in late July. Pale yellow fruit.
Worcestershire, UK
1908 (introduced)
A large oblate-round apple with yellow-green skin and pinkish-brown blush. Suitable for more northerly, cold, wet climates. White flesh is sharp and pleasant. E apple ripens in autumn and will keep until Easter. Possibly Blenheim Orange × Golden Noble.
Sussex, UK
Brown russeting, nutty flavour. Excellent keeper.
Zabidani × Golden Delicious. This variety ripens in June. Tastes tart, does not do well in cold weather. (Not the same as )
Lincolnshire, UK
Cox's Orange Pippin × Calville Blanc. Rich aniseed flavour.
Netherlands
Golden Delicious × . Medium-sized, mostly red with yellow showing. Often used in desserts due to its intense honey flavour.
Cooking, Eating
Emneth Early agm
Suitable for northerly, cold, wet climates. A biennial crop that needs thinning.
Lovely white subacid flesh. Tangy taste. Ruby red colour.
Illinois, US
Classic North American red apple. Stores well up to six months. Makes very good candy apple.
New Zealand
Sweet and crispy, takes 4–8 hours after cutting to start browning. Royal Gala × Braeburn.
Yellowish apple with reddish blush. Good clean taste.
Esopus, New York
Grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. Named for creek near which first seedling found. Heirloom variety still available at farmstands in Northeast and portions of Virginia. Difficult to grow for inexperienced planters.
Cooking, Eating
A columnar ornamental tree with delicious fruit
Falstaff agm
A good pollinator.
Sometimes called Red Pippin. Claims both UK and US heritage: parents are Cox's Orange and Idared. Has flavour similar to the former but storage, colouring, and cold tolerance of the latter.
Minnesota, United States
Very fragrant. Yellow with red striping. Sweet apple, very popular in upper Midwest.
Anger, France
(Querina), scab resistant
18th century
This is the variety that inspired
to consider gravity.
Fortune agm (Laxton's Fortune)
Cox's Orange Pippin ×
Aomori, Japan
× . Dark red, conic apple. Sweet, crisp, dense flesh is very mildly flavoured. Keeps very well. One of the most widely grown apple varieties in the world.
, Royal Gala agm
New Zealand
A small to medium-sized conic apple. Thin, tannic skin is yellow-green with a red blush overlaid with reddish-orange streaks. Flesh is yellowish-white, crisp and grainy with a mild flavour. Cross of three of the world's best known apples:
(a cross of
and ) × . One of the most widely available commercial fruit.
Sudbury, Massachusetts, US
A medium-sized roundish-oblate, sometimes slightly conical apple. Greenish-yellow skin is striped and splashed with bright red, dull or gra
few, cavity deep, basin shallow, slightly uneven. Flesh yellow, very tender, juicy, rich, mildly subacid and aromatic. Poor keeper. Upright habit, productive bearer, some .
Kent, England
large red fruit
Created Minister von Hammerstein × Baumanns Renette.
Pale green-yellow fruit with red flush. Early harvest.
Pale green to yellow colour, will keep nicely until late autumn.
Switzerland
17th century
A medium-sized green-yellow elongate bell-shaped apple, sometimes takes on a reddish blush. Tart and juicy, stores well, taste improves with age. Excell renowned for its use in Strudel.
Cooking, Eating
(aka Gloster 69)
Conical shape. Somewhat tart, ruby red colour like parent Red Delicious. Good choice for backyard gardening.
Virginia, US
Tangy flavour, crunchy texture, pale green-yellow colour. Noted for being an extremely early bearer (Europe by September 1, California late July, Eastern US in August).
Cooking, Eating
Clay County, West Virginia, US
One of the most popular varieties in the world. Due to its regular size, even colour and storage qualities the fruit is widely sold commercially. Uniform light green-yellow coloration, very sweet. A good pollinator.
Tree is short and stocky. Produces mint green fruit with blush of pink.
released 1996
PRI 1956-6 × Ed Gould Golden. Resistant to scab. Moderate vigour, spreading habit and medium- fruit is moderately large (207 g) and symmetric, skin is smooth, no russeting. Ripens some days after Golden D frui large, good storage ability.
1845 (documented)
A medium-sized heavily russeted light green apple, occasionally with a reddish blush. Crisp, fine-grained flesh is rich, sugary and very sweet. Excellent dessert apple, keeps very well. Makes extraordinary cider, known as the "Champagne of cider apples."
Cider, Eating
Lancashire, UK
An old Northern English variety. Unusually tall and oblong with a tart flavour.
Cider, Eating
Indiana, US
The fruit has a complex spicy flavor with high acidity and sweetness. Acidity moderates in cold storage, with exceptional quality after 2 to 3 months.
Whittier, California, USA
A low chill hour cultivar developed by Robert B. Gordon in Whittier, CA from unknown parentage. Blooms over long period in Southern CA - from April to Early June. Bears mature fruit from August to October. Fruit is green with red striped overcolor. Ripe at approximately 50% red coverage. Fruit is dual purpose, for eating and baking with sweet-tart flavor.
Eating & Cooking
Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Created by Pépinières Grard. Early dessert apple with pink blush. Ripens in September and stores well. Very productive.
(aka Red Gragg, Winter Queen)
North Carolina, US
Originated on the farm of James Gragg in Caldwell County, NC about 1860. Valued by North Carolina growers for its fine cooking qualities, crispness and long storage ability. The conical shaped fruit is red in colour with moderately conspicuous dots. Ripens in October and is a great keeper.
Cooking, Eating
This is the apple once used to represent . A favourite variety, widely sold in the UK. Also noted as common pie apple. Lime green colouring. Extremely tart.
Cooking, Eating
Gr?sten, Jutland, Denmark
17th century
A medium-sized early yellow-green apple, often with red stripes. Crisp, sweet, tart flavour. Exceptional cooking apple, especially for applesauce and pies. P becomes soft quickly. German immigrants introduced this variety to California's San Joaquin Valley in the mid-19th century. Has many sports.
Cooking, Eating
North Carolina or Georgia, US
18th century
A very old southern apple thought to have originated in North Carolina or Georgia but its true origin is uncertain. The fruit is medium to large, oblate to oblique in shape. The skin is deep green in colour, turning pale yellow when fully ripe. The yellowish flesh is sweet, crisp, tender and juicy.
Golden Delicious × James G good garden apple, with a pleasant but unexceptional flavour. Likely named for famous Renaissance era song.
1862 (documented)
Possibly one of the strangest of all British apples: it is ribbed and lumpy with a tough coat, looking as though it has taken a beating. Grenadier cooks down to cream-coloured puree with a superb apple flavour. Makes an excellent apple jam. Poor keeper. Reliably heavy annual bearer.
Brooke County, West Virginia, US
A medium-sized roundish to slightly oblong apple. Greenish-yellow skin, ripening to a clear yellow, stem cavity sometimes russeted, covered with yellow or russet dots. The yellowish-white flesh is crisp and tender, with a rich, spicy, sugary-sweet flavour. A good all-purpose dessert and cooking apple, Grimes also makes a strong single-variety cider. Excellent keeper. Grimes Golden is the parent of the ubiquitous . Relatively rare among apples, Grimes Golden is self-fertile. Original tree discovered near a known orchard of .
Cider, Cooking, Eating
Minnesota, US
Red colour and large, moderately conspicuous dots. Crisp and juicy with a tart flavour. Excellent choice for pies.
Cooking, Eating
New Jersey, US
Yellow skin, sometimes red-blush, black spots, small size, sweet, rich and dry.
Cooking, Cider
1945 (introduced)
Noted for pineapple-like taste.
Herefordshire Russet
Kent, England
Cox's Orange Pippin x Idared. Rich, aromatic flavour. Pick early October, stores until January. Crops well.
Very cold-tolerant.
Minnesota, US
Has excellent eating and keeping qualities. Mottled red and yellow colour. Very crisp white flesh is slightly tart with a strong honey-like sweetness. Quality varies from apple to apple. Developed by the
and best suited to cool climates.
Minnesota, US
Sweet tasting fruit. Tree has very showy, light pink blossoms in spring.
Isle of Wight, UK
Usually a big apple. Makes a lot of juice.
Moscow, Idaho, US
A medium-sized deep red apple. Crisp white flesh is tart and juicy, and can be somewhat bland if eaten out of hand, however, Idared is an exceptional cooking apple. Flesh keeps is shape, and the flavour becomes much stronger with cooking. An excellent keeping apple, Idared remains hardy and durable in proper storage for as long as 8 months. Idared is a cross between
developed at the .
Kilkenny, Ireland
19th century
Excellent for baking. Early harvest. More difficult to find within land of origin due to primary use for export to UK. Hardy, tastes very good straight off tree.
Cooking, Eating
Edinburgh, Scotland
Good taste, but poor keeper (bruises easily).
Cooking, Eating
(Scifresh)
2007 (launched)
Bright red round apple with subtle yellow under-striping. Tart to sweet, dense and very crunchy with effervescent texture. From sweet Royal Gala × firm, tart Braeburn. Widely sold commercially in the UK.
Popular in Europe and land of origin. Several highly coloured strains are available. Widely sold commercially in the UK.
Eating, Cooking
Tart taste. Mostly red apple with patches of lime green. Does
some frost resistance.
Cooking (Pie), Eating
North Carolina, US
Battle of Horseshoe Bend, believed to have planted original tree. Extremely russeted and ugly apple but very hardy tree with superior taste to commercial varieties.
Cooking, Cider, Eating
Switzerland
A cross between Ideared and Maigold with Elstar. Beautifully round, fresh and fruity taste with a crunchy bite.
Cooking, Eating
North Carolina, US
A large, round, slightly conic apple. Light yellow-green skin with a red-orange blush and stripes. Strong apple flavour is well-balanced between sweet and sharp. Cross of Cox's Orange Pippin and Starking Delicious (a sport of Red Delicious), apple retains Cox's flavour, but tree is easier to grow.
18th century
The body is light yellow, and the taste is a mix of acidity and sweetness. Harvesting may begin in early October and it is typically fully ripe in early December.
Cooking, Eating
× . Crunchy, juicy, sweet, slightly tangier than Gala.
Wageningen, Netherlands
Yellow ground colour when ripe, with red flush, and russet depending on the season. Large apple, though shape can be irregular.
Cooking (Apple Juice), Eating
Medium-sized early eating apple with red skin and pale cream flesh. Well suited to Northern European climate.
County Antrim, Ireland
Pale to golden yellow flesh. Delightful spicy taste. Well suited to Ireland's moist, cool climate.
New Zealand
Cox's Orange Pippin × Delicious. Yellow skin with orange red flush. Chewy rather than crunchy.
United States
Suitable for more northerly (southerly in the Southern Hemisphere) areas with higher rainfall
Eating, cooking
Russetted form of 'King of the Pippins'
Sussex, England
Green and yellow, with rough and black russet. Unusually irregular, warty and knobbly surface.
Cider, Eating
16th century
Washington, US
Medium-sized, roundish oblate with thin yellow-green skin with an orange blush and bright red stripes. Crisp yellowish-white flesh is sweet with hints of honey and almond. Don Emmons purchased a neglected orchard of Red Delicious near Gleed, Washington, in 1978. While
between trees, a disc from the plow hit the base of a tree. The injury caused a new shoot to grow from the
(likely a seedling grown from a pip). The shoot was allowed to grow and bear fruit which Mr. Emmons named for his mother, Alice.
Green with orange blush. Makes a good apple crumble for Christmas: peak ripening happens in winter.
Aromatic sweet fruit, tendency to
habit, bruises easily.
See 'Fortune'
Wyken Pippin × Cox's Orange Pippin. Classic old Victorian, British apple. Green with dull red flush. Firm texture, but not very good juice producer.
Very disease-resistant. Very similar appearance to McIntosh, relatively short storage life in air.
Kent, England
G abundant cropping and a compact tree. A pale green apple with a smooth finish and occasional pink blush. Crisp flesh and disease resistant tree.
Fruit pale yellow flushed with deeper yellow. Resistant to scab. Tangy taste.
Cheshire, England
Yellowish green apple. Acid flavour, likes cooler weather.
× . Round shape. Orange flush with hint of russet. Strong acid flavour. Good for domestic cultivation.
Cold-tolerant. Crunchy. Does very well in salads.
Burlington, New Jersey, US
19th century
A thin-skinned, flattened apple. Pale yellow-green skin has a telltale crimson blush on the side that faced the sun. White flesh is crisp with a sharp flavour that mellows with storage. Heavy annual bearer. Good cooker. Excellent variety for drying because the flesh remains white and bright.
Cooking, Eating
Vermont, US
Small, conical with sheep' deep, rich yellow with red spots possible. Dry, dense, mild, pear-like flavour. Tree good in climates with heavy snowfall.
Cooking, Eating
Manitoba, Canada
1929 (introduced)
Amber fruit washed with red. Summer apple. Does not do well in warm climates.
1815 (First fruited)
Pale yellow medium-sized fruit with occasional flush of red. Hardy. Heavy producing.
Small, highly flavoured apple held in very high esteem by connoisseurs. Medium to small in size, slightly conical in shape, dull green skin with an orange-red blush, some russeting. The yellow flesh is firm, crisp, sugary, and as
said, "with a powerful and delicious aromatic flavour." The very small tree is weak and slender and bears light crops. Because it flowers early, it is susceptible to frost damage. It keeps well. Introduced to Brompton Park Nursery from
in the early 18th century.
Worcester, England
Large, oblate, often russetted yellow apple with bright red blush and stripes. Crisp, greenish-yellow flesh, rich, nutty flavour. Similar texture to Ribston Pippin, and in a good year, its equal in flavour. In bad years it can be rather dry and harsh. Excellent keeper. Heavy annual bearer.
Ontario, Canada
A popular, cold-tolerant eating apple in North America.
Cooking (applesauce), Eating, Pies
Connecticut
Flavour improves in storage. Coarse flesh.
Semi-weeping habit, heavy crops of small fruit unless thinned
Cox's Orange Pippin × Worcester Pearmain. Developed at .
Berkshire, England
Sweet apple. Tree prefers chalky soils.
New Jersey, US
Conical shape, pinkish red colour. Lasts long in refrigeration. Good aftertaste.
(American Mother)
Massachusetts, US
Medium-sized yellow apple with crimson stripes and darker red blush. White flesh is rich, sweet and juicy. The fruit has a balsamic aroma with a suggestion of vanilla. Cropping can be a bit irregular, if not completely . A late flowering variety that avoids frost. Some resistance to scab.
Normandy, France
Commonly used in making
Aomori Prefecture, Japan
Known as "Crispin" in the UK. Golden Delicious × Indo.
Originated as a chance seedling, a cross between
and Golden Delicious. Yellow colour. October harvest. Still used in cider blends by )
Eating, Cooking, Cider
( Airlie Red Flesh)
A medium to medium -large, conic apple. Light yellow-green skin with white dots, occasionally with red-orange blush on one side.Light pink to deep red flesh is crisp, sweet and moderately tart.
Eating, pies
(Albemarle Pippin)
Queens County, New York
Best known colonial apple in North America. Known favourite of Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Medium to large, often irregularly shaped apple. Greenish-yellow, dotted, often russeted. Tough skin, flesh cream to greenish-white, very quickly browning. Texture is crisp, moderately fine-grained subacid to tart, sprightly. Biennial habit, slow to come into bearing. Good keeper, improves with storage. Prized for its clear juice in
making. Two sports, Green Newtown Pippin and Yellow Newtown Pippin, differ only in skin colour.
Cooking, Eating, Cider
Melbourne, Derbyshire, England
Very good cooker. Prolific bearer, can be harvested in winter. Keeps well until March.
Native American origin, believed to be originally grown by Cherokee along banks of Nickajack Creek. Only grown in Appalachians, favourite of later settlers for desserts. Rusty red colour with sweet, crisp taste.
Cooking, Eating
Crisp, sharply sweet and well-flavoured. Available as a russet or smooth.
Tart, firm, stores very well. Noted for being excellent choice for making American-style apple pie. Sometimes used as a .
Cider, Cooking, Eating
Czech Republic
Firm, fine to medium grained, medium juicy, full flavoured, sweet, mild-subacid. Golden Delicious × Topaz.
Fukushima, Japan
Sweet and distinctive fragrance. Notes of pineapple. Medium hardness. Golden Delicious × Indo.
Orleans, France
Reliable bearer. Extraordinary complex flavour, similar to Blenheim Orange, but not related.
Missouri, US
Light green with pink blush. Has taste with notes of honey.
New Zealand
Extremely crisp, sweet apple. Also grows well in California.
Bedfordshire, England
A medium-sized apple with a red blush. Flesh is crisp, juicy and sweet-tasting. Alfred Hull, a retired clerk planted some apple pips in pots which he placed on his bathroom windowsill. He planted the most vigorous in his garden. His daughter, Pam, teased her father by telling him that he should dig the tree up as it did not look as if it was capable of producing fruit. Unfortunately, Pam developed , and Alfred told her that if his tree, which had become a family joke, ever bore fruit she would be the recipient of the first apple. Seven years after he planted the pip, the tree produced its first blossom, and from that, a single apple. He proudly presented it to Pam that October. Sadly, her illness became more severe, and she died, at the age of 28 the following April, just as the tree blossomed fully for the first time. That year the tree produced twenty two pounds of apples. In 1968,
accepted Pam's Delight for full commercial trials. Later that year it was included in the National Register. As of 2011, Pam's Delight is available from .
Kent County, Michigan, US
F McIntosh mutation.
A very large yellowish-green apple, deepening to orange-yellow, flushed and striped red with some russet patches. Flesh is sweet and juicy. Good eating and superb for cooking. Large, hardy and heavy cropping tree. Apples can weigh up to half a kilogram, and are famously large enough to make a pie from a single apple.
Cooking, Eating
California, US
Noted for having bright pink flesh. Sweet. Possibly has crab apple in its ancestry. Makes cider have a reddish tint if pressed.
Bred in Germany over an 18-year period. Marketed as "Pi?ata" in the United States. Fragrant smell, thin skin and balanced sweet and tart flavour profile. From Clivia × Golden Delicious.
Cooking, Eating
Moseley, Worcester, England
Pitmaston Pineapple is a dessert apple known since 1785. Small oblong apples with a yellow-green russeted skin. Tender flesh is an intense nutty, honeyed flavour with, as the name suggests, tropical undertones and some balancing acidity. Trees are
but produce heavy crops in the 'on' year.
Resistant to scab and mildew. Very small apple.
Resistant to most diseases
Resistant to scab and most diseases
Smallish, squat, deep golden yellow colour with red blush and firm, white, fine-grained aromatic sweet flesh.
Eating, Cooking or Cider.
Pale green to yellow colour and white flesh.
Manchester, Connecticut, US
Amber coloration. Used mostly for making apple butter. Russets. Does well in moderate cold. Suitable to areas with snowy winters.
Czechoslovakia
Scab-resistant cross of Rezista × Rome
Extremely resistant to frost.
Unmistakable for its acutely conic shape, dark red colour and telltale bumps on bottom. Flavour is sweet and mild, bordering on bland. Poor choice for cooking or cider. Original seedling known as "Hawkeye." Rights bought by
in 1893. First marketed as "Delicious" or "Stark's Delicious," name changed to "Red Delicious" in 1914 when Stark bought the rights to Mullin's Yellow Seedling, changing that apple's name to "Yellow Delicious". Red Delicious has many sports and ranks as the world's most prolific apple.
Weert, Netherlands
Medium-sized, conic, uniform deep red skin. White flesh is crisp, sweet and juicy, with hints of cherry and almond. Excellent keeper.
(a natural cross of
and Golden Delicious) discovered in 1994. Marketed throughout Europe, in 2001, Global Fruit in Ontario became exclusive growers of the variety in North America.
Eating, Cooking
Slough, Buckinghamshire, England
Peasgood's Nonsuch x Ribston Pippin. Pastel green with a light pink flush. Very disease-resistant. Cooks to a light, pale puree, hardly needing any sugar.
Newport, Rhode Island, US
Extremely old variety for United States, second only to
in age. Tartness can make eyes water. Grass-green colour with some possible russeting near stem. Occasional reddish pink blush
Cider, Cooking
Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England
An irregularly-shaped and sometimes lopsided apple, usually round to conical and flattened at the base with distinct ribbing. Skin is yellow with an orange blush and red streaked with russet . Yellow flesh is firm, fine-grained, and sweet with a pear-like flavour. The original Ribston Pippin sprouted in 1708 from one of three apple pips sent from Normandy to
at Knaresborough. The original tree stood until 1835. It then sent up a new shoot and, on the original roots, lived until 1928. Ribston Pippin is thought to be a parent of Cox's Orange Pippin.
Rome, Ohio, United States
19th century
Rounded, deep red, and very glossy. Crisp, juicy white flesh is mild as a dessert apple, but develops an extraordinary depth and richness when cooked. Good keeper.
Rosemary Russet agm
Regular cropper. Fruit sweet and sharp, like 'Ashmead's Kernel'.
, United States
First tree a chance seedling grown in Roxbury, Massachusetts, now a neighborhood of . Oldest known variety of apple in America, planted by Pilgrim Fathers as foundation stock for Massachusetts Bay Colony. Knobbly, russetted coat gives green skin a bronze tinge and hides a cream coloured flesh. E resistant to fireblight. Mild flavour. Multi-purpose apple that is a wonderful choice for pies, eating fresh, or cider. Still available in New England farmer' commercial interest recently renewed in this cultivar because of its past use as a cider apple.
Cooking (pies), Eating, Cider.
Royal Gala See Gala
Czech Republic
Flesh is medium firm, juicy with great aromatic flavour and delicate smell. The skin is attractive bright red with prominent lenticels. Annual producer of heavy crops, the resistant equivalent of Idared with outstanding flavour.
S Gala × Elstar.
Suffolk, England
Unusual in fact that it has scaly russet patches mixed with smooth. Has vanilla/pear taste. Usually a light yellow-green.
Wageningen, Netherlands
Scab resistant.
Kent, England
Scab resistant.
Kent, England
Sweet and crisp. Self-fertile, mid-season variety that ripens in early September and will store well for about a month. The blossom is frost hardy resulting in heavy crops and the tree can be grown in all areas of the UK. The flesh is crisp and aromatic and the thin skin turns deep red as it develops
Shinano Sweet
Nagano, Japan
mid-season crops. Tsugaru x
Czech Republic
Flesh yellow, firm, crisp, fine
grained, very juicy, well balanced sugar and acid level, rich flavour
Mill Creek, Pennsylvania, US
A medium to small apple. Greenish-yellow with flushed red-orange stripes. The yellowish-white flesh is crisp and tender with a spicy-sweet flavour that tastes like . Excellent all-purpose apple. Unusual in that it also makes excellent cider. Seedling discovered growing next to the
on William Gibbons' farm in , . Bears fruit from young age.
Eating, Cooking, Cider.
Quebec, Canada
17th century
Tender, aromatic, distinct flavour. A parent of .
Cider, cooking, eating
New Zealand
Cross between a Red Delicious and Gala. Coppery coloration. Crisp.
19th century
Characterized by its distinct, faintly spicy flavor. Green and yellow, mostly used for making cider and .
Cider, cooking, Eating
British Columbia, Canada
Good all-purpose, medium-sized apple. Has a bright red blush and may have background patches of greens and yellows. Popular across border in United States as well.
Cooking, Eating
New Zealand
Descendant of
x , ancestor of
medium-sized red dessert apple
Does nicely in fruit salads. Red striping on light background. Ripens in summer.
Dullish red skin often covered with a light russet. Tart, wine-like flavour. Stores well. Particularly known for tangy cider.
Cider, Cooking, Eating
Netherlands or Western Europe
Sour sweet. Popular in Eastern Europe
Eating, juice, jam, compote, dried
Sturmer, Essex, England
A medium-sized, bright greenish-yellow apple with a reddish-brown blush, often on one face only. White-fleshed and crisp. One of the best English keeping apples, with proper storage Sturmer Pippin lasts 4 to 5 months. Flavour is sprightly, more sharp than sweet when first picked, but improves dramatically in storage, becoming sweeter and richer, while maintaining its crisp texture. This keeping ability made it ideal for long journeys, as such, it was brought to Australia where it is still widely grown. Parent of .
Resistant to scab. Spreading habit with moderate vigour, fruit is large, average weight of 175 g, skin is smooth, ripens 1–2 days before Gala, good storage ability.
Easy to grow. Has very similar flavour to Cox's Orange Pippin. Won't do well in heat.
Fruits ripen orange-red, flavour is sharp and intense
Sutton Beauty
Sutton, Massachusetts
Minnesota, US
Large fruit, some russeting near top. Moderately acidic taste.
Minnesota, US
Juicy and sweet, and viewed as a successor to the Honeycrisp by many growers.
Resistant to scab.
Very sweet apple. Once used to make dried fruit for winter.
Cider, Cooking
Trent, Dorset, England
18th century
Small to medium, flat and irregularly shaped apple. Green, usually covered entirely with a bright red blush. Crisp, sharp flavour. An excellent cooker and ideal single-variety
apple. Softens during storage. Tree is vigorous and precocious. Scab-resistant. Seedling found by a Rev. Tom Putt of Trent, Somerset, England in the late 1700s. Triploid.
Cider, Cooking
Czechoslovakia
Rubin × Vanda, scab-resistant, sharp flavour.
Cider, Cooking, Eating
Aomori, Japan
Huge: apple weighs over one pound, or nearly 500 g. Green overlaid with broad red striping. Excellent cooker. Nice juice qualities.
Cider, Cooking, Eating
Mclntosh × Worcester Pearmain. Crimson over yellow background colour.
Good storage qualities, but loses fragrance with age.
Antique American variety, known since Colonial times. Tree is scab-resistant. Green with red flush, crispy, subacid and sweet. Keeps very well. Very
not only does it cook well, but makes a good single-variety . Wagener is a parent of , to which it imparts its keeping and cooking qualities.
Cider, Cooking, Eating
Kent, England
Oblong and light green. Very tart. Do not attempt to eat out of hand.
Westfield, Massachusetts, US
18th century
A medium-sized conic to truncate-conic apple. Greenish-yellow, dull skin, flushed orange with carmine stripes, russet dots and patches. Shaded fruit are often irregularly russeted all over, with little colour showing. Flesh is light buttery-yellow, firm but tender, and moderately fine-grained. Flavour is nicely balanced, a honey-like sweetness balanced with a lemon-like citric acidity, rich, notes of pear and vanilla. Vigorous grower, some disease resistance.
Minnesota, US
Cherry Red × Sops of Wine.
Pretty reddish pink coat. Believed at one time Minnesota was too cold to grow apples until "Wealthy" was cultivated. Now a parent to many apples for resistance to temperatures below freezing. Still available in upper Midwest.
Very pale green skin with an almost white flesh, it is very sharp in taste. Fruit bruises easily and goes soft once harvested.
United States
Sweet with tangy finish. Reddish blush flecked with some green.
Cider, Eating
(Winter King) agm
Cox Orange × Worcester Pearmain. Originally called Winter King because of its extraordinary keeping ability, renamed during World War II for .
Wijcik McIntosh
British Columbia, Canada
Mid 1960's
Mutation of
that first showed columnar ornamental properties
Eating, Cooking, Ornamental
Wisconsin, US
Apple very large, some growing to size of large grapefruit. Red with yellow blush. Once very popular commercial apple in United States but presently relegated to upper Midwest if grown for profit. Occasionally can be found growing wild in backcountry thickets or abandoned land in Shenandoah Valley. Named for area where found. Feral trees can be brought back with care and pruning.
Cooking, Eating
Worcestershire, England
Crisp and sweet strawberry flavour when ripe. Best if eaten early in season (September).
England or Netherlands
Small flattened golden apple with delicious flavor
York, Pennsylvania, US
Tart yet sweet, preserves well, lop-sided shape
Cider, Cooking, Eating
Minnesota, US
Red and greenish-yellow, round, sweet and tangy, preserves well
Cooking, Eating
may be far too sour or bitter for fresh eating, but are used for making . Some apples (especially older ones from the U.S. and Canada) are used for both cider and eating purposes.
apples, used for cooking, dessert, and cider
Less common apple cultivars (among pear cultivars).
A range of modern apple cultivars
Common name
First developed
Wilmington, Massachusetts, US
Herefordshire, England
Somerset, England
late 19th century
Dymock Red
Gloucestershire, England
, Devon, England
Gloucestershire, England
Hagloe Crab
Near Taunton, Somerset, England
late 19th century
Queens County, New York, US
Herefordshire, England
Massachusetts, US
Devon, England
18th century
Rodney Stoke, Somerset, England
early 20th century
before 1600
Exe Valley, UK
Rutgers University, US
Gloucestershire
Yeovil, Somerset
Selection of
cultivars can be difficult: vigorous roots tend to give trees that are healthy but grow too tall to be harvested easily without careful pruning, while
rootstocks result in small trees that are easy to harvest from, but are often shorter-lived and sometimes less healthy. Most modern commercial
use one of the "" (aka 'M' series), introduced or developed by the
from the early 20th century onward. However, a great deal of work has been done recently introducing new rootstocks in Poland, the U.S. (Geneva), and other nations. The Polish rootstocks are often used where cold hardiness is needed. The Geneva series of rootstocks has been developed to resist important diseases such as fireblight and collar rot, as well as for high fruit productivity.
Elzebroek, A.T.G.; Wind, K. (2008). . Wallingford: CAB International. p. 27.  .
(PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 63 2018.
. Archived from
Calhoun, Creighton Lee, Jr. "Old Southern Apples", Blacksburg, Virginia 1995, MacDonald and Woodward, ( ), page 59
, kalmarlexikon.se, Retrieved 17 January 2016
. Archived from
[, June 27, 2006: "Life changes after encounter with fairy-tale horses"]
Khanizadeh, S. and J. Cousineau. 1998. "Our Apples/ Les Pommiers de Chez Nous", A Description of Over 250 Apple Cultivars Grown in Eastern and Central Canada Including 400 Coloured Photographs of the Fruits, Flowers and Leaves. Publisher Shahrokh Khanizadeh, 260 p. Ed: S. Khanizadeh.  .
'', an apple cultivar
Two of the most comprehensive publications on apple cultivars are: Khanizadeh, S. and J. Cousineau. 1998. "Our Apples/ Les Pommiers de Chez Nous", A Description of Over 250 Apple Cultivars Grown in Eastern and Central Canada Including 400 Coloured Photographs of the Fruits, Flowers and Leaves. Publisher Shahrokh Khanizadeh, 260 p. Ed: S. Khanizadeh.  .
The New Book of Apples ( ) by Dr Joan Morgan of
and Alison Richards.
Directory of Apple Cultivars ( ) by Martin Crawford of
For Cider apples - "Cider Apples, The New Pomona"   by Liz Copas
Apples ( ) by Roger Yepsen. Text of apple history and descriptions with full-color watercolor illustrations of 90 apple varieties by Yepsen. W.W. Norton and Company, New York and London.
"Old Southern Apples" ( ) by Creighton Lee Calhoun, Jr.
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