Are you trying to choose the right variety of apple for your needs? There are many to choose from. There are heirloom varieties that have been around for hundreds of years and apple growers are constantly creating new varieties to meet consumer tastes and 2020 is no exception. Scroll down this page for a table of dozens of apple varieties includingphotos 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!
What's in season in January 2020, and other timely information:
Notes for January 2020: Summer is here and that means blueberries, peaches, raspberries, blackberries, figs, corn and tomatoes are here. Check your area's specific crop calendar (see this page) and call your local farms for seasonal updates. Strawberries and cherries are finishing up in the north, long done in the South.
See these pages to find a local Peach festival, Blueberry festival and other festivals. We have a guide to peach varieties here. Also recipes, canning and freezing directions for strawberries, blueberries, peaches, tomatoes, corn etc.
See our comprehensive list of easy home canning, jam and jelly making, 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 from 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 Since 2002, I've been updating the information every day but Christmas; so if you see anything wrong or outdated, please write me!
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!
American Apple Varieties and Characteristics - Alphabetical Listing!
2020 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!
Varieties which are exceptional for a trait are noted in the chart below (Best, very good, etc.). Varieties which are at least good and well-suited have an "X" in a column. A blank box simply means that they are average for the quality. Ultimately, it is personal preference and cultural traditions. that often determines which varieties of apples are used for which purpose. That said, sweeter and softer apples make the best applesauce (like Gala), harder, drier apples are often used for baking and storing (like Rome and Arkansas Black), and tarter, more crisp and juicier apples are often eaten fresh (like Honeycrisp).
If you would like to print a clean PDF version of this table, click here.
Alphabetical List of American Apple Varieties and Characteristics
Ambrosia
- Sweet, crisp, aromatic flavour reminiscent of pear and low acidity.
- Mostly red colouration, with yellow patches.
- Flesh is cream-coloured, firm meat
- Medium to large in size
- Developed in British Columbia in the early 1990s.
- Believed to be a cross of a Jonagold and Golden Delicious.
- Ripens mid to late season
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
Baldwin
- good quality large red apple
- An old variety, subject to cold injury in the winter
- late mid-season
- medium sweet
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
Brae
Burn
- Rich red color with white flesh
- Sweet
- Best for eating
- Late season
Cameo
- A large, round sub-acid apple with red blush stripe over yellow.
- Late ripening
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
Cox's
Orange Pippin
- Popular in English markets.
- Medium sized, golden yellow skin, with brownish orange
- often russeted.
- Flesh tender, crisp, semi-tart
- early
Crispin/Mutsu *
- Light green to yellowish white
- Sweet, rich, full flavor
- Firm, dense texture
- Best for: eating fresh
- Mid - late season
Empire*
- A McIntosh type apple
- Long shelf life
- Aromatic and crisp with creamy white juicy flesh.
- Best for: eating fresh
- Early - Mid season
Enterprise
- Large, red apple
- Disease resistant
- Ripens 3 weeks after red delicious
- Stores well, flavor improves in storage
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.
- Best for: eating, sauce, salad
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
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
- Not good for applesauce unless you add sugar (or like a very tart applesauce)
Gravenstein
- Greenish-yellow with a lumpy appearance
- A good, all-purpose apple,
- Good for applesauce and pies.
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
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
Jonathan
- One of the first red apples of the falll
- Sweet-tart taste with firm texturee
- Light red stripes over yellow or deep redd
- Best for: eating and cooking
- Early seasonn
JonaliciousJonalicious
- 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
Jubilee
- Best for: eating, sauce, pies, salad
- Mid season
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
Macoun
- Named after a famous fruit grower in Canada
- Best for: eating, sauce, salad
- Very good, sweet, all-around apple
McIntosh
*
- Popular in America since 1811
- Best for: eating, sauce, salad, good as part of a blend for applesauce
- Sweet, mild flavor
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
- A lot like a Golden Delicious
- Best for eating fresh and it makes a great applesauce
Northern
Spy
- Large, high quality fruit
- Good for storage
- Mid-late season
PaulaRed
- A tart apple with light to creamy flesh.
- Good for eating, in pies and sauces.
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
Red
Delicious
- WAS the most popular apple variety in the world! for December ades (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!
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
Shizuka
- A sister to Mutsu developed in Japan, with milder flavor.
- Mid season.
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.
Stayman or Stayman-Winesap
- Juicy, cream-colored to yellowish flesh with a tart wine-like flavor. (often also called winesap)
- Good storing apple, bruise resistant, dull red coat.
- Best for: Cooking, pies and cider
Suncrisp
- A hard tart, long keeping apple.
- Red over orange color; Golden Delicious-type
- Ripens late in the season
- Best for: Baking, storing
Sundance
- Sweet, tart yellow apple with reddish highlights
- Late season
- Good for eating frssh, applesauce
SweeTango
- Similar to Honeycrisp
- Ripens mid August - September
- Developed at University of Minnesota
- Tightly licensed
Winesapp
- Rich red color with white flesh
- Crisp texture and juicy
- Best for cooking
Yates
- Mid to late season
- Rich red color with white flesh
- Sweet
- Best for eating
- Late season
- Small
YorkYork
- Crisp and flavorful
- "lop-sided" shape
- Deep red with green streaks
- Best for eating. holds texture during cooking and freezing
Images from the U.S. Apple Association (mostly)!
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
Apple Photos
Over 100 photos of 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 KitsThis 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'll
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! |
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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! |
