Your Guide to Apple Varieties

Some first time visitors are a little surprised at how unique each variety may be, varying in sweetness, color, tartness, and even texture. If you have bought most of your apples in the big supermarkets, you may not have been able to experience these differences because often their apples don't ripen on the tree to reach their full flavor and characteristics.

You'll love the difference, and we hope you enjoy selecting the perfect apples for pies, cobblers, salads, and just plain great eating, right off the tree!

Apple Varieties

BRAEBURN

This crisp apple blends sweetness & tartness just right for snacks & salads. Also great for baking, applesauce and for freezing.

CORTLAND

This attractive apple is favored for cooking, cider & fresh-eating. It has a sweet-tart flavor. Its flesh is white & is very slow to brown, making it ideal for salads.

EMPIRE

A tart but very flavorful, very crisp apple that stays hard for months in refrigeration. Empires are dark red in color & are great for eating or baking & the slices do not get to soft. Great for making caramel apples.

FORTUNE

Slightly spicy flavor. Cream-colored flesh. This apple Is firm, juicy & crisp. A favorite for fresh-eating, pies & applesauce.

FUJI

One of my favorite eating apples after Christmas. The flavor gets stronger & is great for baking, although its slices will not get soft or release any juices. You might want to blend another apple like a Golden when baking. Fuji will easily stay very hard & extra sweet until taken out of refrigeration.

GALA

Gala has a wonderful super sweet flavor with crisp, firm, juicy flesh. Gala stores well for months in refrigeration. Gala is great for eating & baking because the slices do not cook down hardly at all.

GINGER GOLD

Ginger Gold is crisp, sweet & juicy. This apple is a early season favorite. It may be the best of the early season fresh-eating apple.

GOLDEN DELICIOUS

Goldens are bright yellow & large in size. Goldens are great eating, applesauce & baking, while the slices keep their shape. Goldens & Jonathans combined make for a great pie. In storage this apple stays sweet, but tends to get soft, but not to soft to enjoy.

GRANNY SMITH

Granny Smith is one of the later varieties. With a firm, crisp texture, this dark green apple is an excellent choice for caramel apples. Its extreme tartness balances the sweetness of the caramel. Great for Salads & just plain eating. Time to PUCKER UP!

GREENING

This is a solid green cooking apple. If you like a tart eating apple try the greening. Makes an excellent apple pie.

HONEYCRISP

A newer variety that has everyone going wild over it. #1 eating apple. Honeycrisp has a very sweet flavor & is extra juicy. This apple has a nice crisp bite to it & stores for quite a long time.

IDA RED

Its crisp, very firm, white Flesh is tangy and juicy. This apple is good for eating & great for applesauce & baking. Ida is a cross between Wagener & Jonathan. This is a Good keeper when refrigerated.

JONAGOLD

A very large, sweet-tart flavor Crisp apple that is very juicy. The apple is pink & large in size. Jonagolds are great for eating, applesauce or baking. When baking the slices do get soft.

JONAMAC

This apple is great for eating & cooking. It has a slightly tart flavor. This is a cross between a Jonathan & a McIntosh.

JONATHAN

The Jonathan apple is pretty & popular. It works well for eating & cooking. Jonathans juicy flavor has a spicy tang that blends well with other apples.

McINTOSH

McIntosh is a classic apple for eating out of hand. It is favored for its ultra-juicy white flesh, lightly tart flavor & excellent fresh apple aroma. This apple is great in salads. Best known for making applesauce & cider. Also great for baking pies.

MOLLIE DELICIOUS

A large to very large attractive red apple. Mollie is mild & juicy. This is one of the earlier apples to come on.

MUTSU

Mutsu also known as Crispin, is a wonderful eating apple. It has the perfect blend of tart & sweet with lots of juice & snap. great for eating & cooking.

NORTHERN SPY

The Northern Spy is a baker's dream. This tart apple is great for cooking & baking. It holds its shape & flavor in the oven. Although it is tart, many people like it for fresh-eating too. This apple will never win a contest for its beauty, but don't let that put you off.

PAULA RED

One of the earliest apples to be harvested. This apple has a pleasingly tart flavor & good aroma. The Paula Red is great in back-to-school lunches, or early season baking. Great for applesauce too.

RED DELICIOUS

Most popular known apple is the Red Delicious. It is know for it sweet flavor & good looks. Its flesh is yellowish. Red Delicious is primarily a fresh-eating apple.

REDCORT

A beautiful red color apple with pure white flesh. The tart flavor is good for eating, applesauce or baking. In baking the slices to get soft. Because of its beautiful white flesh, its slices do not brown as quickly as others.

ROME

The Rome is an old-time apple. It's a large round apple with a mild, sweet flavor. Romes are used primarily for baking because they hold flavor and shape so well.

WINESAP

Winesap is the apple with old- fashioned flavor. It has a spicy almost wine-like flavor that makes it great for cider. Violet red in color, it's great as a snack & in salads.