Ripening Order

Apples

History

Appearance + Uses

Season + Storage

Lodi

Montgomery x Transparent; New York, 1942.

Fruit is pale yellow flushed with deeper yellow. Flesh is crisp and juicy, flavor is sweet-tart. Ripens later than Transparent and keeps longer. Good for cooking, average for eating. Bruises easily.

Harvest: July - August, Season: 4 weeks from harvest

Williams Pride

PRI 1018-101 x NJ 50; PRI (Purdue, Rutgers, Illinois Co Op), 1988 Bred for resistance to apple scab and cedar apple rust. Good resistance to fireblight and powdery mildew.

Fruit is medium in size slightly conic in shape with a rich aromatic flavor. Apples are 70-80% red with excellent eating quality.

Summer apple. Unknown storage life.

Gravenstein

This outstanding summer variety is a world-renowned heritage apple. Established in the 1600s, it is believed to have originated in Denmark or Germany, in the gardens of the Duke Augustenberg, Castle Graefenstein, Schleswig-Holstein.  Reportedly the apple traveled to North America via the Russians, who planted Gravenstein orchards at Fort Ross in the early 1800's.

Known for its versatility as a terrific eating, sauce and pie apple, it is a roundish, irregularly shaped apple with a very short stem. The color varies, but is usually a greenish yellow background covered with broad red stripes. The Gravenstein is crisp, juicy, aromatic and full of old-fashioned tart-sweet flavor. 

They are not good "keepers", but who wants to store them anyway...you want to EAT them!

Maiden’s Blush

Originated in Burlington, New Jersey in 1817 and first named by Samuel Allinson.

This is a very lovely apple with a sharp, tangy flavor well suited for cooking. When the fruit is fully ripe, the sharp flavor mellows a bit and makes a very tasty fresh eating apple. It is a great multi-purpose apple, good for cooking, cider, and eating fresh. Because the slices stay white and attractive when dried, it was originally popular in the “evaporation trade.”  

Multi-purpose.  Sweetens in storage.   Excellent keeper.

Alexander

(Also called,  Emperor Alexander, Grand Alexander, Kaiser Alexander) - Alexander is one of several hundred apples of Russian origin brought to this country in the early 1800's to find cold-hardy trees. Once a widely popular variety in the South, it was eventually replaced by its even more popular offspring, Wolf River.

Fruit can be large with thick, tough, greenish skin, mostly covered with red and carmine stripes and splashes. Crisp, tender and juicy. The white flesh is firm, coarse, and crisp.

Ripens August to September.  Good in quality, more suitable for culinary than for dessert use.  Not a good keeper.

McIntosh

Ontario, Canada 1798

Fruit beautiful deep red color, size variable. Flesh white, firm, tender, very juicy, flavor characteristically aromatic, perfumed, subacid.   Good for sauces and a highly popular eating apple.

Harvest: September; Season: September – December but cooking apples ok several months longer.

Belle de Boskoop

Belle de Boskoop was introduced in the 1850s in the Netherlands, and is still popular on the Continent

It is a large, lumpy, rather oval greyish apple, often with extensive russeting and a red blush.Outstanding for dessert, cooking and baking.  Belle de Boskoop keeps its shape when cooked. Firm, crisp, creamy yellow flesh, rather acidic and very aromatic. The white-green flesh is dense with a very firm texture.

Mid to Late September.  Sweetens in storage.   Excellent keeper, as long as 3-4 months.

Red St. Lawrence

Branch sport of St. Lawrence. Newburgh, ME. 20th century. Originated as a spontaneous mutation (sport) on one branch of Roger Luce’s old St. Lawrence tree in Newburgh.

A superb, early fall, all-purpose variety with high dessert quality and excellent sauce. Although marked with St. Lawrence’s typical striking dark red lines and thin bloom, the medium-large sized round-oblate apples also have a unique, rich red ground color. The dark red stripes and the lighter red background is visually stunning. No other apple looks like it. Flavorful and colorful sauce. Tender sweet mildly sub-acid flesh, tinted with red.

Good to heavy annual crops, ripening unevenly over several weeks in early-mid fall. Not a storage apple.

Sweet 16*

Sweet Sixteen was selected from a cross of MN 447 X Northern Spy and introduced by the University of Minnesota's Horticulture Center in 1978. Truly excellent fresh eating, although it is too sweet for some pallets.

Fall apple.  Dessert apple best for eating and cider. Fine-textured crisp flesh contains an astounding unusually complex combination of sweet nutty and spicy flavors with slight anise essence, sometimes described as cherry, vanilla or even bourbon.

Keeps until Mid-Winter.

Cortland

Introduced 1915
Ben Davis – McIntosh cross Cortland is a popular variety in Maine.

A larger apple with a deep purple-red striped color, McIntosh type. Very sweet, soft melting white flesh, vinous flavor, can be very good. The white flesh doesn't brown when sliced so they are a standout for fruit salads, dipping in toppings, or eating with a plate of sharp cheddar cheese. A lot of people say Cortlands are the "only" apple to make a pie with.

Recommended for freezing. Cooked keeps shape.  Stores well for several months.

Cox Orange Pippin

This is the classic English apple, often regarded as the finest of all dessert apples, and the inspiration for this website. It arose in England in the 19th century as a chance seedling, and has inspired apple lovers ever since. It remains unsurpassed for its richness and complexity of flavor, but is not as popular as its supermarket competitors, not least because it is relatively difficult to grow.

This is a variety for the connoisseur, who can delight in the appreciation of the astonishing range of subtle flavors - pear, melon, freshly-squeezed Florida orange juice, and mango are all evident in a good example. Medium size with striking and attractive yellow and
 orange-red coloring.   The flesh is sweet and juicy - crisp, scented and nutty.

At its best when picked fully ripe straight from the tree,
or within a few weeks at most.  In this respect, Cox is
not really a "late" apple variety and is perhaps better

Ribston Pippin

1769, also known as the Glory of York, this is the most famous variety from the Yorkshire region of the UK. It's a strong-tasting 'aromatic' traditional apple, and was very popular in Victorian times.  It gets its name from Ribston Hall in Yorkshire where it was first grown, but it was almost certainly a seedling or pip imported from Rouen in Normandy, France. 

Ribston Pippin is almost certainly the parent of the world-renowned Cox's Orange Pippin.  It has a stronger more robust flavor than its offspring but is arguably less-refined. In our opinion, comparing the two apples side by side, the ancestry of Cox's Orange Pippin is certainly present in the flavor of Ribston Pippin, but more as a signpost of greatness to come - Ribston Pippin is a good apple, but not a great one. However if you like a classic old-English dessert apple, then this is one to try.

Harvest: September , Season: October - Jan

Red Delicious

The Red Delicious is an apple cultivar that was recognized in Wellsburg, Iowa in 1880.

Red Delicious is a medium-sized apple, with a tall conical shape. The dark and intense crimson color makes it the quintessential red apple, and it is has a strong shelf appeal.  A number of improved "sports" have been developed, of which the most well-known is probably Starking.
Red Delicious has a strong sweet flavor, perhaps most reminiscent of slightly ripe melon.

Stores surprisingly well and holds both flavor and shape for several months.

Golden Delicious

This very popular cultivar is a chance seedling possibly from Grimes Golden and Golden Reinette. It was first called Mullin's Yellow Seedling when propagation rights were sold to Stark Brothers Nurseries who first marketed it as a companion of their Red delicious in 1914 in Clay County, West Virginia by Anderson Mullins.

This mild, sweet, juicy and crisp apple is excellent for eating, salads and sauce Good for pies, baking and freezing. It’s so sweet you can cut down the sugar in pies and sauces.

These lovely sweet apples actually store amazingly well and are just as crisp in March as when you put them in the cellar.

Zabergau Reinette

A German russet style apple discovered in 1885 in Wurttemberg, it might at first glance be confused with a Yukon Gold potato. The term reinette suggests its appearance; it is thought to be from the French raine, a tree frog noted for its spotted skin.   

Winter apple with almost completely russeted skin.  Fine eating with an intense sweet-sharp taste.  Rich and nutty tastes great with cheese.

Peak Quality is October – February: winters over very well.  By January, gets sweeter and quite nutty.

Westfield Seek-No-Further

New England, 1700's.

Creamy yellow fruit streaked red with some russeting. Crisp, tender, juicy and aromatic flesh with distinctive flavor. Not recommended for cooking.

Harvest: September-October, Season: November/December

King of Tompkin’s County

TOMPKINS COUNTY KING is thought to have come from near Washington, Warren County, New Jersey, and brought to Tompkins County, New York, by Jacob Wycoff in 1804, who called it King. It was renamed King of Tompkins County about 1855.

Fall dessert apple best for eating and cider.  Highly recommended for sweet eating right off the tree in October and large juicy fruit to quickly fill the sauce pot or the home cider press. Even the experts and apple snobs never pass up King in October. They’re good.

Keeps until January in the root cellar.

Vartanian
Lightning

Try as I might I have not been able to find information on this beautiful antique apple.  I took this picture myself. It is likely an antique or heirloom variety based on its hardiness and dense and distinctive flavor. Thought to be discovered by a farmer in New Hampshire when lightning struck a tree in his pasture.

Sweet with tangy aftertaste.
Very attractive red with “gold foil” type brush and gold dots. Distinctive ridges.

Off the tree, not that tasteful.  After 2+ months of storage, very lovely deep sweet/tangy flavor.

Macoun

McIntosh x Jersey Black; Geneva Station in 1909, introduced 1950

Size and shape like McIntosh with more striped and deeper red coloring. Dark purplish red blush over green background. Firm, aromatic, all-purpose high quality eating apple.  

Harvest: early to mid-October, Season: November - December

Milden

A very obscure Maine heritage apple.  I could find no pictures and no information.

Spygold*

Back Orchard

A true connoisseur variety, Spigold is an apple of the highest quality and flavor. It is not a true heirloom apple, being released by the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in 1962, but is an apple that should be included in all home orchards.

A cross of Northern Spy and Golden Delicious, Spigold combines the best of both varieties. Fruit is large with smooth, reddish and bronze striped skin. Crisp, juicy and very aromatic.

Ripens September to October and is a fair keeper.

Pumpkin Sweet

Back Orchard

The name for this apple is derived from its large size and yellowish-orange color. It originated in 1800's in the orchards of S. Lyman of Manchester, Connecticut and was first recorded in 1834.

It has long been a popular apple sought out for its culinary qualities. It is excellent for baking or canning, but less desirable for fresh eating. Fruit is large with tough, smooth skin with patches of russet. The yellow flesh is firm, crisp, juicy, and very sweet.

Ripens October or later. ?

Empire

With the popular Red Delicious and McIntosh for parents, Empire apples were destined to be a hit. It's a sweet-tart combination that's great for everything. The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva introduced this new variety in 1966.

A wonderful blend of sweet and tart Juicy and very crisp, creamy white flesh Excellent for eating and salads. Good for sauce, baking, pies and freezing Small Empires are great for school lunches. Kids love Empire's sweet-tart taste and super crunchy texture.

A wonderful keeper.  Stores for many months and maintains its crispness and sweet flavor.

Fallawater (Winter Blush)

FALLAWATER is also called Winter Blush, Kelly, Brubaker and Molly Whopper. Origin Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It was described in 1842. There have been reports that under very favorable conditions, the fruit will grow to 6 inches in diameter.

Large in size and globular in form, it is usually green-skinned turning a yellow-green on ripening. Very mild in flavor, the white flesh of this dessert apple is coarse, crisp and tender, and is tinged green.

The mammoth green apple rates as an exceptional dessert apple, makes good sauce and is a fine drying apple. Stores through March.

Hudson’s Golden Gem

An intensely sweet, hard, aromatic, and strangely elegant-looking apple. Sometime in the 1930's, an apple seed dropped in an Oregon hedgerow produced the first Hudson's Golden Gem tree, propagated by various fruit fanatics ever since. Its intensely sweet flavor and glowing complexion make it a favorite.

Fall heavily russeted apple.   Its intensely sweet flavor and glowing complexion make it a favorite for eating. Makes lovely cider.

Peak Quality October-November.

Golden Russet

The American Golden Russet is a famous, old Southern apple which originated in Burlington County, New Jersey in the 1700's.  Golden Russet may be a seedling of English Russet. There are a number of strains and cultivars.

A widely versatile fruit, excellent for fresh eating and drying. Most noted though for making hard cider, long considered the "champagne" of old-time cider apples. Its high sugar content can produce a cider with up to 7% alcohol content.

Stores well, especially when humidity is kept high.

Keepsake*

Keepsake is an interesting and not widely available apple.   Another apple from the University of Minnesota's apple breeding program that was released in 1978, it is one of the parents of the Honeycrisp.  It is a cross between a "Malinda" and a "Northern Spy".

Keepsake is a high quality dessert apple and a great keeper. It's a small, late season apple with an unusual flavor, somewhat like sugar cane.

Winter all purpose apple great for eating, baking, sauces. Keeps until July in the root cellar.

BLACK OXFORD –

A MAINE HERITAGE APPLE

Black Oxford was found as a seedling by Nathaniel Haskell in Paris, Oxford County, about 1790 and the original tree was still standing in 1907. During the nineteenth century it was commonly grown on farms throughout central Maine. Many old trees still survive and are easy to locate because of the distinctive color of the fruit.

Winter all purpose apple.  A near perfect blend of sweet and tart flavor. Wonderful eating apple. Excellent pies, superb late cider. Leave the skins on for a delightful pink sauce.

Extremely hard, keep well Store in a root cellar, loose in apple boxes, keep until late spring. Best eating late December to March. Get sweeter over time. Good cooking through early summer.

Pink Pearl

Introduced in 1944 by the renowned California plant breeder, Albert Etter, Fruit is medium-sized with a distinctive conical shape. Flesh is crisp, fine-grained and aromatic with a delicious sweet-tart flavor.

A beautiful apple with startling bright pink flesh and very attractive crimson-pink blossoms. The skin is creamy pale green with bright pink flesh. Pink Pearl is a wonderful table apple which makes a beautiful and tasty pink applesauce.

Unknown.

Honeygold

Honeygold is a late-season yellow apple, bred for northern gardeners who wanted a Golden Delicious type apple that would withstand subzero climates. A must-have treat for all yellow apple lovers, it was introduced in 1970, developed by the University of Minnesota School of Horticulture. 

This apple combines the stellar qualities of both its parents: the hardiness and long storage life of Haralson, and the sweetness and texture of Golden Delicious. Fresh eating, pies & sauce.

Great keeper up to 3 months.

Stark

Back Orchard

(Starke, Robinson, Winter King) - Stark is an apple that originated in Ohio around 1869 and was widely grown there for years.

Fruit medium to large, oblong to conical and occasionally ribbed. The greenish-yellow skin is mostly covered with dull red and purple splashes and stripes, sometimes almost entirely red. The greenish-white to yellow flesh is crisp, coarse, firm and moderately juicy.

Ripens late winter.  It is a fine, late-keeping apple.

Northern Spy

NORTHERN SPY was found in an orchard at East Bloomfield, New York, with seedlings brought from Connecticut about 1800. One of the oldest American varieties, it is the quintessential baking apple.

Overlook the irregular shape and variable coloration, this apple is not for display. Don’t make the mistake of passing on Northern Spy in favor of a prettier apple. Fresh eating/ dessert, cooking, baking, juice/hard cider.

Excellent keeping quality through March. 

Baldwin

Soon after 1740 the Baldwin came up as a chance seedling on the farm of Mr. John Ball, Wilmington, near Lowell, Mass. The farm eventually came into the possession of a Mr. Butters, who gave the name Woodpecker to the apple because the tree was frequented by woodpeckers. The apple was long known locally as the Woodpecker or Pecker. It was also called the Butters.

Skin rather tender, nearly smooth, clear bright yellow largely covered with deep red, mottled or obscurely striped with darker red. Prevailing effect attractive bright red. Flesh tinged with yellow, moderately crisp, rather tender, moderately juicy to juicy, decidedly sweet, agreeable in flavor, very good in quality. Fresh eating/ dessert, cooking (puree, applesauce, apple butter), baking, juice/hard cider. This is one of the best pie apples.

Good keeping quality through February. 

Granspur

A spur of the granny smith with darker green skin and striping; prolific per branch fruit production. 

Very tart. Bright green appearance, crisp bite and sour apple flavor.  Best for: people who like bitter sour apples rather than sweet ones. Not good for applesauce unless you add sugar (or like a very tart applesauce).

Mid to late season; good keeper.

Reinette Simirenko

REINETTE SIMIRENKO may be the same as Wood's Greening. There is some uncertainty whether it originated as claimed in the garden of P. F. Simirenko in the Ukraine, or in the United States, as Wood's Greening. It was described in 1895, and popularized by Soviet cosmonauts, who took the apple into space for dessert.

Wine-like taste, very tart and juicy, and has a somewhat "tropical fruit/citrus" flavor. The greenish-white flesh is tender and crisp. Baking, Eating, Pies, Sauce.

Stores Well.

Hubbardston Nonesuch

Very Front Orchard

(John May, Red Winter Nonsuch, American Blush) - Hubbardston’s Nonesuch originated in Hubbardston, Massachusetts in the early 1800's.

Beach describes the apple as "excellent for dessert but less satisfactory for culinary use." Fruit is medium to large in size with smooth yellow skin blushed with reddish-brown and overlaid with dark red striping. The aromatic yellow flesh is tender, juicy, and sweet.

Ripens October to November.

Arkansas Black

The Arkansas Black Apple is recognized by early sources as having been first produced in 1870 in the orchard of a Mr. Brathwaite, which was then about one and a half miles northwest of Bentonville, AR. The fruit, a variety of Winesap, is usually round and of medium size.

Winter apple. Fresh eating and processing (pies, baking). Its distinctive aromatic flavor lends itself well to cider blending.  Great for baking; and terrible for applesauce

Arkansas Black has a long storage life of 6 months, around March, and mellows in storage. Almost too hard-textured at harvest. Best after some storage time. 

Roxbury Russet

Excellent old American cider apple, a keeper and good for eating fresh.  First apple developed in America.
Grown in Roxbury, Massachusetts, by Joseph Warren, who died in 1755 of a broken neck, after falling from a ladder while picking apples .

Large greenish, sometimes bronze tinged skin almost covered with yellowish-brown russet. Remarkable for it's amount of sugar. Firm, slightly coarse, fairly tender, yellowish-white flesh. Fresh eating/ dessert, cooking (puree, applesauce, apple butter), juice/hard cider

This apple stored well even before refrigeration.
May appear soft, but flesh remains crisp.
Flavor enhances in storage.
A favorite of russet fanciers.