Did you ever think of all the apple varieties available in today’s market? This helpful guide will reveal 12 of the best apple varieties and how to use them.
Apples hold much value in our culture today. The fruit serves as a symbol of healthy eating, the autumn season, and the start of school. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is an adage that is familiar to many Americans.
When people think about healthy eating, it is not uncommon for an apple to come to mind. Apples are a good source of fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and antioxidants. In 2017, the United States’ fresh apple consumption amounted to 10lbs per person (source).
Apples don’t fall too far from their tree, Malus domestica (source).
There are 7,500 apple varieties grown around the world today (source).
Coming in many different shades, shapes, colors, and sizes, apples are amongst the most diverse fruits. They are typically found in shades of red, green, and yellow or some combination of the three. Apples also vary in aroma, acidity, sugar content, and texture (source). See the list of twelve apple varieties below.
Apple Varieties
Top 12 Apple Varieties and How to Use Them
Pink Lady Apples
Cripps pink apples are trademarked as Pink Lady apples (source). They are a cross between Golden Delicious and Lady Williams apples (source). Fortunately, Pink Lady apples do not brown quickly (source).
Origin: Australia (source)
Color: Rosy red with green speckles
Inside: White flesh
Texture: Crisp and juicy
Golden Delicious Apples
The Golden Delicious apple tastes sweeter the more yellow it is (source). The greener it is, the more tart it tastes (source). These apples have great uses in ice creams, baby foods, and in cooking (source). Its thin skin makes it easy to bite into.
Origin: America
Color: Light green to pale yellow
Inside: White flesh
Taste: Sweet
Texture: Crisp
Gala Apples
Gala apples are a cross between Golden Delicious and Kidd’s Orange Red apples (source). This apple variety works well made into sauce, pie, cider, and as a fresh salad topping (source).
Origin: New Zealand (source)
Color: Blush red highlights over yellow-gold skin
Inside: Pale yellow to creamy white flesh
Taste: Mild sweetness with a hint of vanilla
Granny Smith Apples
Granny Smith apples are named after Mrs. Mary Ann (Granny) Smith, their founder (source).
The classic green apple is good for eating out of your hand or baking in pies. Some may prefer to peel them because of their thick skin (source).
Origin: Australia
Color: Green
Inside: White flesh
Taste: Very tart
Texture: Crisp and firm
Braeburn Apples
Research has discovered the parent varieties of Braeburn apples are Golden Delicious and Sturmer’s Pippin apples (source). These are one of the best apples for baking (source).
Apples have natural gases that can typically move out of the apple’s skin. Braeburn apple skin doesn’t do this, causing them to turn brown inside because of natural gas restriction (source). Until the apple is cut or bitten into, this can’t be seen.
Origin: New Zealand (source)
Color: Red and gold blush with stripes
Inside: Cream to yellow flesh
HoneyCrisp Apples
Honeycrisp apples were intentionally bred for their flavor (source).
This popular apple variety is so sought after that consumers are willing to pay three times the cost of other apple varieties for it (source). Honeycrisp apples give a more palatable texture to those who don’t like mealy apples.
Origin: Minneapolis, Minnesota (source)
Color: Orange-red with stripes and hints of yellow
Inside: Creamy white flesh
McIntosh Apples
McIntosh apples are known as Canada’s national apple (source). When it was first cultivated, it was known as a dessert apple (source). As all-purpose apples, they work well when they are cooked or served raw.
Origin: Ontario, Canada
Color: Red, areas of green and white speckles
Inside: White
Taste: Tart
Jonagold Apples
The Jonagold apple is a cross between Golden Delicious and Jonathan apples (source). Like Mcintosh, Jonagold is truly an all-purpose apple and can be used in any apple recipe you like. They don’t store as well as other apple varieties (source).
Origin: Geneva, New York
Color: Vibrant red with small areas of yellow
Inside: Creamy yellow flesh
Taste: Sweet and tart
Texture: Crisp and juicy
Mutsu Apples
Jazz Apples
Jazz apples are a cultivated cross between Braeburn and Gala apples (source). After a European taste test, apple consumers preferred Jazz apples over both its parent apples (source).
Origin: New Zealand
Color: Red and maroon hues on its skin overtop some areas of orange, green and yellow
Inside: Creamy white flesh
Taste: Sweet
Texture: Crunchy and dense
Fuji Apples
This Japanese apple is a cross between Ralls Janet and Red Delicious apples (source). Fuji apples make delicious applesauce and pies (source). A fresh Fuji apple eaten out of hand or chopped into a salad never disappoints.They are known to have some acidity (source)
Origin: Japan (source)
Color: Pale red, light stripes, and yellow blush
Taste: Very sweet, aromatic flavor (source)
Texture: Very juicy and crisp
Cooking with Apples
As a general rule of thumb, soft apples are best for making applesauce and firm apples are best for baking pies (source).
Applesauce apples: Gravenstein, Gala, McIntosh, Fuji, Cortland, Pippin, Elstar (source).
Pie apples: Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious, Rhode Island Greening (source).
Food Made with Apples
Applesauce
Applesauce is made by cooking cored and peeled or unpeeled apples. McIntosh, Fuji, and Gala apple varieties make good applesauce (source).
You can add spices, sugar, pure maple syrup and many other ingredients you may already have at home.
Apple Powder
Apple powder comes from pulverizing dried apples.
Rich in fiber, antioxidants, Vitamin C, and potassium, the powder can easily add nutrition to your foods (source).
It goes well in smoothies, drinks, hot cereals, and baked goods(source).
Apple powder is stored long-term without refrigeration. Some varieties can last for up to 2 years (source). This would be an important item to have for emergency food storage.
Apple Chips
Made by roasting thin slices of apples at a low temperature for several hours. They can also be made quickly in an air fryer.
Apple chips make a crunchy, nutritious snack, or a salad topping.
Freeze-Dried Apples
Sliced apples are frozen and placed into a vacuum (source). The frozen water in the apples turns to vapor, and the apples are freeze-dried (source).
Some brands have a shelf life of up to 25 years, making these quick snacks good for long-term food storage.
Apple Wine
Apples can be crushed or chopped (cores included) and fermented with yeast to make apple wine or vinegar (source).
Bottom Line:
Apples are one of the most popular fruits in the world today. They are full of good nutrition and can accompany a wide variety of recipes. You can bite into almost any apple variety and appreciate the diversity of its texture and flavor.
Whether they are fresh, powdered, or dried, apples can be incorporated into many dishes while keeping good nutrition. This also allows them to work well for long-term food storage.
