Apple varieties: flavor & cooking notes

Fuji

A reliably sweet variety, making it a favorite for fresh eating.

• Stands out as the sweetest snacking variety
• Firm, crisp flesh that holds up when baked
• Quick to brown
• Good storage apple

Honeycrisp

A crispy, almost fizzy flesh makes this a favorite snacking apple.

• Sweet, honey-apple flavor (very slight tart flavor, but sweet flavor dominates)
• Firm, crisp flesh that holds its shape when baked
• Also has excellent flavor and texture when baked into a pie.

Gala

Because of the mild flavor and thin skin, these are a favorite among kids.

• Sweet, mild pear-like flavor, but not complex
• Firm, crisp flesh, but can be grainy when baked
• Very thin skinned
• Slow to brown

Golden Supreme

A descendant of Golden Delicious but with slightly stronger flavor, especially when baked. Great apple for early-season pies in September.

• Sweet, apple flavor. Not complex but very appley.
• Firm flesh that softens when baked and holds its shape
• Best when fresh, loses flavor when stored

Ambrosia

A very juicy apple with an distinct flavor. It has noticeable floral-honey notes as well as banana (which comes out even more when baked).

• Sweet with almost no tartness and a floral-honey or banana flavor
• Firm flesh that softens when baked and holds its shape
• Slow to brown, making it great on salads and cheese boards as well

Golden Delicious

A classic apple flavor with medium sweetness and medium firmness. The sweetest green/yellow apples and great for pie.

• Sweet, buttery apple flavor
• Medium firm, softens when baked but holds its shape.
• Quick to shrivel if not stored in a high-humidity crisper drawer.
• Not related to Red Delicious

Envy

A cross between Braeburn and Royal Gala, Envy is the trademarked name for the Scilate variety.

• Sweet and slightly floral. A mild flavor similar to gala but slightly stronger
• Thick skin, crisp juicy flesh
• Slower to soften when baked and can be grainy
• Very slow to brown

Red Delicious

This beautiful apple over promises and under delivers due to the focus on appearance above all else.

• Sweet, but bland flavor
• Skins are thick and tannic
• Flesh is often mealy
• Short storage life

Granny Smith

This apple will always be tart, regardless of the climate or when it was harvested.

• Extra tart
• Firm, crisp flesh that holds its shape and is slow to soften when baked
• Lends tartness to pies, but not a lot of apple flavor
• Good storage apple

Pink Lady

Pink Lady apples are Cripps Pink that have met quality specifications, earning the brand name. This actually helps ensure each Pink Lady apple will taste similar.

Perfect apple for cheese boards due to their sweet-tart balance, bright color, firm crisp flesh, and slowness to brown.

• Tart with a very sweet finish and good apple flavor with hints of melon
• Firm, crisp flesh that holds up when baked
• Slow to brown
• Good storage apple

Jonathan

These small apples are tart, but not as much as Granny Smiths. Their dark red color, smaller size, tartness, thick skin, and long shelf life make them the ideal variety for caramel apples.

• Tart and slightly sweet
• Firm, crisp flesh that softens considerably when baked, but mostly holds its shape
• Good storage apple

McIntosh

These have a classic apple-spice flavor perfect for cider. They will turn to mush when heated, making them excellent for applesauce and butter, not so much for pie.

• Tart flavor, but least of all the tart apples. Apple cider flavor comes out even more when baked.
• Soft flesh that breaks down when baked or heated
• Thick skin
• Technically stores well when not bruised, but loses flavor quicker than other good storage varieties
• Cinnamon & sugar apple sauce recipe

Mutsu / Crispin

A good candidate for apple cider, especially if you get ones that are on the spicier side.

• Just barely more tart than sweet with cider flavor, sometimes a hint of anise. Skin can be chewy.
• Crisp firm texture that holds its shape when baked, but can be grainy
• Can get exceptionally large (and still taste good)

Jonamac

A cross between Jonathan and McIntosh, this apple inherited that tart flavor.

• Tart and slightly sweet with an apple cider, spiced nutmeg flavor
• Medium-firm flesh, but will fall apart when baked
• Quick to brown

Zestar

A trademarked apple from the University of Minnesota, an attempt to grow a better early-season variety.

• More tart than sweet with crisp flesh (perhaps the crispiest of all early varieties, and reminds me of Honeycrisp)
• Some people note hints of brown sugar flavor, which I maybe could detect only when baked.
• Tartness comes through even more when baked, and becomes very soft.
• Stores for 1-2 months (unlike 1-2 weeks for many early varieties)

Braeburn

An perfect sweet-tart balance with hints of cider and citrus zest. It is the best late-season apple for making pie in November.

• Sweet-tart apple flavor
• Firm, crisp flesh that softens but holds shape well when baked
• Great apple flavor that's both sweet and tart even when baked
• One of the best apples for pie
• Late season, often not showing up until mid-October

Northern Spy

Another top-notch apple for pie due to its strong sweet-tart flavor and excellent texture when baked. Also a favorite for ciders.

• Very sweet and very tart with a good apple flavor and sometimes notes of pear
• Thin skin and butter-yellow colored flesh when ripe
• Crisp flesh that has a perfect tender texture when baked
• Good for long-term storage (even if it has bruises, a rare trait)
• Late season variety showing up mid-late October and stores well, making it a great option for apple pies at Thanksgiving or into winter.

Golden Russet

Considered the "Champagne of cider apples" due to its intense, complex flavor and incredibly high sugar content (21%) to encourage fermentation.

• Very sweet, spicy, only slightly tart. Rich, complex flavor that might have notes of honey, figs, apricots, pears, and even green pepper (from the skin)
• Skin has russet (which looks and feels like a potato)
• Very dense, hard, crunchy flesh that stays fairly crunchy when baked (and can get grainy)
• Loses flavor complexities when baked
• Good for long-term storage

Winesap

Winesaps have a spicy flavor with some bitter notes (which works quite well to balance a sweet apple cider).

• Sweet-tart, spicy flavor that improves with storage
• Very hard flesh and thick skin
• Holds shape when baked, but sometimes turns grainy
• Popular in warmer climates as the tree doesn't need cold winters to set fruit like most apple varieties.

Jonagold

An excellent example of an apple with a sweet-tart balance and great flavor. A cross between Jonathan and Golden Delicious.

• Sweet-tart apple flavor
• Medium-firm, crisp flesh that softens but holds shape well when baked. Great flavor in apple pie.
• Thin skin

Ginger Gold

One of the tastiest early-season varieties.

• Slightly spiced sweet-tart flavor
• Medium-firm, crisp flesh that softens but holds shape well when baked
• Slow to brown

Cortland

Similar to McIntosh in flavor and texture, but slightly firmer.

• Sweet-tart with a slight cider flavor, can taste a bit sour when baked.
• Medium firm flesh softens quite a bit when baked and can get mushy (similar to McIntosh)
• Flesh is strikingly white compared to most other varieties
• Slow to brown, a great apple for salads

Rave

As a Honeycrisp descendant, this apple has its parent's sweetness, but also a little more acidity.

• Sweet-tart flavor (slightly more sweet than tart)
• Crisp bite but airy flesh sometimes falls apart when baked
• Slight jolly rancher flavor when baked
• Slow to brown
• A trademarked variety (University of Minnesota)

Juici

A Honeycrisp & Braeburn cross, this apple is a little more tart than Honeycrisp.

• Sweet-tart flavor (slightly more sweet than tart)
• Crispy and juicy, even at room temperature
• Very dense flesh that takes longer to soften when baked
• Thin skin
• Slow to brown
• A trademarked variety

Swiss

A mild-flavored descendant of Golden Delicious.

• Sweet-tart balance, with noticeable pear-like flavor that comes out when baked
• Medium-firm flesh
• Skin naturally feels greasy (not waxy)
• Smaller than average in size

Mollie / Molly

I've seen this labeled both ways - it's a mild-flavored descendant of Golden Delicious and Gravenstein.

• Sweet-tart, mild flavor
• Soft apple that softens a lot when baked, but will usually hold its shape
• Thin skin

Rome Beauty

A beautiful apple with paint-spatter marks falls flat on flavor. Marketed as the "queen of baking apples" because it isn't good for much else, not because it excels in baked goods.

• Bland, mildly sweet and slightly tart with a floral aroma that doesn't come across when eaten
• Holds shape when baked but can be crunchy or mealy
• Great for growers due to its heavy crop, resistance to disease, and attractive appearance

Akane / Tokyo Rose

A descendant of Jonathan, it has that classic apple flavor, and slightly less tart than its parent.

• Truly excellent flavor with a sweet-tart balance
• Early season, doesn't store well at all (lasts about 1-2 weeks)
• Juicy with firm (but not snappy-crisp) flesh

Sunrise

A descendant of Golden Delicious and McIntosh, although not as flavorful as I expected given the parentage.

• Good flavor, slightly more sweet than tart.
• Early season, doesn't store well at all (lasts about 2 weeks)
• Juicy with medium-firm flesh

Pristine

A bright yellow skinned apple with slightly tart flavor.

• More tart than sweet with medium-firm flesh
• Slight apple spice flavor, possible hints of banana.
• Very buttery flavor when baked and softens well.
• Stores for about 1 month (decent for early season apples)