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apples

We have 35 varieties of Apples at the Orchard. Currently available varieties are underlined below.

Note that availability depends on many factors with some years being better then others.

Early Season

Dolgo Crabapple
  • Vibrant flavour, very tangy
  • Good for Jelly, Cider & fresh eating
  • Keeps for a few weeks when stored in cool humid conditions
  • Originally from Russia, brought to the U.S.A around 1897
Duchess of Oldenburg
  • Mild flavoured apple
  • Best used for sauce, can be used for cooking, but flesh will break down.
  • Will keep for a month if refrigerated.
  • Originated in Russia in early 18th Century, imported to the U.S.A in 1834.
Hyslop Crabapple
  • Great for jelly, preserves, or ciders
  • Not recommended for eating
  • Keeps well when stored in cool humid place
  • Heritage variety, origin unknown around 1860’s
Jersey Mac
  • Crisp, Sweet, Tart apple
  • Fresh eating, Good for pies and sauces
  • Will Keep in Cold for up to four weeks
  • Not a Mac apple
  • Developed in 1971 in New Jersey
Lodi
  • Crisp, juicy with a slightly tart flavour
  • Good for pies and sauces, cooks down quickly
Paula Red
  • Excellent eating apple.
  • Tart to sweet flavour
  • Good for both Fresh eating & baking but will break down when cooked. Think Sauce, not pie!
  • Discovered near Sparta, Michigan in 1957, Parents are McIntosh & Duchess
Pristine
  • Dessert apple with a sweet tart flavour.
  • Good snacking apple, but also can be used for sauces, baked goods.
  • A good apple to add to your morning smoothie.
  • Crisp and juicy with yellow skinned with moderate blush
  • Parentage includes McIntosh & Starking Delicious
Vista Bella
  • Dessert apple
  • Crisp and juicy with crunch
  • Does not store well
  • Developed in New Jersey in mid-1900s

Mid-Season

Geneva
  • Sweet, tart taste.  Flesh is bright red under skin and near core.
  • Good for cooking, adds colour to ciders
  • Best if used soon after harvest
  • Developed in the 1930’s it was a collaboration between the Ottawa experimental farm and New York State Agriculture Research station
Ginger Gold
  • Crisp, Sweet and mildly tart, great eating apple, slow to brown
  • Holds its shape well when baked
  • Keeps well in cold storage, flavour improves after a few weeks
  • Considered one of the best early season apples
  • Discovered by chance near a Golden Delicious Orchard in Virginia in the 1960’s
Jefferson
  • Beautiful, small munching apple with an orange blush
  • Named after Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) because it was said to be his favourite apple.
Lobo
  • Tart, crisp apple
  • Good for fresh eating and cooking, excellent for pie and crisps
  • Keeps shape when cooked
  • Developed in Ottawa in the 1930’s after a free pollination of McIntosh
McIntosh
  • This Variety comes from trees grafted from the original McIntosh tree, from the farm of John McIntosh in Dundela in 1790
  • Crisp & Juicy This distinctive green and red apple is an all-time snacking favourite.
  • Parents are likely Snow & St. Lawrence.
Melba
  • Tart summer apple
  • Renowned as a cooking apple
  • Heritage variety
  • Seedling of McIntosh
Red Gravenstein
  • Sweet, tart flavour
  • Cooking, baking & fresh eating
  • Will keep less than three months, stored in cool humid conditions
  • Possibly from Europe 1600s
  • Was declared “National Apple” of Denmark in 2005
Tolman Sweet
  • Firm and crisp, moderately juicy, sometimes dry, very sweet, tart.
  • Mostly used for making pies and sauces as well as dried apple rings
  • Thought to originate in northeastern US late 1700s/early 1800s and that it was likely a cross of Sweet Greening and Old Russet
  • Keeps up to three months in cold storage
Wealthy
  • Sweet-tart, very juicy and strawberry flavoured. 
  • Dessert apple, excellent for pies when harvested slightly under-ripe
  • Originated Minnesota (U.S.A.) 1893

Late Season

Ambrosia
  • Crisp, tender & Juicy
  • Multi- Purpose low acid eating & baking apple
  • Found in British Columbia in 1990’s
  • Cross of Jonagold, Golden & Red Delicious
Bancroft
  • Tart, hard apple good for fresh eating
  • Keeps well when refrigerated
  • Cross between McIntosh & Forest
  • Developed in Ottawa in 1935
Barmley’s Seedling
  • Juicy, tart with a lemony apple flavour
  • Excellent apple for pies, crisps and sauce
  • Keeps well when refrigerated
  • Discovered in Nottinghamshire, England in 1809
Cortland
  • Crisp, Sweet, & Tart
  • Excellent for eating or cooking, slow to brown
  • Keeps well in fridge
  • Originated in New York in 1898
Cox’s Orange Pippin
  • Dessert apple, best eaten fresh
  • Stores well, improving flavour, but eventually loosing crispness.
  • First discovered by chance in Buckinghamshire, England between 1825-1830
  • When ripe apples are shaken, you can hear the seeds rattling. They are only loosely held in apples flesh
Empire
  • Sweet apple with crisp, crunchy taste
  • Great for baked apples, sauce and school lunches!
  • Cross between McIntosh and Red Delicious
  • Developed in New York in the 1940’s
Golden Russet
  • Distinctive tart flavour, yellowish flesh fine grained texture
  • Used for fresh eating, baking, jellies and ciders
  • Can keep for up to five months in storage, still excellent after skin is shrivelled.
  • Heritage variety, has been in existence for over 300 years
Gold Rush
  • Spicy and tart at first, but mellows the longer it is in storage
  • Best used for eating, cooking and ciders
  • Will keep up to six months, flavour improves with storage.
  • Developed in the 70’s released in 1994, derived from Golden Delicious mixed with a variety of others for their disease resistance
Honeycrisp
  • Crisp, tart- to- sweet apple,
  • Best eaten fresh, good in salads, a favourite for pies
  • Will retain flavour if stored in cold
  • Originated in Minnesota, 1990’s, carries genetics of Golden Delicious & Duchess of Oldenburg
Honeygold
  • Crisp and tender. Juicy, sweet, very similar in flavour to the Golden Delicious, perhaps a bit more honeyed
  • Fresh eating, pies and sauce
  • Ranks high for flavour and long storage
  • Developed by the University of Minnesota in the mid-1900s
Ida Red
  • Sweet- tart & juicy
  • Fresh eating, sauce, Great for baking holds it shape well. A favourite for strudel
  • Can be stored for up to four months, though flavour may become bland. Bruises easily
  • Developed in Idaho in 1942
Kingston Black
  • Small dark red apple
  • Tart Flavour, used for British style cider
  • Named after the town
Lady
  • Sweet/ tart apple
  • Fresh eating, baking
  • Small in size often thought to be a crab apple
  • Will keep for months
  • Originally documented in 700 BC, first reference to it as a Lady apple was in 1628 during to French renaissance
Macoun
  • Firm, All-purpose high-quality eating apple.
  • Juicy and sweet with a hint of berry.
  • Will stay firm when cooked.
  • A cross between McIntosh & Jersey Black, developed at New York State Experimental Station
Northern Spy

Northwest Greening

Reinette Russet

Spartan
  • Juicy & Sweet snacking apple with a nice crunch.
  • Keeps well in storage.
  • Developed in B.C. in 1936
  • Crisp and juicy with yellow skinned with moderate blush
Snow or Fameuse
  • Bright red fruit with snow white flesh.
  • Tender, juicy & aromatic dessert apple
  • Possibly parent of McIntosh.
  • Originated in Quebec from seed brought over by French missionaries
Tangowine

Winesap

Wolf River
  • Very large, juicy, aromatic and decidedly tart
  • Primarily a cooking apple, keeps shape when baked. Makes excellent pies, sauce, and dumplings
  • Original tree grown on the shores of the Wolf River in Fremont, WI, from the seeds of a bushel of Alexander apples from Quebec in 1860s