Apples: Sweet & Nutritious Power Foods

Types of Apples

More than 2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States, each with its own unique flavor and best uses. Here's a breakdown of some the most popular varieties:

1. Variety: Golden Delicious
About: Not related to Red Delicious. Pale yellow skin signals best quality.
Taste & Texture: Sweet flavor with firm, crisp, and juicy flesh with tender skin.
Best Uses: All-purpose apple that's good raw or baked. Cut flesh doesn't brown fast.

2. Variety: Rome
About: Also known as Rome Beauty, it originated in Rome Township, Ohio.
Taste & Texture: Crisp, firm, and mildly tart but can turn bland and mealy with storage.
Best Uses: Best baked or sautéed. Holds it shape well when cooked.

3. Variety: Fuji
About: Retains quality in room-temperature storage, so perfect in fruit bowls. Fuji ranked highest in phenolics among 13 top varieties.
Taste & Texture: Crisp and juicy with a mild, sweet flavor.
Best Uses: Eat fresh or use for homemade applesauce.

4. Variety: Red Delicious
About: Top-produced apple in United States, although declining in recent years.
Taste & Texture: Juicy, somewhat tart flesh with a tough skin.
Best Uses: Eat fresh or in salad. Breaks down and loses flavor when cooked.

5. Variety: Pink Lady
About: Pink Lady is trademarked name for high-quality Cripps Pink apples.
Taste & Texture: Sweet-tart flavor with firm, crisp flesh.
Best Uses: Great fresh as well as for cooking and baking.

6. Variety: Granny Smith
About: Originally grown in Australia but now widely grown in United States.
Taste & Texture: Crisp and tart. Paler skin with warm cast tends to signal sweeter picks.
Best Uses: All-purpose apple. Especially popular for applesauce and juice.

7. Variety: Empire
About: Is a cross between Red Delicious and McIntosh.
Taste & Texture: Very crisp and juicy with a sweet-tart flavor.
Best Uses: Eat fresh or use in cider. Loses its texture in pie and applesauce.

Get a free shopping and cooking guide to 18 of the most popular apple varieties.

Did you know? "Only 7 percent of fresh apples we eat are imported," says federal agricultural economist Agnes Perez. If you buy a U.S.-grown apple in winter, it's likely stored from the fall harvest.