14 Types of Apples and Their Differences

Summer has given way to fall, but it’s not just the air that’s getting crisper — it’s apple season. While most types of apples are available year-round, they’re typically harvested during the autumn months.

There are more than 100 apple varieties grown commercially in the United States, representing a whole host of shapes, color schemes, textures, and flavor profiles. They’re also high in nutrients including fiber and vitamin C.

Apples are good for you in a number of ways: they may benefit your cardiovascular system and are reported to help support healthy blood sugar. They also contain pectin, a type of fiber that is believed to help keep you regular, and could possibly have a beneficial impact on your blood lipid profile.

Here are seven of the most common single-breed varieties of apple along with seven hybrids. So, whether you’re picking them from the orchard or the produce aisle, you’ll know what to expect in terms of taste as well as how best to enjoy the often very different types of apples.

1. Red Delicious

Formerly known as the Hawkeye, Red Delicious apples are considered by some the most popular, most maligned, and most ironically named of all apple varieties in the U.S. While it’s the most widely available type of red apple, it’s far from the most flavorful.

Flavor profile: After generations of breeding for longer shelf life and cosmetic stability — call it vanity ripeness — the flavor has mostly been cultivated out of the Red Delicious. It now has thick skin, a one-note sweet taste, and an often crumbly texture.

Where it’s grown: Just about everywhere.

Best enjoyed: Straight out of the silo. Red Delicious apples are not well regarded for baking purposes.

2. McIntosh

This is more along the lines of what consumers think they’re getting when they pick up a Red Delicious apple. McIntosh apples boast a gorgeous red hue and a luscious taste to back up their beauty.

Flavor profile: With soft skin and softer flesh, the McIntosh strikes a balance between sweet and acidic.

Where it’s grown: McIntosh apples now grow throughout the northeastern states, upper Great Lakes states, and in eastern Canada where they were originally discovered in the early 1800s.

Best enjoyed: Raw as a snack, in fruit salad, or mashed into applesauce. McIntosh apples typically collapse when baked.

3. Golden (or Yellow) Delicious

Considered an all-purpose apple, the Golden Delicious — along with the Red Delicious — is the one most commonly found in 42-pound bags sold for five dollars at the grocery store.

Flavor profile: The meat of the apple is mild and sweet, the flesh is juicy, but taste-wise isn’t all that different from a red delicious.

Where it’s grown: While it’s the state fruit of West Virginia, it can be found in most apple-growing regions of the country.

Best enjoyed: Pick your poison. It works whole, sauced, chopped into a salad, or baked into a pie.

4. Gala Apples

This New Zealand breed has gained popularity in the recent years. It’s a cross between a Kidd’s Orange Red and a golden delicious (assuming you’re up on apple husbandry).

Flavor profile: With pinkish-orange striping over a gold base, its skin is thin, concealing a crisp and juicy flesh that’s fragrant and relatively sweet.

Where it’s grown: Most states besides the southernmost points of the U.S.

Best enjoyed: Raw, juiced, or in salads.

5. Granny Smith Apples

Neon green and stout, Granny Smith apples are probably the most readily recognizable of all apple varieties. They’re also the most common type of green apple despite having only been introduced to the U.S. market in the 1970s.

Flavor profile: If you’re into tartness, this bitter old bird is your go-to. It’s crisp and has juicy flesh which sweetens with storage.

Where it’s grown: Originally cultivated in Australia, it’s harvested stateside below the Mason-Dixon Line, and is available year round.

Best enjoyed: Raw, in pies, or in salads where you can offset the tartness. Granny Smith apples work exceptionally well with nut butter.

6. Fuji Apples

Japan first harvested Fuji apples, and they’re still very popularly sold there. Fujis are a cross between two American varieties (Red Delicious and Ralls Janet).

Flavor profile: These apples are dense, crisp, and have been regarded by some as the sweetest of all apple varieties.

Where it’s grown: Fuji apples were introduced to the United States in the 1980s, but there are now more Fuji apples produced in America than in Japan.

Best enjoyed: Raw, chopped into salads, or baked into a pie.

7. Braeburn Apples

The Braeburn apple was discovered — as opposed to bred — in New Zealand in the early 1950s. Its probable parents are the Lady Hamilton and the Granny Smith.

Flavor profile: Thin-skinned Braeburns boast textbook apple essence and balance sweet and tart flavors. They have faint notes of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Where it’s grown: Many States grow Braeburn apples, the major production areas being Washington, California, Michigan, New England, New York, Oregon, Idaho, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia..

Best enjoyed: Raw, but it’s also known to juice very little during baking.

8. Pink Lady Apples

Pink Lady is the brand name for the Cripps Pink variety of apple grown under a specific license that dictates a rigid sugar-to-acid ratio, among other traits. Those that don’t qualify are sold as Cripps rather than as Pink Lady apples.

Flavor profile: A cross between the Golden Delicious and Lady Williams, the Pink Lady is firm and crunchy with a tart flavor that finishes sweetly.

Where it’s grown: In the U.S., they are primarily cultivated in Washington and California.

Best enjoyed: Raw, in salads, baked in pies, and sliced onto cheeseboards.

9. Honeycrisp Apples

Honeycrisp apples are the official state fruit of Minnesota. This variety of apple developed following efforts at the University of Minnesota to create “cold-weather” apples.

Flavor profile: The Honeycrisp keeps things simple with a light overall flavor profile that’s more sweet than tart. It’s also juicy and moderately crunchy once ripened.

Where it’s grown: The northern Great Lakes and New England.

Best enjoyed: Hardy and versatile, Honeycrisp’s taste great enjoyed straight and are up to any baking task. They’re actually better for cooking a week or so after removal from cold storage.

10. Empire Apples

Introduced in — where else — New York in the 1960s, it takes a lot to bruise this cross between a Red Delicious and a McIntosh apple, despite its thin skin.

Flavor profile: Retaining the sweetness of the Red Delicious and the tartness of the Mac, this is a crisp, juicy everyman’s apple.

Where it’s grown: In addition to New York, Empire apples are grown in many of the usual suspect states, including California, Washington, New England, Idaho, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Best enjoyed: Raw, cooked, and added into salads.

11. Opal

Opals are bright yellow apples that are relatively new to the market and have quickly risen to fruit fame. Their color is reminiscent of Golden Delicious, which is one of its two parents; opal apples marry the sweetness of Golden Delicious with the sharpness of Topaz.

Flavor profile: Opal apples are well-rounded with floral notes and the right amount of tang.

Where it’s grown: First bred in the Czech Republic in 1999, the Opal apple is now grown in just one U.S. state — Washington (one grower controls the entire U.S. market). However, the Opal apple is popular and sold throughout the country.

Best enjoyed: You can eat Opal apples raw or cooked, but perhaps the most unique selling point of this apple is that it doesn’t brown quickly after slicing.

12. Jazz

A youthful apple not unlike the Opal, Jazz was cultivated in the 1980s in New Zealand by crossbreeding a Royal Gala with a Braeburn.

Flavor profile: Jazz apples are crisp with a taste more similar to pears. They have buttery, yellow flesh, and are super juicy.

Where it’s grown: You’ll find Jazz apples licensed to grow on trees in Washington state, where they enjoy a long season from July to September.

Best enjoyed: Renowned as a dessert apple, Jazz hold their shape well when baked and are perfect for pies, muffins, and tarts.

13. Rome

Ohio enters the chat with the pride of Rome Township, a seedling discovered more than 200 years ago after the freak cross-pollination of unknown parents.

Flavor profile: Once you chew through the Rome’s thick skin, you find a mild flavor that’s not very sweet, not very tart, not very… good? It is crunchy, though, and sweetens when cooked.

Where it’s grown: Besides in its Ohio namesake, Rome apples are grown in the northern United States from coast to coast.

Best enjoyed: Once known as the “queen of the baking apples,” Rome apples are highly regarded for keeping their shape when cooked, making them excellent in savory dishes, pies, and ciders.

14. Piñata

More is merrier when it comes to the Pinata apple. Crossbreed not two but three varieties — Golden Delicious, Orange Pippin, and Duchess of Oldenburg — to create one Piñata apple.

Flavor profile: Despite its Germanic origins, the piñata is unique for its tropical flavor, with notes of mango and pineapple. It has some tartness, but sweetness prevails. Its orange-hued skin is thin and light, a plus for those cowed by tough peels.

Where it’s grown: Surprise, surprise — these apples grow in Washington State under strict license.

Best enjoyed: Given their sweetness, you won’t want to add any sugar. Enjoy these apples raw, such as on a cheese plate or in a savory salad.

Apple Nutrition

The difference in nutrient profiles across the various kinds of apples is minimal, so whichever you pick you can’t go wrong nutritionally.

Serving size: 1 large apple

Calories	100 cals.
Fat	0 g
Protein	1 g
Fiber	3 g
Carbohydrate	28 g (22 g natural sugar)
Fiber	3 g
Vitamin C 9 mg	10% DV