What happens when you cross a Red Delicious apple and a McIntosh apple? An Empire apple! Developed in New York in 1966, Empire apples have a red and green exterior with white markings. The sweet-tart taste brings the best flavors of Red Delicious and McIntosh together. The crunchy texture makes it popular choice for pies. Additionally, Empires are great in salads, sauce, baking and freezing.
Golden Delicious are a unique yellow and green skinned apple that is an American classic. It is a mellow and sweet apple that hit the market in 1914. The Stark brothers marketed it as a companion to Red Delicious apples. A bit on the delicate side, take care when storing Golden Delicious. Versatile in its usage, Golden Delicious are great for salads, apple sauce, and apple butter.
Widely grown and very popular, Fuji apples originated in Japan. A cross between Red Delicious and Ralls Janet apples, Fuji apples were developed in the 1930’s and were made available in the US in the 1960’s. The word Fuji means ‘wealthy’ or ‘abundant’ in Japan.
Fuji’s are a large, heavy, firm apple. They have a red exterior with some striping and yellow or green undertones. Crisp and juicy, Fuji’s are one of the sweetest apple varieties available. With a longer shelf life than most, Fuji apples are great for eating, baking, and making sauces. They also pair well with cheese and are great in salads.
Come out to Apple Holler and pick some of these great apples!
