Home Seasons Fall
ByGrace Mannon
Taste of Home's Editorial Process
Updated: Apr. 13, 2024
The next time you're craving apple pie, skip the grocery store and head to the farmers market! You'll be much more likely to find amazing heritage apples that are ideal for baking. Here are 13 to seek out.
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Shutterstock / Anne Kitzman
Northern Spy
The Northern Spy is a mostly sweet but slightly tart apple that grows best in cooler climates like Michigan and upstate New York. They aren’t classic beauties—they have an irregular, lumpy shape and dull greenish-red color—but they’re firmer and crunchier than most apples and bake up splendidly!
Try them in our favorite 13×9 apple recipes.
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Shutterstock / Chumash Maxim
Carolina Red June
One of the more popular apples in the South is the Carolina Red June, and it’s been used in pies since the mid-1800s. This early apple is small, and its flesh is white with red staining, tender, and juicy. The Carolina Red June has a crisp, complex flavor that will give your pie some character!
Give some character to these pie-inspired recipes, too!
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Shutterstock / TFoxFoto
Gravenstein
The Gravenstein apple originated in Denmark, but you can find it in many West Coast states these days. It’s a gorgeous apple with juicy flesh and a great flavor accentuated with notes of honey. It also makes a wonderful batch of applesauce
Check out our collection of applesauce recipes here!
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Shutterstock / Melissa Hinves
Braeburn
You’ve probably heard of the Braeburn apple, a natural cross between the Granny Smith and Lady Hamilton varieties that has its origins in New Zealand. This bi-colored beauty is the epitome of a sweet-tart apple, and its yellow flesh is extremely juicy and crisp.
Braeburns complement savory foods very well—just check out these recipes!
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Shutterstock / LagunaticPhoto
Rhode Island Greening
The state apple of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Greening, is a very tart, firm, and juicy apple that’s proven ideal for pies. It’s similar to the well-known Granny Smith variety in size, color, and texture, but many folks prefer the flavor.
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Moving Moment/Shutterstock
Cripp’s Pink
This small, vibrantly pink apple (sometimes referred to as Pink Lady) has a crunchy texture and a tart taste with a sweet finish. The white flesh is so juicy and crisp that some say it has a fizzy burst of flavor. Interestingly, the flesh is slow to oxidize when cut, making it well-suited for cheese boards.
Here’s a hack to keep other apples from browning!
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Shutterstock / Oksana Stepanova
Twenty Ounce
Originating in New York in the early 1800s, the Twenty Ounce apple is named as such because of its large size. It has thick, tough green and red skin, but the flesh beneath is delicate and juicy.
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Shutterstock / Free_styler
Yellow Bellflower
Have you ever heard of the Yellow Bellflower? This rare, lemon-colored apple hails from New Jersey and its pale, creamy flesh has a complex sweetness and is firm, crisp, aromatic and juicy. These apples improve after some storage (read our storage tips here), and in addition to pies, they make wonderful cider.
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Shutterstock / Steve Cukrov
Winesap
Winesap apples are a more common heirloom variety, and they’re perfect for pies—juicy, sweet yet tart, and strongly flavored. Because they’re so succulent, they add moisture and a sweet flavor to bread, muffins and cakes, and their firm texture makes them a good apple for pies. They’d be great in any of our top 10 apple desserts!
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Shutterstock / IrinaK
Arkansas Black
The Arkansas Black apple, thought to be an heir of the Winesap, originated in Arkansas around 1870. With its deep purple hue, this apple is stunning, and its yellow flesh has a coarse texture and tart flavor that make it perfect for pies. It requires an extended period of storage to soften both the texture and the tartness, but it’s worth the wait!
Explore what are crap apples and if they’re safe to eat.
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Shutterstock / sebi_2569
Cameo
The Cameo apple was discovered in the state of Washington in an orchard of Red Delicious apple trees, and it’s thought to be a cross of Red and Golden Delicious since it exhibits the best qualities of both. It holds its shape well in a pie and delivers a satisfyingly sweet and tart flavor.
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Shutterstock / Veronika S
Idared
Idareds are the quintessential apple; they’re the ones you give to your favorite teacher as a kid. Their firm, juicy flesh is sometimes tinted pink, and if you keep the skins on while making pie or applesauce, your end result will have a lovely pink hue!
Don’t know how to make applesauce? Follow our Test Kitchen tips.
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Shutterstock / Lonny Garris
Cortland
If you like a McIntosh, give the Cortland apple a try! It’s just a little bit tart, and it has a wonderfully crisp, finely grained flesh that will help your pie keeps its shape along with any of these apples. You can often identify these apples by their bright red color and rather flat shape. Don’t judge an apple by its shape!
Originally Published: July 12, 2018
Author
Grace Mannon
Grace is a full-time mom with a master’s degree in food science. She has worked for clients like a bakery, a baby food company and a snack food company. Now a Taste of Home contributor, she curates recipe collections and shares baking techniques. She loves to experiment in the kitchen and writes about her hits (and misses) on her blog, A Southern...
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