e Apple varieties at a glance
Boskop
The Boskop (also called Boskoop or Schöner as Boskoop) originally comes from the Netherlands. The apple variety has a sour taste and can be easily processed into applesauce or cider.
Cox Orange
The Cox Orange is one of the winter apples and was discovered in England. It has a bicolored skin and a firm flesh. Due to its aromatic taste, it is versatile in the kitchen, for example for apple pie or apple tart. The Holsteiner Cox apple variety also originates from him.
Elstar
The apple variety Elstar is characterized by its juicy flesh and a slightly sour taste. It is versatile and can be used as a dessert apple as well as a cooking or baking apple. Elstar is one of the most popular cultivars in Germany - we show you how to plant the apple tree.
Golden Delicious
The Golden Delicious is easily recognized by its yellow-green skin. It is mainly eaten pure, as the flesh does not break down as well when cooked, but can also be used for applesauce or apple pancakes.
Granny Smith
The apple variety Granny Smith has a green skin which is slightly speckled. It tastes very sour and is suitable for cooking and baking. The variety was discovered in Australia and only grows in countries with a hot climate, in Germany it cannot be grown.
Jonagold
Jonagold is one of the most frequently cultivated apple varieties worldwide. The fruits are ripe for consumption from October onwards and taste juicy-sweet. Therefore you can make your own apple juice with Jonagold.
Pink Lady
Pink Lady is the brand name for the fruits of the apple variety Cripps Pink. They have a firm and rather sweetish flesh and a reddish skin, which also contains yellow-green tones. The apple variety is mainly cultivated in Chile, South Africa and Australia, but also in European countries such as France and Spain.
Royal Gala
A mutant of the apple variety Gala is called Royal Gala. The apples are characterized by their red skin and sweet taste. You can use them for example for apple compote or apple strudel.
Apple varieties and their maturity classes
The different apple varieties are divided into summer, autumn and winter apples. Not all fruits can be eaten immediately after harvesting, some develop their flavor later - that's why we differentiate between ripeness for picking and ripeness for consumption.
Summer apples include those varieties that ripen between July and September, such as the Gravensteiner apple variety. Since many of them are quickly overripe, they cannot be stored for too long.
Autumn apples, on the other hand, are ripe for picking in September and October and can be eaten after only a short storage period, such as the Holsteiner Cox.
Winter apples are all apple varieties that are harvested in October or November and are only ready for consumption after two months of storage. However, since apples are available in the trade all year round (e.g. through imports from New Zealand), the division into ripeness classes hardly plays a role nowadays.