Maine-ly Apples

Current Varieties | Future Varieties | Our Suggestions

This year's apple varieties

Maine-ly Apples offers 22 different varieties of apples, which include new, exciting varieties, as well as many perennial Maine favorites. Here are our varieties listed by their approximate picking dates. Apples that are listed in red are available for pick your own.

• August
  • Jerseymac – An early McIntosh strain that has a medium firm texture and is semi-sweet. Makes great applesauce.
  • Williams Pride – Dark red, firm, juicy, slightly spicy.
  • Paulared – An early, tasty Cortland cross.
  • Zestar – High quality early season crisp, juicy desert apple developed by the University of Minnesota, the people who brought you Honeycrisp.
• September
  • McIntosh – The classic Maine favorite.
  • Jonamac – McIntosh and Jonathan cross; a dark red apple that is firm, crisp, and on the tart side.
  • Cortland – A traditional apple that is great for cooking. Has a white flesh that resists browning.
  • Honeycrisp – The increasingly popular, large sized eating apple. Lives up to the name.
  • Gala – A New Zealand apple that is crisp, dense, and mildly sweet.
  • Macoun – A McIntosh and Jersey Black cross; a juicy, low acid apple.
  • Prima – An excellent desert apple. Sometimes called the "spice apple."
• October
  • Spencer – A McIntosh and Golden Delicious cross. Good for both eating and cooking.
  • Liberty – A Macoun cross eating apple, it is also good for cooking and cider.
  • Wolf River – Traditional, very large apple that is great for cooking.
  • Fameuse – An antique apple that is parent of the McIntosh; called the "snow apple."
  • Golden Delicious – Pale yellow apple, mild and sweet.
  • Empire – Medium sized, dark red with firm red flesh, stores well.
  • Red Delicious – The traditional eating apple. Deep red in color with a distinctive shape.
  • Jonagold – A Jonathan and Golden Delicious cross that is Europe's most popular apple; excellent dessert apple.
  • SunCrisp – A golden apple with red blush; ripens in the late fall apple and is very crisp.
  • Northern Spy – A traditional, firm apple that is great for cooking.
  • Idared – Late maturing variety; Idareds keep extremely well and actually develop a better taste during storage.

Upcoming Varieties

In spring 2007 we planted 193 new trees. Some of these trees represent varieties that we already have, but we also planted some varieties that are new for us. These trees should bear fruit in the next few years.

• Ginger Gold – Golden Delicious type, high quality early season dessert apple.
• Valstar – Early season European apple with sweet-tart flavor.
• Cameo – A new variety that is crisp, juicy, has a sweet tart flavor and has outstanding storage quality.
• Fuji – A fine grained, sweet apple with a very good storage life; the most popular apple in Japan.
• Melrose – The state apple of Ohio ripens later in the season, excellent for cooking and eating, stores very well. A Jonathan and Red Delicious cross.
• Spartan – A British Columbia cross of McIntosh and Newton Pippin, ripens after McIntosh with all the same snappy flavor.
• Cox Orange Pippin – An antique English variety with an intriguing aroma and balanced flavor, considered the finest desert apple grown.

Apple Suggestions

Sometimes you just feel like something different. Here are some suggestions for our newer varieties based on some perennial favorites.

• If you like the tarty taste of McIntosh you might like Macoun, Liberty, or Empire.
• If you like Cortland as a great cooking apple you might like Spencer or Paulared.
• If you like Northern Spy as a great keeping apple you might try Idared.
• If you like Golden Delicious then you might try Jonagold or SunCrisp.