What is your favorite apple variety? Many consumers are fans of the ‘Honeycrisp’ because they desire a red apple with a combination of crunch and sweet. Many growers do not like growing ‘Honeycrisp’ in South Carolina because this variety struggles with disease and environmental issues here in the south. ‘Honeycrisp’ struggles to color well and is not reliable due to the heat and humidity of South Carolina. So, what other apple varieties are available in South Carolina that consumers love?
Not all apples are created equal. There are different types of each variety. Fresh picked apples have a different flavor (sugar) and pressure (crunch) than apples that have been in storage. The flavor of a variety can even change each day that it stays on a tree, even after it is ripe.
Start off the South Carolina apple season with a fresh-picked ‘Gala’. ‘Gala’ has a high sugar content and a crisp bite. Continue the season with a ‘Golden Delicious’ and later into October enjoy a ‘Cameo’ and ‘Pink Lady’ that are both sweet and crunchy. Check out the charts below for approximate ripening times of South Carolina apple varieties and how the varieties can be used.
Approximate ripening times of SC apples:
• July 25- Ginger Gold
• August 1- Golden Supreme
• August 10- Gala
• August 15- Red Delicious
• September 1- Golden Delicious
• September 15- Stayman, Granny Smith, and Mutsu
• October 1- Fuji, Cameo, Rome, and Winesap
• October 15- Pink Lady, Arkansas Black, and Yates
These SC apple varieties can be used in the following ways:
• Arkansas Black: fresh eating, baking, sauce (long storage)
• Cameo/Carousel: fresh eating, salads, applesauce, baking, pies, freezing
• Fuji: fresh eating, salads, baking, applesauce, pies, freezing
• Gala: fresh eating, salads, applesauce, baking, pies
• Ginger Gold: fresh eating, salads, applesauce, pies
• Golden Delicious: fresh eating, salads, applesauce, baking, pies, desserts, freezing
• Granny Smith: fresh eating, sautéing, applesauce, baking, pies, juice, freezing (long storage life)
• Mutsu: fresh eating, applesauce, pies, desserts, juice
• Red Delicious: fresh eating, salads, applesauce
• Rome Beauty: fresh eating, applesauce, pies, primarily baking and cooking (long storage life)
• Stayman: fresh eating, cooking, baking, freezing (long storage life)
Happy apple picking!
For more information on apple varieties and their uses, please visit the Home and Garden Information Center website at hgic.clemson.edu. Tune in on Tuesday nights to watch “Making it Grow” at 7 p.m. on SCETV or mig.org. Email Outen at callenb@clemson.edu.
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