'Golden Delicious' is a

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

. It is one of the 15 most popular apple cultivars in the United States. It is not closely related to '

Red Delicious Red Delicious is a type of apple with a red exterior and sweet taste that was first recognized in Madison County, Iowa, in 1872. Today, the name ''Red Delicious'' comprises more than 50 cultivars. From 1968 to 2018, it was the most produced cu ...

History

Golden Delicious arose from a chance seedling, possibly a hybrid of '

Grimes Golden The 'Grimes Golden' apple is a cultivar of apple originated in Wellsburg, Virginia (now West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Ass ...

' and '

Golden Reinette The 'Golden Reinette' is a cultivar of domesticated apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. Th ...

'. The original tree was found on the Mullins' family farm in Clay County, West Virginia, United States, and was locally known as Mullin's Yellow Seedling and Annit apple. In Clay County, George Deems was instrumental in preserving and perpetuating the original Stark's Golden delicious apple tree on A. H. Mullins property back in 1938. The famed tree came to the attention of the Stark Brothers a number of years before, when Mr. Mullins sent three apples to Mr. Stark one fine April. The Golden Delicious' long keeping qualities were soon abundantly evident to Mr. Stark, as well as to United States Pomologist Colonel Brackett, in Washington, and the nursery bought the tree and ground on which it stands from Mr. Mullins for the -then-golden sum of $5,000.00, after verifying that the tree was the producer of the long sought perfect yellow apple. George Deems visited the famed tree shortly after he became extension agent and personally pruned the valuable tree while a DPW, That's Department of Public Works, to predepression kids- project renovated and restored the protective woven wire cage that guarded the tree against clandestine pruners who would have otherwise whittled it down, graft by graft Mullins sold the tree and propagation rights to Stark Brothers Nurseries for $5000, which first marketed it as a companion of their

in 1914. In 2010, an Italian-led consortium announced they had decoded the complete genome of the 'Golden Delicious' apple. It had the highest number of genes (57,000) of any plant genome studied to date. 'Golden Delicious' was designated the official state fruit of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

by a Senate resolution on February 20, 1995. Clay County has hosted an annual Golden Delicious Festival since 1972. Other West Virginia apples include

, and Guyandotte, which is believed extinct. 'Golden Delicious' was one of four apples honored by the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

in a 2013 set of four 33¢ stamps commemorating historic strains, joined by '

Northern Spy The Northern Spy, also called 'Spy' and 'King', is a cultivar of domesticated apple that originated on the farm of Oliver Chapin in East Bloomfield, New York, in about 1840. It is popular in upstate New York. The Northern Spy was one of four app ...

', ' Baldwin', and '

Granny Smith The Granny Smith, also known as a green apple or sour apple, is an apple cultivar which originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling. The tree is thought to be a hybrid ...

Appearance and flavor

'Golden Delicious' is a large, yellowish-green skinned cultivar and very sweet to the

taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

. It is prone to bruising and shriveling, so it needs careful handling and storage. It is a favorite for

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

apple sauce Apple sauce or applesauce is a purée (not necessarily served as a true sauce) made of apples. It can be made with peeled or unpeeled apples and may be spiced or sweetened. Apple sauce is inexpensive and is widely consumed in North America and s ...

, and

apple butter Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives a ...

Season

'Golden Delicious' are harvested from fall through winter.

Descendant cultivars

Akita Gold is a Japanese name and may refer to: Places * 8182 Akita, a main-belt asteroid * Akita Castle, a Nara period fortified settlement in Akita, Japan * Akita Domain, also known as Kubota Domain, feudal domain in Edo period Japan * Akita, Kumamoto ...

' ('Golden Delicious' × '

Fuji Fuji may refer to: Places China * Fuji, Xiangcheng City (付集镇), town in Xiangcheng City, Henan Japan * Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan * Fuji River * Fuji, Saga, town in Saga Prefecture * Fuji, Shizuoka, city in Shizuoka Prefec ...

') *' Ambrosia' (believed to be 'Starking Delicious' × 'Golden Delicious') *' Arlet' ('Golden Delicious' × 'Idared') *'

Autumn Glory Autumn Glory (''Malus domestica'' 'Huaguan') is an apple cultivar developed by growers based in Washington state, US and released in 2011. The fruit is grown by Domex Superfresh Growers with a production of about 56,000 trees as of November 2014. ...

' ('Golden Delicious' x 'Fuji') *'

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

' ('Lord Lambourne' × 'Golden Delicious') *' Cadel' '(Jonathan' × 'Golden Delicious') *' Cameo' ('Golden Delicious' × '

') *'

Caudle A caudle (or caudel) was a hot drink that recurred in various guises throughout British cuisine from the Middle Ages into Victorian times. It was thick and sweet, and seen as particularly suitable and sustaining for invalids and new mothers. At ...

' ('Golden Delicious' × 'Red Delicious') *'

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

' ('Golden Delicious' × 'Cox Orange') *' Chantecler' ('Golden Delicious' × 'Reinette Clochard') *'

Cripps Pink Cripps Pink is a cultivar of apple. It is one of several cultivars sold under the Trademark, trade mark name . It was originally bred by John Cripps (horticulturalist), John Cripps at the Western Australia Department of Agriculture (Western Austr ...

' (marketed as ; 'Golden Delicious' × ' Lady Williams') *' Delbarestivale' ('Golden Delicious' × 'Stark Jonagrimes') *'

Elstar The Elstar apple is an apple cultivar that was first developed in the Netherlands in Elst in the 1950s by crossing Golden Delicious and Ingrid Marie apples. It quickly became popular, especially in Europe and was first introduced to America in ...

' ('Ingrid Marie' × 'Golden Delicious') *' Firm Gold' (Starkspur 'Golden Delicious', U.S. PP 2024 × Starkrimson 'Red Delicious', U.S. PP 1565) *'

Gala Gala may refer to: Music * ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush *'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman *GALA Choruses, an association of LGBT choral groups *''Gala'', a 1986 album by T ...

' ('Kidds Orange' × 'Golden Delicious') *'

Ginger Gold Ginger Gold is a yellow apple variety which entered commerce in the 1980s, though the original seedling dates from the late 1960s. According to the US Apple Association website, , it was one of the fifteen most popular apple cultivars in the Uni ...

' ('Albemarle Pippin' × 'Golden Delicious') *'

Goldspur Goldspur or Golden Spur is a Golden Delicious-like apple cultivar which is spur bearing. It is a very compact tree, dwarf and column growing. It is compatible for cross pollination with: 'Dorsett Golden', 'Ein Shemer', 'Gala', 'Liberty', 'Prime ...

' a 'Golden Delicious'-like cultivar from Holland which is spur bearing *' Iduna' ('Golden Delicious' × 'Glockenapfel') *' Jonagold' ('Golden Delicious' × 'Jonathan') *'

Lucky Rose Golden Lucky may refer to: *An adjective of luck Lucky may also refer to: Film and television * '' Lucky: No Time for Love'', a 2005 Hindi-language romance starring Salman Khan, Sneha Ullal, and Mithun Chakraborty * ''Lucky'', a 2005 short film by Av ...

' A patented 'Golden Delicious' mutant *' Maigold' ('Fraurotacher' × 'Golden Delicious') *'

Mutsu (apple) The apple (also known as Crispin) was introduced in 1949 and is a cross between the ' Golden Delicious' and the 'Indo' apple cultivars first grown in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The apple's name is the former name of a large section of the Tōhok ...

' (Indo apple × 'Golden Delicious') *'

Opal (apple) opal® is the brand name for apple cultivar 'UEB 32642'. The variety originates from a natural crossing of ' Golden Delicious' with 'Topaz'. Developed by the Institute of Experimental Botany in Prague, it is grown by FirstFruits Farms LLC in W ...

' ('Topaz' × 'Golden Delicious') *' Pinova' ('

Clivia ''Clivia'' is a genus of monocot flowering plants native to southern Africa. They are from the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Common names are Natal lily or bush lily. They are herbaceous or evergreen perennial plants, with g ...

' × 'Golden Delicious') *' Rubinette' ('Golden Delicious' × 'Cox Orange') *' Sekai Ichi' ('Golden Delicious' × 'Red Delicious') *' Spigold' ('Northern Spy' × 'Golden Delicious') *' Sundowner' ('Golden Delicious' × 'Lady Williams') *' Tentation delblush' ('Grifer' (Blushing Golden) × 'Golden Delicious')

References

External links

Overview of various apple cultivars
in What Am I Eating? A Food Dictionary {{Apples, state=collapsed Trees of the Northeastern United States Symbols of West Virginia Cuisine of West Virginia American apples Apple cultivars