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 A chance seedling is a plant that is the product of unintentional breeding. Identifying the parent plants of a chance seedling may be difficult. It may be necessary to genetically analyse the seedling and surrounding plants to be sure. Plants tha ...

, 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 family farm of J. M. Mullins in

Clay County, West Virginia Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,051. Its county seat is Clay. The county was founded in 1858 and named in honor of Henry Clay, famous American statesman, member of the Unit ...

, and was locally known as Mullins' Yellow Seedling. Mullins sold the tree and propagation rights to

Stark Brothers Nurseries Stark Bro's Nurseries & Orchards Co. is a horticultural company based in Louisiana, Missouri, that specializes in growing and selling fruit trees to home gardeners and commercial orchardists. The company was the original marketer of the Red Deli ...

for $5000, which first marketed it as a companion of their

in 1914. In 1943, the

New York State Agricultural Experiment Station The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) at Geneva, Ontario County, New York State, is an agricultural experiment station operated by the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. In August 20 ...

in Geneva, New York developed the

Jonagold Jonagold is a cultivar of apple which was developed in 1953 in New York State Agricultural Experiment Station of Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, a cross between the crisp Golden Delicious and the blush-crimson ...

apple by cross-breeding Golden Delicious and

Jonathan Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

trees. The cultivar was officially released in 1968 and went on to become the leading apple cultivar in Europe. According to the US Apple Association website, , Golden Delicious, along with its descendent cultivars Gala,

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 ...

, Honeycrisp, and Jonagold, were among the fifteen most popular apple cultivars in the United States. 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. 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 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,

Baldwin Baldwin is a Germanic name, composed of the elements ''bald'' "bold" and ''win'' "friend". People * Baldwin (name) Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, Qu ...

, and Granny Smith.

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 eating plain, as well as for use in

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 ...

s, apple sauce, and apple butter.

America's Test Kitchen ''America's Test Kitchen'' (originally ''America's Test Kitchen from Cook's Illustrated Magazine'') is a half-hour long cooking show broadcast by PBS and Create. Originally hosted by Christopher Kimball, the program currently is co-hosted by Jul ...

, Food Network, and Serious Eats all list Golden Delicious apples as one of the best apples for baking apple pie due to its balanced flavor and its high pectin content that allows it to stay intact when cooked.

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) *

Ambrosia In the ancient Greek myths, ''ambrosia'' (, grc, ἀμβροσία 'immortality'), the food or drink of the Greek gods, is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Olympus ...

(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 (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, an ...

(Golden Delicious × Cox Orange) * Chantecler (Golden Delicious × Reinette Clochard) * Cripps Pink (marketed as ; Golden Delicious × Lady Williams) *

Delbarestivale 'Delbarestivale', also called 'Delcorf', is a cultivar of domesticated apple, which was developed by the Delbard nursery in France. It is a very sweet apple. 'Delcorf' is a parent of the 'Zari' apple and the 'Nicogreen' apple. It was awarded th ...

(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 A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...

(Starkspur Golden Delicious, U.S. PP 2024 × Starkrimson Red Delicious, U.S. PP 1565) * Gala (Kidds Orange × Golden Delicious) *

(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 * Honeycrisp (MN1627 Duchess of Oldenburg">Duchess of Oldenburg (apple)">Duchess of Oldenburg× Keepsake rostbite (MN447) x Northern Spy">Northern_Spy.html" ;"title="rostbite (MN447) x Northern Spy">rostbite (MN447) x Northern Spy * Iduna (apple)">Iduna (Golden Delicious × Glockenapfel) *

(Golden Delicious × Jonathan) * Lucky Rose Golden A patented Golden Delicious mutant * Maigold (apple), Maigold (Fraurotacher × Golden Delicious) * Mutsu (apple) (Indo apple × Golden Delicious) * Opal (apple) (Topaz × Golden Delicious) *

Pinova 'Pinova' is a German apple cultivar. It was created in 1965 at the Institut für Obstforschung of Dresden–Pillnitz in Saxony which at that time was in the German Democratic Republic. After Germany was re-united in 1990, the rights to the cul ...

(

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 American apples Apple cultivars Cuisine of West Virginia Symbols of West Virginia Trees of the Northeastern United States