Find the right one for snacking, baking and more.
Browse varietiesFind the right one for snacking, baking and more.
Browse varietiesThe oldest apples you can still buy
Heirloom apples with roots in the 1800s that still show up in stores.
Most apples in today's stores were bred in the last 50 years. But a handful of much older apples are still grown and sold, some going back more than 200 years.
These are the 10 oldest apples on our site, listed from oldest to newest, so you can see how far back each one goes.
01
An heirloom pie apple.
Tart and aromatic with firm, juicy flesh that sweetens slightly in storage.
02
A spicy, wine-like heirloom.
Tart and spicy with a wine-like tang and firm flesh.
03
The tangy, tender sauce apple.
Tangy and sweet with a strong apple aroma.
04
The classic baking apple.
Mild and lightly sweet with a firm texture.
05
The tart heirloom pie apple.
Tart and spicy with a light sweetness and lots of juice.
06
A tart, wine-like baking apple.
Tart and wine-like with juicy, firm flesh.
07
The tart green baking standard.
Sharp, tangy, and refreshing, with very firm, crisp flesh.
08
A dark heirloom that improves with age.
Tart and very firm when picked, turning sweeter and more aromatic after storage.
09
The classic red apple.
Mildly sweet with very little tartness.
10
The all-purpose yellow apple.
Sweet and honeyed with a soft tang.
Apples do not grow true from seed. Plant a seed from a McIntosh and you get a brand new, usually forgettable apple. So every McIntosh tree in the world is a clone, grown by grafting a cutting from an existing McIntosh tree onto new roots.
That is how an apple found in the early 1800s can still be in stores today: growers have kept grafting it, generation after generation. When people stop planting a variety, it can quietly disappear, which is why heirloom orchards work to keep old apples alive.
