Golden Delicious is a

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

. 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 variety of apple with a red exterior and sweet taste. Known as "the Reds" in the industry, this variety is the result of a chance seedling. It was first recognized in Madison County, Iowa, in 1872. Despite its name, it is not r ...

History

Golden Delicious arose from a chance seedling, possibly a hybrid of Grimes Golden and Golden Reinette. The original tree was found on the family farm of J. M. Mullins in Clay County, West Virginia, and was locally known as Mullins' Yellow Seedling. 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 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 2 ...

Geneva, New York Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...

developed the Jonagold apple by cross-breeding Golden Delicious and Jonathan trees. The cultivar was officially released in 1968 and went on to become the leading apple cultivar in Europe. According to the

USApple Association USApple Association is a nonprofit membership association for growers, marketers, equipment producers, and allied organizations of apples, within forty states of the United States of America, based in Virginia. It advocates on behalf of nearly 2 ...

website, , Golden Delicious, along with its descendent cultivars

Gala Gala may refer to: Music * ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush * Gala (singer), Italian singer and songwriter *'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman * GALA Choruses, an association of ...

, Ginger Gold, 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 mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

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 simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

in a 2013 set of four 33¢ stamps commemorating historic strains, joined by Northern Spy, Baldwin, and

Granny Smith The Granny Smith is an List of apple cultivars, apple cultivar that originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who Fruit tree propagation, propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling. The tree is thought to be a Hybri ...

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. Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth biochemistry, reacts chemically with taste receptor cells l ...

. 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 ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments called '' salad dressings'', which exist in a variety of flavors, a ...

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 American cooking show broadcast by public television stations and Create and distributed by American Public Television. Orig ...

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

, and

Serious Eats Serious Eats is a website and blog focused on food enthusiasts, created by food critic and author Ed Levine. A Serious Eats book was published by Levine in 2011. Serious Eats was acquired by Fexy Media in 2015 and then by Dotdash in late 2020. ...

all list Golden Delicious apples as one of the best apples for baking

apple pie An apple pie is a pie in which the principal filling is apples. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), custard or cheddar cheese. It is generally double-crusted, with pastry both above and below the ...

due to its balanced flavor and its high pectin content that allows it to stay intact when cooked. *Density 0.79 g/cc *Sugar 13.5% *Acid 5.6 gram/litre *Vitamin C 10–20 mg/litre

Season

Golden Delicious are harvested 130–150 days after full bloom.

Golden Delicious mutants

* Lucky Rose Golden A patented Golden Delicious mutant

Descendant cultivars

{, class="wikitable" , + Descendent cultivars , - ! Name !! Parentage !! Year: cross made/ selected/ introduced !! Country of origin !! Patent , - , Akita Gold , , (Golden Delicious × Fuji), , , , , , , - ,

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

, , (believed to be Starking Delicious × Golden Delicious) , , , , , , , - , Angold , , (Antonovka x Golden Delicious) , , , , , , , - , Annalee (Blount Golden), , Golden Delicious x ?, , ?/1962/?, , US, , USPP 3496 , - , 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 201 ...

, , (Golden Delicious x Fuji), , , - ,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, , (Lord Lambourne × Golden Delicious), , , - , Brock, , Golden Delicious x McIntosh, , / /1966, , US , , , - , 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, , (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, trademark name . It was originally bred by John Cripps (horticulturalist), John Cripps at the Western Australia Department of Agriculture (Western Austra ...

(marketed as {{tdes, Pink Lady), , Golden Delicious × Lady Williams) , - , Dalitron, , Golden Delicious x Pilot, , 1994/1997/, , France , , USPP , - , Delbarestivale, , ( Stark Jonagrimes x Golden Delicious), , , , , , , - , Elan, , (Golden Delicious x James Grieve), , ?/? /1984, , Netherlands, , , - , Elstar , , (Ingrid Marie × Golden Delicious), , 1955/ ? /1972, , Netherlands, , USPP 6450 , - , Falstaff , , James Grieve x Golden Delicious, , , , , , , - , Firm Gold, , (Starkspur Golden Delicious, U.S. PP 2024 × Starkrimson Red Delicious, U.S. PP 1565){{Cite web, url=http://www.freepatentsonline.com/PP04166.html, title=Apple tree, access-date=November 25, 2021, url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123105404/https://www.freepatentsonline.com/PP04166.html , archive-date=November 23, 2021, , , - ,

, , (Kidds Orange × Golden Delicious), , , , , , , - , Ginger Gold , , (Albemarle Pippin × Golden Delicious), , , , , , , - , GoldRush (Coop 38), , Golden Delicious x Coop 17, , ? / ?/ 1993, , US , , USPP , - , Goldspur a Golden Delicious-like cultivar from Holland which is spur bearing, , , - , Goro, , Golden Delicious x Swiss Orange, , 1951/ /1973, , Switzerland , - , 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">, , , , - , Honeygold, , Golden Delicious x Haralason, , , , , , , - , Iduna (apple), Iduna , , (Golden Delicious × Glockenapfel), , , , , - , Jonagold, , (Golden Delicious × Jonathan), , 1943/ /1968, , US, , , - , Kissabel Jaune, , Golden Delicious x SJ 109, , 2006/?/2011, , France, , USPP 30041 , - , Kissabel Orange, , Golden Delicious x SD 109, , 2006/?/2012, , France, , USPP 28201 , - , Kizuri, , Golden Delicious x NY75413-30, , 1990/?/?, , Belgium, , USPP 27926 , - , Ligolina, , Linda x Golden Delicious , , ?/1972/?, , Poland, , , - , Magnolia Gold, , Golden Delicious x ? , , ? / ? /1970, , US , - , Maigold (apple), Maigold, , (Fraurotacher × Golden Delicious), , 1944 / /1964, , Switzerland, , , - , Mutsu (apple) , , (Golden Delicious x Indo apple), , , , , , , - , Opal (apple) , , (Topaz × Golden Delicious), , ?/1999/?, Czech Republic, , USPP 15963 , - , Orin, , Golden Delicious x Indo, , , , Japan, , , - , Ozark Gold, , (Golden Delicious x (Conrad x Red delicious), , , , , - , Pink Lady, , Golden Delicious x Williams, , ?/1979/1989, , Australia , - , Pinova, , ( Clivia × Golden Delicious), , , , , - , Rebella, , Golden Delicious x Remo, , ?/1986/?, , Germany, , USPP 15134 , - , Red Baron, , Golden Delicious x Red van Buren, , 1926/1940/1969, , US , - , Rubinette(Rafzubin , , (Golden Delicious × Cox Orange) , , , , Switzerland, , , - , Sekai Ichi , , (Golden Delicious × Red Delicious) , , , - , Sinta, , Golden Delicious x Grimes Golden, , 1955/1965/ ? , , US , - , Spigold , , (Northern Spy × Golden Delicious) , , , - , Summerland, , McIntosh x Golden Delicious, , 1926/1939/1969, , Canada, , , - , Sundance (Coop 29), , GD x 1050NJ-1, , 1964/1972/?, , US, , USPP 13819 , - , Sundowner, , (Golden Delicious × Lady Williams), , , , Australia, , USPP 8477 , - , Swiss Gourmet, , Golden Delicious x Idared, , ?/?/1984, , Switzerland, , USPP 6689 , - , Tentation delblush, , (Grifer' (Blushing Golden) × Golden Delicious) , , , - , Trajan, , Golden Delicious x Wijcik McIntosh, , ?/?/1989, , England, , USPP 6226 , - , Virginiagold, , Albemerle pippin x Golden Delicious, , 1944/1956/ ?, , US , ,

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

{{Commons category
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 Northern America