Growing cider apples is very similar to growing other apples except that because the apples are being to be pressed, and never reach the consumer in their “whole form”, the producer does not have to worry about superficial appearances. Attention can be brought to bear instead upon the health and flavour of the apples.
Good cider apples need to contain a bit of tannin. Apples with good tannin in Europe include Brown’s Apple, Yarlington Mills, Tremblett’s Bitter, Stoke Red and Gottingen. In North America, the list includes Virginia Crab, Geneva Crab, Cortland, and also Golden Russet.
While eating and cooking apples have gone in and out of fashion over the years, and producers are always striving to produce new ones in those categories to tempt fickle consumers, cider apple varieties are treasured as grape varieties are.
See also: Cider, Cider Vinegar, Wassailing the Apple Trees, Hot Mulled Cider Day, World Cider Day
History Notes
From 1600 to the mid 1800s, almost two-thirds of the Island of Jersey was covered in orchards of cider apples. After the 1850s, most of the orchards were chopped down and replaced by the newer crops of potatoes and tomatoes.
Types of cider apples
Abram Apples
Abram Apples are small to medium-sized, with a greenish-yellow waxy skin flushed with dull red.
An Abram Apple has tender, finely-textured yellowish-white flesh that is sweet with a touch of spice to it.
Late ripener.
Good for cider.
Storage...
Baldwin Apple
Baldwin Apple is a medium to large-sized apple. The skin can be red or red with some yellow, with an occasional small bit of russeting on the bottom. The thick skin and firm flesh enables it to survive shipping and handling well. It is juicy with a...
Brown's Apple
A large apple, somewhat flattened looking. Three-quarters of the skin is a dull-red or mottled dull-red, the rest is a dull green.
It has a sharp, tart taste, which makes it good for cider.
The tree tends to bear fruit in good quantity only every...
Brown's Apples
Brown's Apples grow up to 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Their shape is somewhat flattened.
They have green skin flushed with a dull dark red.
The flesh inside is aromatic, occasionally red tinged, with a sharp, tangy taste.
The tree is hardy down to...
Bullock Apples
Bullock are small to medium-sized apples.
They have pale yellow skin with some coppery russetting. Sometimes there is a good deal of russetting.
Inside they have very firm, yellow flesh, with a mild but rich and spicy flavour.
The apples ripen...
Bulmer's Norman Apples
Bulmer's Norman Apples are about 2 ¼ inches (5 ½ cm) wide, with yellowish-green skin and white flesh.They have a bittersweet, astringent taste.
The tree is hardy down to -40 F / C, but tends to produce every other year.
Cooking Tips
Cider apple.
History...
Campfield Apples
Campfield are medium-sized apples. They are round, but somewhat flattened.
They have smooth, greenish-yellow skin, that is red on the side that gets the sun, with small yellow dots.
Inside, they have white, firm, flesh with a sweet, rich taste.
Cooking...
Chisel Jersey Apples
Chisel Jersey are medium-sized apples.
They have green skin with a red flush.
Their flesh has an astringent, bittersweet taste.
The fruit ripens in mid-November.
The tree is very hardy, but it tends to bear every other year.
Cooking Tips...
Crimson King Apples
Crimson King Apples grow to be about 2 ¼ inches (6 cm) wide, with bright-red skin.
They have a tart flavour, with no astringency.
The apples ripen in November.
Cooking Tips
Yields fruity, light-tasting cider.
Can also be used for cooking.
History...
Dabinett Apple
Dabinett is a medium-sized, fragrant cider apple with greenish-yellow skin.
The flesh is crisp, greenish-white and has a bittersweet taste. It is a favourite of cider-makers.
History Notes
Dabinett was developed in the Martock-Kingsbury area of...
Dunkerton Late Sweet
Dunkerton Late Sweet is a cider apple with green and red skin.
It is sweet and low in tannin, making it useful for light ciders.
History Notes
Discovered in the 1940s by a Mr Dunkerton in his orchard in Baltonsborough, Somerset.
Language Notes...
Foxwhelp Apples
Foxwhelp are medium to large-sized apples.
They have pale yellow skin, mostly covered with pale red flushes on the side that got the sun.
Inside, they have aromatic, coarse, juicy yellow flesh with a sharp, bitter taste.
In the spring, the...
Golden Russett Apples
Golden Russett is a medium-sized apple with golden skin with russeting on it that ranges from a greyish-green to bronze.
The yellowish flesh inside is finely-textured and crisp, with very sweet juice. The flavour is particularly good after a sharp...
Graniwinkle Apples
Graniwinkle are medium-sized apples.
They have rough, greenish-yellow skin flushed with stripes of dark-red skin.
Inside, they have yellowish, sweet rich-tasting flesh with a small core.
September harvest in America
Cooking Tips
For cooking...
Hewe's Crab Apples
Hewe's Crab Apples grow up to 1 ½ inches (3 ½ cm) wide.
They have dark green skin mostly covered with dull dark red, and white dots.
Inside, they have crisp, firm, juicy flesh with a sharp tart flesh. The flesh has a high sugar content despite...
Jade Apples
Jade are slightly oval, medium-sized apples with green skin.
They have crisp flesh with good flavour.
The apples stay on the tree until late in the year.
Cooking Tips
Good for cider.
History Notes
Jade Apples were developed by Albert Etter...
Kingston Black Apples
Kingston Black Apples are 2 inches (5 cm) tall by 2 ½ inches (6 cm) wide.
They have yellowish-orange skin covered in dark reddish-brown.
The flavour has a bitter, sharp taste that is both sweet and astringent at the same time.
The tree is...
Late Harrison Apples
Late Harrison are medium-sized, round to slightly oval apples.
They have yellow skin covered with black dots.
Inside, the flesh is yellowish, coarse, and dry.
The fruit ripens in October in Virginia, United States.
Cooking Tips
For cider....
Levering Limbertwig Apples
Levering Limbertwig are large-sized, somewhat squat apples.
They have greenish-yellow skin almost entirely covered with dull red, with some russet spotting.
Inside, the yellowish flesh is juicy, firm and crunchy.
The fruit ripens late October...
Medaille d'or Apples
Medaille d'or are cider apples.
They have orangish golden skin, covered with russetting; the russetting is a darker brown on the side that got the sun.
Inside, they have tender, yellow flesh, high in tannins, and with a sweet but astringent taste.
The...
Michelin Apples
Michelin are small, conical, ribbed cider apples with pale green skin, and a sweet, astringent taste.
The fruit grows in clusters, and ripens late October / early November.
Cooking Tips
The juice is usually blended with juice from other apples.
History...
Minnesota 1734 Apples
Minnesota 1734 Apples are small-sized. Their skin is covered with bronze-coloured russetting.
Inside, they have firm, yellow flesh, with a rich taste.
The tree is a heavy bearer.
Stores well.
Cooking Tips
Good for cider.
Muscat de Bernay Apples
Muscat de Bernay are cider apples with a bittersweet taste.
Cooking Tips
For cider.
History Notes
Muscat de Bernay Apples originated from an orchard near a Benedictine Abbey near Bernay, Normandy, France.
Myer's Royal Limbertwig Apples
Myer's Royal Limbertwig are large-sized apples.
They have yellow skin covered with a red that ranges from dull to deep red.
Inside, they have aromatic, firm, juicy flesh, with a rich flavour.
The tree is a reliable bearer.
Cooking Tips
Good...
Nehou Apples
Nehou are small to medium-sized apples.
They have soft flesh with a bittersweet taste.
The tree is a reliable bearer. The fruit ripens for harvest over a period of 10 days.
The apples bruise easily.
Cooking Tips
For cider.
Storage Hints...
Porter's Perfection Apples
Porter's Perfection Apples have pale creamy yellow skin with dark red stripes.
Sometimes 2 to 4 of the apples grow joined together.
The flesh has a bittersharp taste with little astringency, and a good balance of tartness and tanins.
The fruit...
Smith's Cider Apples
Smith's Cider are medium to large-sized apples.
They have tough, smooth, yellow skin, flushed with pale red and whitish dots, and russetting at the bottom.
Inside, they have white to yellowish, finely-textured, tender, crisp, juicy flesh.
Cooking...
Stoke's Red Apple
These cider apples have red skin that is sometimes waxy. The apples are round but flattened.
The taste is sharp, tart and astringent.
History Notes
The trees were found growing in Rodney Stoke, Somerset, England in the 1920s.
Sweet Alford Apples
Sweet Alford are small-sized (up to 2 inches / 5 cm wide) apples, conical in shape, but flattened.
They have pale waxy yellow skin with a pink flush, with russetting at the stem end.
Inside, they have white, somewhat crisp, juicy flesh with a...
Tom Putt Apples
Tom Putt are medium to large-sized apples, slightly conical and flattened in shape.They have pale green skin flushed with dark red.
The fruit ripens in August.
The tree is a heavy bearer.
Cooking Tips
For cooking, cider or apple juice.
Makes...
Tremlett's Bitter Apple
Tremlett's Bitter Apple is a medium-sized cider apple.
The waxy, smooth skin is almost a solid dark red. The white flesh is wooly and tart.
History Notes
Originated in Devon, England.
Yarlington Mill Apple
Yarlington Mill Apples are used for cider.
They are shaped more like pears than apples. The skin has yellow, smooth, waxy skin covered by dark red blushes and russeting.
Inside the apple is white, though just below the skin the flesh is reddish....