Golden Delicious
A sweet, yellowish-green apple cultivar from West Virginia.
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via Wikipedia: Golden Delicious · see source
The Golden Delicious apple, a leading variety in the United States, is not actually related to the Red Delicious despite its name. It originated as a chance seedling, likely a cross between Grimes Golden and Golden Reinette. The original tree was discovered on J. M. Mullins’ farm in Clay County, West Virginia, where it was called Mullins' Yellow Seedling.
Mullins sold the tree and its propagation rights to Stark Brothers Nurseries for $5,000, and the company first sold it in 1914 as a partner to their Red Delicious. For most of the 1900s, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith were the three best-selling apples in U.S. supermarkets. According to the U.S. Apple Association, as of 2025, Golden Delicious and two of its descendants—Gala and Honeycrisp—remain among the nine most popular varieties in the country.
On February 20, 1995, a Senate resolution made the Golden Delicious West Virginia’s official state fruit. Clay County has held an annual Golden Delicious Festival since 1972.
In 2013, the U.S. Postal Service honored it on a 33¢ stamp alongside the Northern Spy, Baldwin, and Granny Smith apples. In 1943, the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York, crossed Golden Delicious with Jonathan to create the Jonagold apple, which was officially released in 1968 and became Europe’s leading apple cultivar. As of 2025, Golden Delicious remains one of the top apples in the European Union.
Appearance and flavor
In 2010, an Italian-led consortium announced they had sequenced the complete genome of the Golden Delicious apple, which at 57,000 genes had the highest count of any plant genome studied at that time. The apple is large, with yellowish-green skin and a very sweet taste. It bruises and shrivels easily, so it requires careful handling and storage. It is popular for eating fresh, as well as in salads, applesauce, and apple butter.
America’s Test Kitchen, Food Network, and Serious Eats all recommend it for apple pie because of its balanced flavor and high pectin content, which helps it hold its shape when baked. Its density is 0.79 g/cc, sugar content 13.5%, acid 5.6 grams per liter, and vitamin C 10–20 mg per liter. The apples are harvested 130 to 150 days after full bloom. There is a patented mutant called Lucky Rose Golden, and the variety has several descendant cultivars.
Lore & Background
The original Golden Delicious 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. The nursery first marketed it as a companion of their Red Delicious in 1914. For much of the twentieth century, the Golden Delicious, the Red Delicious, and the Granny Smith were the top three apple varieties in the United States in terms of sales at supermarkets.
Golden Delicious was designated the official state fruit of West Virginia by a Senate resolution on February 20, 1995. Clay County has hosted an annual Golden Delicious Festival since 1972. The Golden Delicious was one of four varieties honored by the United States Postal Service in a 2013 set of four 33¢ stamps commemorating historic strains, joined by the Northern Spy, Baldwin, and Granny Smith apples. In 1943, the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York 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. As of 2025, the Golden Delicious is still one of the top apples in the European Union. 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.
Reader's Guide
Golden Delicious is a large, yellowish-green skinned cultivar and very sweet to the taste. 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 salads, apple sauce, and apple butter. America's Test Kitchen, 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.
The apple has a density of 0.79 g/cc, sugar content of 13.5%, acid level of 5.6 gram/litre, and Vitamin C of 10–20 mg/litre. Golden Delicious are harvested 130–150 days after full bloom. The cultivar has a patented mutant called Lucky Rose Golden. According to the U.S. Apple Association, as of 2025, the Golden Delicious and two of its descendants, the Gala and Honeycrisp, remain in the top nine most popular varieties in the United States.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Golden Delicious (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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