10+ Canadian Apples you should know!

If you hear the term "Heritage Apple" you might think of think Belle De Boskoop or Cox’s Orange Pippin; sometimes folks in the know can also point to a few venerable old American varieties such as Roxbury Russet or Newton Pippin, apples that thankfully survived the prohibition era. But who among us can name an heirloom Canadian apple beyond the McIntosh? 

Canadian apples varieties have always flown under the radar but despite that, they are very worth preserving and growing. Covering all ends of the apple spectrum from fresh eating to cooking and storage, the Canadian trees are usually very cold hardy and well adapted to maritime climates. 

The McIntosh, possibly our most famous apple, has greatly influenced the genetics of apples worldwide, and has resulted in some wonderful and flavourful offspring developed here at home, including the Cortland, Purple Spartan, and Melba. Apples in the “Mac” family, including these three, tend have the brightly coloured skin and crisp white flesh of a “Mac” yet they almost always have improved flavour, crispness, and keeping ability.  

Melba

Purple Spartan

One of the parents of McIntosh is known to be the Fameuse (also called the Snow), and originates in Quebec around the 17th Century or potentially even earlier. It ripens in late September and has a distinct and aromatic flavor. Many other offspring of the Fameuse,  including the Princess Louise and Scarlett Pippin, were cataloged in Central Canada around 1900, and are no longer in existence. The Fameuse was also widely planted on our West Coast, and can still be found on some of the old Denman Farmsteads.  

Here’s a few additional (by no means a complete list) Canadian homegrown apples that deserve a deeper dive and to be propagated for years to come. 

New Brunswicker: a good tasting, tart summer apple developed by Francis Peabody Sharp in the mid 1800’s. Sharp was considered to be the first person in Canada to apply scientific methods for hybridizing to apples.  His work was revolutionary at the time and he essentially created an entire fruit industry in the maritimes. The New Brunswicker was his first of many apples, which also include the Crimson Beauty and the Peabody Greening.

St. Lawrence: A brightly striped apple- red over green skin- that originated in the Montreal area, likely in the 19th century. It’s a late summer apple and great for fresh eating or pies and sauce. 

St. Lawrence displayed at Denman Island Apple Fest

Mantet: A super cold hardy tree developed in 1929, Manitoba. It has amber coloured fruit with red blush and ripens in the summer months with a sweet tangy flavor. 

Goodland: An apple tree variety that originates from Morden Research Station in Manitoba in the 1920's like the Mantet, and is renown for being cold hardy. You can plant this tree to zone 3. They are moderately sweet and have a creamy-green skin, with a blush red. The white flesh is tender and juicy. The apples can be harvested from Mid-August, and can be kept in cold storage for about 4-5 months which is very rare for an early apple.

Ontario: Originating in Paris, Ontario in 1820, it is a large fruit, yellowish skin with splashes of carmine. The Ontario is hardy to zone 5 and is an aromatic and fine grained apple good for all purposes, and great in pies as it holds its shape when cooked. 

Battleford: Introduced in 1930's Saskatchewan, this is another cold hardy gem! Pretty red stripes cover this apple which is ripe mid September. It has a tart flavour and lends itself well to kitchen uses like sauce.