Depending on where you are in the country, you can find many of these varieties at farmers’ markets as well as at some grocery chains. These apples made their mark across the country, either by provenance or by adoption.Â
Gravenstein When it’s apple pie season in Nova Scotia, this is the workhorse that bakers seek. Common along much of the eastern seaboard, it has been eaten there since the late 1700s. Nova Scotians have a love for older varieties of apples, and until the 1990s, Gravenstein and other historical (and less commercially viable varieties) made up to 30 per cent of apples grown in the province.
McIntosh With its Dundela, Ont., origins, and ease to grow, the Mac is still one of the most popular apples in Ontario. Buy one from a local vendor who picked it off the tree themself. You’ll find good juice, crunch, and a flavour that tastes of apple pie spices—and you’ll realize why it was and still is a strong seller.
Spartan The McIntosh’s cold-hardiness made it great for cross-breeding, and in 1936, a B.C. research station crossed it with an apple of unknown heritage to create the Spartan. With crisp white flesh and ruby-red skin, it’s good for cooking and for eating out of hand.Â
Snow/Fameuse This grand dame has been around for hundreds of years in French-speaking Canada, where it is known as Fameuse, rather than by its English name, Snow. A cold-climate loving variety, it is reputed to be one of the parents of the McIntosh, described as a more delicate-flavoured and whiter-fleshed version of its progeny.Â
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Early Red Bird Originally titled Early Scarlet, then renamed the Crimson Beauty, this cold-hardy apple was developed in the 19th century and is a hybrid of the Fameuse and the New Brunswicker. In fact, it is considered to be the first controlled hybrid apple crossing, or apple created by intentional cross-breeding. This summer apple has a very short shelf life, but is known for making excellent applesauce.
Russet A Russet apple is any apple that has partial or total coverage by rough patching or brown to greenish brown. This means that there are many forms of Russet apples, such as the Golden Russet, which is common throughout North America, or regionally specific ones, such as the Morden Russet from Manitoba.
Macoun A cross between the bright red McIntosh and the darker-skinned Jersey Black, the Macoun is named for Canadian horticulturist and apple breeder W.T. Macoun. Thanks to its McIntosh parent, the apple tastes like the most wonderfully spiced apple pie with a good acidity and a hint of pink blush where the flesh touches the skin.
Rescue Developed at the Scott Research Farm in Scott, Sask., in the 1930s, this apple was made for cold climates and produces sweet fruit in mid- to late-summer. It’s a reminder of how good seasonal apples really can be; eat them when you get them.Â
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This article was originally published in the September/October 2025 issue of Cottage Life.
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