The Granny Smith Apple is considered the best pie apple in the world. The skin is an attractive bright green color, which is retained long after harvest. This is a firm, sweet/tart apple that is good for eating, cooking, and sauce. The Granny Smith Apple Tree is a good choice for both hot or cold climates. It ripens August to September.
Perhaps the most instantly recognisable of all apple varieties and one of the most widely known, Granny Smith is also one of Australia's most famous exports.Granny Smith pre-dates the modern approach to apple development and marketing. Like all the best old varieties it has a bizarre history, being discovered in Austrialia in the 1860s as a seedling growing in the remains of a rubbish tip. The true parentage is still unknown but is possibly French Crab. The discoverer - a Mrs Maria Smith (sometimes referred to as Mary Smith but see note below) - found that the apple was versatile for cooking and eating, and was involved in spreading its popularity. In an inspired piece of marketing she called the new apple Granny Smith. By the 1960s Granny Smith was practically syonymous with 'apple' and the variety was used by the Beatles as the logo for their company 'Apple Records'.Granny Smith was one of the original staple supermarket varieties, and one of the first international varieties, a role for which it was well suited.
The tough skin and amazing keeping qualities meant it could easily be shipped around the world. It requires a warm climate to ripen properly, and performs well in the main apple-growing regions of the southern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere it is grown in France and the warmer zones of North America. The trademark apple-green skin requires warm days and nights - we have seen Granny Smiths grown at a relatively high altitude in central France which develop a blush because of the cold night temperatures towards the end of the growing season.There is only one word to describe the flavour of Granny Smith: acidic. It is an uncompromising crisp hard apple with a very sharp taste.
However, served slightly chilled it can also be very refreshing, and works well in salads. The flavor sweetens in storage. Nevertheless, its share of the international market is on the decline, with supermarkets preferring to sell bi-coloured varieties with a sweeter flavour.Update: Granny Smiths in Central California, from Axel in Santa CruzHere in coastal Central California apples can remain on the tree well into February. Our nights get quite cool, mid 30's to mid 40's, but we rarely experience freezing temperatures. Daytimes are usually in the 50's to low 60's.
In that climate, Granny Smiths go from being green to turning completely yellow and looking almost like Golden Delicious. What is more significant is how the fruit tastes. The acidity definitely mellows significantly, and it then takes on an amazing balanced flavor. I can't imagine anyone ever selecting such an apple and promoting it unless they got to taste it in this form, because when it's fully ripe, it's simply one of the best, crunchiest, most balanced table apple I've eaten.We have several apples growing in this area that are very late ripening, e.g. January and February.
Lady Williams, Pink Lady, Hoover, Hauer pippin and Granny Smith all come to mind. These are all essentially inedible in November, and don't become tasty until January, Some will also mellow on the tree, but the BRIX goes way up if left on the tree. Of course, in our climate, some apple trees retain their leaves all the way into January. I have one tree called 'Sweet Valentine' named for the fact that the fruit ripens on valentine's day.
It was discovered locally as a rootstock seedling shoot in an abandoned orchard.It is said that the best apples are the ones that ripen when the leaves begin to turn and fall off. The theory has it that the nutrients that went to the leaves go to to the apples. I've tasted Fujis left on the tree, and they develop an incredibly sweet water core, almost like eating pure honey - too sweet for my taste, but it is a fun experience.For us, since our apples grow into January, it makes the late apples the best quality apples we can grow. Unfortunately, no one in commercial apple growing cares, because the entire fruit growing industry is bent on only one thing: getting the first fruit to market to get the highest possible price. The end result is that a lot of these amazing late varieties are simply forgotten, or they don't let them ripen properly, as is the case with the granny smith.Further insight into the origins of Granny Smith from Steve Goard of Sydney, AustraliaGranny Smith is my great,great,great,great,grandmother, and her name was not Mary!
Her name was Maria Ann Smith, nee Sherwood, (pronounced the same way as diva Mariah Carey), 1800-1870, married to Thomas Smith, 1797-1876. The orchard was located in Eastwood, now in the City of Ryde, Sydney. It is most probable that 'French Crab' apples were from wooden crates purchased at the Sydney Markets, after selling her produce, to facilitate transporting the next crop of fruit from her orchard (and I would say it was more likely the 'compost' heap rather than 'rubbish tip'!). Technically it is called a 'sport' which means a reproducing hybrid; the original term dates back to the time of Jane Austen.
And 'YES' they are my favorite apples!!!Granny Smith parentage - updateWe have now had the opportunity to study a French Crab apple tree at the UK National Fruit Collections (thanks to FAST for faciliating this). The similarity with Granny Smith is quite striking - not just that distinctive green color but also the way the fruits seem to be hidden within the depths of the tree canopy.
We can't comment on the exact relationship, but it seems clear it is very close. I have been purchasing this Apple variety on and off for years, but I have to say I have a whole new enthusiasm for it since my tree has begun to bear and I am attempting to store apples over the winter. I have rigged up a frost free freezer with an external thermostatset at 32 degrees so as not to dry the apples out. Out of five varieties four months into storage this year the Granny Smiths are the flavor and texture champions by far.I am coming to the conclusion that the more strongly flavored an Apple is going into storage the better it will come out months later.
08 Mar 2015Joe Goskowsky,WI - WISCONSIN, United States. From the very beginning Granny Smith was destined for greatness. It has everything a great apple needs in order to be a commercial success. The fruit is wicked pretty with a glossy blemish free bright green skin and a nice consistent shape. The fruit keeps well, which allows it to be shipped long distances. The flesh is dense enough to hold up well to cooking yet isn't so hard it can't be eaten out of hand.
Then there is the memorable name, which brings to mind beloved Grandmothers and their delicious apple pies. It also has a unique and unmistakeable flavor.Now whether or not you like that flavor depends on whether you like tart fruits because the Granny Smith apple is very tart indeed. I happen to like the flavor, especially when peeled and the flesh sliced into wedges. Great by itself, even better with cheese, and fantastic over a salad.As a cooking apple Granny is hard to beat. The biggest mistake many bakers make with their apple pies is adding too much sugar: i.e. Their pies are so sweet it overpowers the apple flavor.
Not so with Granny at your side. The only culinary apple I like better than GS is the Jonathan and the two work together beautifully.Granny is also self-fertile so you won't need a pollinator if space is of concern. She does best in warm regions. Recently I read a glowing report of her in the coastal region of the Pacific Northwest.All in all a great apple. I think the reason for some of the poor tasting reviews here on this site is because commercial growers are harvesting the fruit too soon and storing it too long in serial locations as it passes through various middlemen on its way to grocery store produce bins.Last but not least some folks think Granny Smith is a modern variety.
It actually dates back to 1868. 10 Jan 2014Elio Enidias,CA, United States. Granny Smith apples are my second favorite (greening being my first) and makes the best applesauce ever.My tree produced for the first time last year (at 2 years) and I harvested in mid November. To my surprise my apples were not bright green but rather yellow-green with red blush striping. I'm thinking it's not a GS tree after all. The flavor was mildly sweet and the texture had a delicate crunch.
Not a bad apple just not what I was expecting.I will have another heavy crop (for it's size and age) 20-30 apples again this year so I will see if they change.I'm wondering if it's because I let them fully ripen on the tree or if it's because I didn't pick them until after the weather got cold and it rained. Or if it's just because it's a young tree. They were green earlier in the season.Any info would be great thanks. 26 Jul 2012Pamela Humphreys,WREXHAM COUNTY BOROUGH, United Kingdom.
I, too have found that the apples I buy whether organic or regular have now developed a tendency to turn brown and blothcy on the skin when they are otherwise just fine. I also would like to know why - but so far have seen nothing about it except on this fiorm above. At first I thought it was becasue I bought them out of season and they were stored, but during this last season they continued to turn brown.
It is rather offputting considering that in years past this was NEVER a problem. Any ideas???.
20 Oct 2009Niamh,IRELAND, Ireland. I have always loved apples, Granny Smith being my favourite.
However, over the last 15-20 years our GS apples have been tasteless. Not the tart, crisp taste that I remember. Nowadays I'm still attracted to them and and buy some in the hope that I'll find the proper taste, but unfortunately I think it's gone forever, and I wonder about the nutritional value too. Most of the apples I buy these days just end up being thrown away, just not worth eating. Is this something to do with a new method of storage.
24 Jul 2009Nathan,MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, United States. I have been working in produce departments in the Milwaukee area for almost twelve years. I started out working in conventional grocery stores and am now at Outpost Natural Foods Cooperative. I've been having a problem with Organic Granny Smith apples, from Washington, New Zealand, and sometimes from South America. When the apple season is over, just about all the apples we get are from storage somewhere. The Granny Smiths are turning brown mostly in blotches, but just on the skins, the flesh on the inside is perfectly fine. So trying to sell these apples to customers who mostly buy produce by looks alone is a chore.
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Our backstock is stored in a normal cooler, and our display on the sales floor is unrefridgerated. Does anybody know why the skins are turning brown, and if there is something I can do to prevent it? I haven't been able to find any information about this anywhere. Any help would be appreciated. 27 May 2009Jc,NC, United States.
Having sampled many an apple culvitar I can testify quite unequivocally that the Granny Smith is by far and away the most satisfying of all varieties. The aforementioned transition from the dark green astringent commercial Granny Smith (ubiquitous in virtually every supermarket) to the lesser known yellow-tinted later crop enjoyed by apple aficionados worldwide is an attribute that truly elevates this humble fruit to the upper echilons of the tree!. 28 Oct 2008Al Shell,BLOUNTVILLE TENNESSEE SULLIVAN CO., United States. Eric!, I agree with you 100%, and more,may G.S.
Apples be around forever! I live in East Tennessee, in a Condo Complex by a lake. We have plenty of green grass, common grounds, not in the city etc. About 12 yrs ago an ol man planted 35 G S th's trees, put a black rubber guard around them, and let them do what they would do. The gent passed away, but his Apples are here, growing and this year super fantanstic!, no chemicles, no fertilizer, no tending, no spraying, nothing!, yet, my wife and I have picked bushels of apples, starting in August, now in October, now having a blush red on the skin, and more crisp, jucy, and less tart, but still twangy. Peeled, pies, dried, frozen.
They are the very best we have ever had. I go to the grocery see thier apples, and notice the prices, and smile, I'm the cat that got the cream!, ol al. 25 Oct 2008Jason,VICTORIA/AUSTRALIA, Australia. Granny Smith is my great,great,great,great,grandmother, and her name was not Mary! Her name was Maria Ann Smith, nee Sherwood, (pronounced the same way as diva Mariah Carey), 1800-1870, married to Thomas Smith, 1797-1876. The orchard was located in Eastwood, now in the City of Ryde, Sydney.It is most probable that 'French Crab' apples were from wooden crates purchased at the Sydney Markets, after selling her produce, to facilitate transporting the next crop of fruit from her orchard (and I would say it was more likely the 'compost' heap rather than 'rubbish tip'!).Technically it is called a 'sport' which means a reproducing hybrid; the original term dates back to the time of Jane Austin.And 'YES' they are my favorite apples!!!. 30 Jul 2008Gary,United Kingdom.
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