Red Delicious

The Red Delicious is a bright red apple.

It has a very sweet taste. This apple grew from a lucky seed long ago.

It is a great fruit for snacks. You can eat it fresh or in a salad. Some people use it to make cider.

Many people around the world love this apple. It is very popular in Mexico. It is also loved in many Asian lands.

Farmers grow these apples on big trees. They grow them in places like Washington and New York.

This apple is a very famous fruit. It is a tasty treat to enjoy!

The Red Delicious is a famous apple. It is known for its bright red skin. It also has a very sweet taste.

This apple started as a lucky seedling. It was first found in Iowa in 1872. Back then, it was a yellow fruit with red spots.

Many people enjoy this fruit. It is great for fresh snacks or salads. You can even use it to make apple cider.

For a long time, it was the top apple in the United States. It stayed number one from 1968 until 2018. Now, the Gala apple is the most common.

Farmers grow many of these apples in Washington and New York. They also grow them in Oregon. Even though it is less common in some places, it is still very popular. People in Mexico and many Asian countries love it.

This apple is also used to make new kinds of apples. It helps act as a parent for many other varieties.

The Red Delicious is a famous apple known for its bright red skin.

People often call these apples "the Reds" in the apple industry. They have a sweet taste that many people enjoy. You can eat them fresh or slice them into salads. They are also good for making apple cider. This variety is very sturdy and lasts a long time in storage. This makes it easy for farmers to move them to stores.

This apple began as a lucky accident in an orchard. In 1872, a chance seedling grew in Madison County, Iowa. At first, it was not even fully red. It was a round fruit with a yellow color and red blushes. A farmer named Jesse Hiatt found it in Peru, Iowa. He called the fruit "Hawkeye" to honor his home state. Later, a company called Stark Nurseries bought the rights to it. They first sold it under the name "Stark Delicious." It did not become the "Red Delicious" until 1914.

Red Delicious apples became very popular in the mid-twentieth century. In the 1940s, it became the most popular apple in the United States. For a long time, it was the main apple in supermarkets. From 1968 until 2018, it was the most produced apple in America. However, things began to change as people started wanting more flavor. Some growers picked apples that looked very red and pretty. They also picked apples with thick skin for long storage. This caused the apples to lose some of their original taste.

Today, the apple industry looks very different than it did before. In 2018, the Gala apple took the top spot for sales. The Red Delicious is now the second most produced apple in the U.S. In 2024, it made up about 12.3% of the American apple market. Washington, Michigan, and New York are the top places where it grows. It is also the most produced apple in Oregon. Even though it is less common in U.S. stores, it is still a big success abroad. It is very popular in Mexico, Canada, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Even if you do not eat a Red Delicious, you might eat its relatives. This apple is used as a parent to help make new kinds of apples. Many famous varieties have the Red Delicious in their family tree. For example, the Fuji apple and the Braeburn apple are related to it. The Empire apple and the Cameo apple also come from this lineage. It is even used to help create the Gala apple. Because it is so helpful for breeding, it remains a very important part of the world of fruit.

The Red Delicious is a globally recognized apple variety characterized by its deep red skin and sweet flavor. Within the agricultural industry, professionals often refer to this cultivar simply as "the Reds." While many people associate it with a specific look, it is actually a complex variety that has shaped modern apple production. It is widely used for fresh eating, salads, and as a component in apple cider blends. Despite its common name, it is not biologically related to the Golden Delicious variety.

The development of the Red Delicious began with a chance seedling in 1872. This original fruit was described as a round, blushed yellow fruit with surprising sweetness. It was discovered in Madison County, Iowa, by a farmer named Jesse Hiatt. Hiatt originally named his find "Hawkeye" to honor his home state of Iowa. Later, a company called Stark Nurseries purchased the rights to the fruit. They initially marketed it as "Stark Delicious" before it was renamed "Red Delicious" in 1914.

During the mid-twentieth century, the Red Delicious became a dominant force in the market. In the 1940s, it rose to become the most popular apple in the United States. Its success was driven by two main factors: visual appeal and durability. The thick skin of the Red Delicious allowed it to survive long periods in storage. This durability made it much easier for farmers to transport the fruit to distant markets. By the 1980s, the variety accounted for three-quarters of the entire apple harvest in Washington State.

However, the focus on appearance eventually changed the biology of the fruit. To meet consumer demand for bright red colors, growers selected for specific traits. This selection process created a biological trade-off. The genes responsible for the yellow stripes on the original fruit were located on the same chromosomes as the genes for flavor. By selecting for intense redness, growers accidentally selected against the compounds that provide taste. This led to a reputation for being less flavorful than other varieties.

As consumer preferences shifted toward better flavor, the market for Red Delicious began to decline. New varieties from Japan and New Zealand, such as Fuji and Gala, entered American supermarkets. This shift caused significant economic hardship for apple growers. In Washington, the heavy reliance on the Red Delicious nearly caused the industry to collapse. Between 1997 and 2000, growers lost $760 million. This crisis required a federal bailout signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000.

Today, the Red Delicious remains a major part of the global apple industry, though its role has changed. In 2018, the Gala variety surpassed it as the top-selling apple in the United States. By 2024, the Red Delicious held 12.3% of the American market, trailing the Gala at 17%. While domestic demand has slowed, it remains a powerhouse for international export. It accounts for roughly half of all apples exported by the United States. Major markets for the fruit include Mexico, Canada, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Beyond its own fruit, the Red Delicious is a vital tool in apple breeding. It is one of the most common parents used to create new cultivars. For example, it is a parent to the Fuji apple and the Braeburn apple. It also contributes to the lineage of the Empire and Cameo varieties. Even the popular Gala apple has the Red Delicious in its family tree. Because of this genetic versatility, the variety continues to influence the future of fruit science.