Golden Delicious is a cultivar of apple from the United States, where it is one of the top varieties. Despite its name, it is not closely related to Red Delicious.
History Golden Delicious arose from a chance seedling, possibly a hybrid of Grimes Golden and Golden Reinette.Mass, V. 1970. Golden Delicious. pp. 69-85. In North American apples: varieties, rootstocks, outlook. Michigan State Univ. Press, East Lansing. The original 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, which 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. 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 that country.
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.
Appearance and flavor
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. Density 0.79 g/cc Sugar 13.5% Acid 5.6 gram/litre Vitamin C 10–20 mg/litre + Typical size distribution 55–60 mm 60–65 mm 65–70 mm 70–75 mm 75–80 mm 80–85 mm 5% 12% 33% 35 % 13% 2%
Season
Golden Delicious are harvested 130–150 days after full bloom.
Golden Delicious mutants Lucky Rose Golden A patented Golden Delicious mutant
Descendant cultivars + Descendent cultivars Name Parentage Year: cross made/ selected/ introduced Country of origin Patent Akita Gold (Golden Delicious × Fuji) Ambrosia Starking Delicious × Golden Delicious (suspected, chance seedling) early 1990s Canada Angold (Antonovka x Golden Delicious) Annalee (Blount Golden)Golden Delicious x ??/1962/?USAUSPP 3496 Arlet (Golden Delicious × Idared)Autumn Glory Golden Delicious x FujiBrown, Susan K., and Kevin E. Maloney. "An Update on Apple Cultivars, Brands and Club-Marketing." ?/?/2011USABohemia (Lord Lambourne × Golden Delicious)BrockGolden Delicious x McIntosh1966USA Cadel (Jonathan × Golden Delicious) Cameo (Golden Delicious × Red Delicious)1987USACaudle (Golden Delicious × Red Delicious)Champion (Golden Delicious × Cox Orange) Chantecler (Golden Delicious × Reinette Clochard) Cripps Pink (marketed as Pink Lady) Golden Delicious × Lady Williams)1973AustraliaDalitronGolden Delicious x Pilot1994/1997/France USPPDelbarestivale ( Stark Jonagrimes x Golden Delicious) Elan(Golden Delicious x James Grieve) ?/? /1984NetherlandsElstar (Ingrid Marie × Golden Delicious)1955/ ? /1972NetherlandsUSPP 6450Falstaff James Grieve x Golden Delicious Firm Gold (Starkspur Golden Delicious, U.S. PP 2024 × Starkrimson Red Delicious, U.S. PP 1565)Gala Kidd's Orange Red × Golden Delicious ?/1939/1960 New ZealandGinger Gold Albemarle Pippin × Golden Delicious (suspected, chance seedling) 1960s USAGoldRush (Coop 38)Golden Delicious x Coop 17? / ?/ 1993USA USPPGoldspur a Golden Delicious-like cultivar from Holland which is spur bearingGoroGolden Delicious x Swiss Orange1951/ /1973SwitzerlandHoneycrisp (MN1627 [Golden Delicious × Duchess of Oldenburg] × Keepsake [Frostbite (MN447) x Northern Spy]) 1960/1988/1991USAHoneygoldGolden Delicious x Haralason Iduna Golden Delicious × Glockenapfel Jonagold Golden Delicious × Jonathan1943/ /1968USAKissabel JauneGolden Delicious x SJ 1092006/?/2011FranceUSPP 30041Kissabel OrangeGolden Delicious x SD 1092006/?/2012FranceUSPP 28201KizuriGolden Delicious x NY75413-301990/?/?BelgiumUSPP 27926LigolinaLinda x Golden Delicious ?/1972/?PolandMagnolia GoldGolden Delicious x ? ? / ? /1970USAMaigold (Fraurotacher × Golden Delicious)1944 / /1964SwitzerlandMutsu (apple) Golden Delicious x Indo apple Japan Opal (apple) (Topaz × Golden Delicious) Czech RepublicUSPP 15963OrinGolden Delicious x Indo JapanOzark Gold(Golden Delicious x (Conrad x Red delicious) Pinova (Clivia × Golden Delicious) RebellaGolden Delicious x Remo?/1986/?GermanyUSPP 15134Red BaronGolden Delicious x Red van Buren1926/1940/1969USARubinette (Rafzubin) (Golden Delicious × Cox Orange) SwitzerlandSekai Ichi Golden Delicious × Red Delicious (suspected) 1930/?/1974JapanSintaGolden Delicious x Grimes Golden1955/1965/ ? USASpigold (Northern Spy × Golden Delicious) SummerlandMcIntosh x Golden Delicious1926/1939/1969CanadaSundance (Coop 29)GD x 1050NJ-11964/1972/?USAUSPP 13819Sundowner (Golden Delicious × Lady Williams) AustraliaUSPP 8477Swiss GourmetGolden Delicious x Idared?/?/1984SwitzerlandUSPP 6689Tentation delblush (Grifer' (Blushing Golden) × Golden Delicious) TrajanGolden Delicious x Wijcik McIntosh?/?/1989UKUSPP 6226VirginiagoldAlbemerle pippin x Golden Delicious1944/1956/ ?USA
References
External links
Overview of various apple cultivars A cook's overview of various apple cultivars Golden Delicious apple, in What Am I Eating? A Food Dictionary