Golden Delicious facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 'Golden Delicious' |
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| Species | Malus domestica |
| Hybrid parentage | Chance seedling |
| Cultivar | 'Golden Delicious' |
| Origin | Clay County, West Virginia, United States, 1905 |
The Golden Delicious is a famous yellow apple. It is one of the 15 most popular types of apples grown in the United States. Even though its name is similar, it is not closely related to the 'Red Delicious' apple.
Contents
How the Golden Delicious Apple Started
This apple started as a "chance seedling". This means it grew by accident from a seed that was dropped, rather than being planted on purpose. It might be a mix of two other apple types called 'Grimes Golden' and 'Golden Reinette'.
The very first Golden Delicious apple tree was found on the Mullins family farm in Clay County, West Virginia, United States. This was around 1905. People in the area knew it as Mullin's Yellow Seedling or Annit apple.
A man named Anderson Mullins sold the tree and the rights to grow more of these apples to Stark Brothers Nurseries. They paid him $5,000, which was a lot of money back then! Stark Brothers Nurseries started selling the Golden Delicious in 1914. They often sold it alongside their famous Red Delicious apple.
In 2010, a group of scientists from Italy studied the complete genetic code of the 'Golden Delicious' apple. They found it had the most genes of any plant they had studied at that time, about 57,000!
The 'Golden Delicious' apple is very special to West Virginia. On February 20, 1995, it was named the official state fruit. Clay County, where the apple was found, has held an annual Golden Delicious Festival every year since 1972.
In 2013, the United States Postal Service honored the 'Golden Delicious' apple. It was one of four historic apple types featured on a set of 33-cent stamps. The other apples were 'Northern Spy', 'Baldwin', and 'Granny Smith'.
What Golden Delicious Apples Look and Taste Like
The 'Golden Delicious' apple is quite large and has a yellowish-green skin. It is known for being very sweet.
These apples can bruise easily and might shrivel if not stored well. Because of this, they need to be handled carefully.
Golden Delicious apples are great for many things! People love to use them in salads, to make apple sauce, and for apple butter.
When to Find Golden Delicious Apples
You can usually find 'Golden Delicious' apples ready to pick from the fall through the winter months.
Apples That Came From Golden Delicious
The 'Golden Delicious' apple is like a parent to many other popular apple types. Scientists and apple growers have used it to create new kinds of apples. Here are some of the well-known apples that have 'Golden Delicious' as one of their parents:
- 'Akita Gold' (a mix of 'Golden Delicious' and 'Fuji')
- 'Ambrosia' (thought to be from 'Starking Delicious' and 'Golden Delicious')
- 'Arlet' (from 'Golden Delicious' and 'Idared')
- 'Autumn Glory' (from 'Golden Delicious' and 'Fuji')
- 'Cameo' (from 'Golden Delicious' and 'Red Delicious')
- 'Cripps Pink' (also known as Pink Lady; from 'Golden Delicious' and 'Lady Williams')
- 'Elstar' (from 'Ingrid Marie' and 'Golden Delicious')
- 'Gala' (from 'Kidds Orange' and 'Golden Delicious')
- 'Ginger Gold' (from 'Albemarle Pippin' and 'Golden Delicious')
- 'Jonagold' (from 'Golden Delicious' and 'Jonathan')
- 'Mutsu (apple)' (from Indo apple and 'Golden Delicious')
- 'Opal (apple)' (from 'Topaz' and 'Golden Delicious')
- 'Rubinette' (from 'Golden Delicious' and 'Cox Orange')
- 'Sekai Ichi' (from 'Golden Delicious' and 'Red Delicious')
- 'Spigold' (from 'Northern Spy' and 'Golden Delicious')
See also
In Spanish: Golden Delicious para niños
