The Granny Smith apple is a popular tart variety with bright green skin and a distinct sour taste. Discovered in 1800s Australia, this beloved cultivar is meant for fresh eating and is also popular in baking, making it a wonderful all-purpose apple. Granny Smiths are one of the most popular apples in the world due to their crisp texture and tart taste.
Granny Smith apple basics
Granny Smith apples were discovered growing in 1868 by Maria Ann Smith on her property in the outskirts of Sydney, Australia. She propagated the chance seedling and sold her distinctive bright green apples at local markets. The apples she grew are now a worldwide favorite!
Granny Smith is, by far, the most popular green apple variety and one of the most popular types of apples overall. The peel is a green shade, and even the flesh has a green tinge. This variety is often used in juicing. I like to use them for green juice or green smoothies, as they make a slightly green apple juice.
These apples are one of the go-to apple varieties for apple pie. The tart flavor gives a fresh apple taste while the firm flesh keeps its shape after being baked in the oven. While they are sometimes used alone in apple pie filling, I like to mix them with softer varieties (like McIntosh), so their slices are suspended in gooey apple goodness.
Granny Smith apple trees produce best with a different kind of apple tree nearby so the blossoms can cross-pollinate. Granny Smith trees can be pollinated using Gala, Ambrosia, Red Delicious, and Fuji trees. These cultivars (among others) tend to flower at the same time and make good pollination partners.
Granny Smith apples are not genetically modified (except in the rare exception of the Arctic version, sold pre-sliced.) Today, every conventional Granny Smith apple is grown on an apple tree where the wood has been grafted from the original tree in Australia (or, more likely, the graft of a graft of a graft…). Humans have been grafting fruit trees to clone them for thousands of years!
Granny Smith apple flavor profile
Granny Smith apples have a distinct sour, acidic, tart taste accompanied by a satisfying crisp apple crunch. This is an apple with firm, juicy flesh and a sharp, tart taste. These characteristics make these apples perfect for eating right off the tree or for use in baking (think apple pie!). These apples are neither bland nor boring!
“Flavor: A shriek of acid and chlorophyll. Texture: Crunch, hard, squeaky. Can be surprisingly juicy. Donate the thick skin to your compost bin.”
Apples Of Uncommon Character: 123 Heirlooms, Modern Classics, & Little-Known Wonders, by Rowan Jacobsen
Growing regions
Granny Smith apples are grown in mild apple-growing areas all over the world. Originally from Australia, these trees need fewer “chill” hours over winter and are a good choice if winters are short.
The trees also require a long growing season to produce big, green apples. Warm overnight temperatures in autumn suppress the fruit’s production of any red pigment. Granny Smiths grown in cool climates may develop a yellow or even pink blush in years with cold temperatures overnight in the fall.
Here are some major regions for growing Granny Smiths:
- USA (Washington, California, New England)
- Canada (British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia)
- Australia
- New Zealand
Harvest season
Harvest season for Granny Smith Apples occurs each year in early autumn. These apples are generally harvested from early September to late October in the USA. In the southern hemisphere, the variety ripens in March-May.
The first apples of the season tend to be quite tart, while the sweetness increases with days on the tree. A ripe Granny Smith is green but turns slightly yellow when over-ripe.
Granny Smiths are widely available in supermarkets and grocery stores. They’re generally best tasting when purchased fresh from the orchard or grower at the farmers’ market. That said, these apples do keep their flavor well in commercial storage. I buy Granny Smith apples when the other varieties at the grocery store start to seem a bit soft and out-of-season.
These apples cost about $1 per pound. There are 2 or 3 apples in a pound. Individual apples cost about 50 cents when purchased in bulk at the supermarket. They may cost $1-$2 each at a deli or coffee shop.
Granny Smiths are fantastic for long-term storage. They can be stored for months at home and up to a year in commercial cold storage. The best apples for storage are those without bruises or other damage. I set aside fruits with even slight damage for processing into juice or pie filling if they won’t be eaten in the upcoming week.
How to grow Granny Smith apples
Granny Smith apples are a versatile variety to grow, particularly in warmer growing areas, thriving in USDA zones 5-9. This variety requires 400-500 hours of winter chilling per year, which is less than some other varieties such as Honeycrisp and Ambrosia. Granny Smith trees may not produce well in the coldest regions where the growing zone is short.
A Granny Smith tree should be planted where they can get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. Dig a wide planting hole that’s no deeper than the plant pot. Backfill gently with the native soil and water the tree deeply. Place a 1″-thick layer of compost on the soil around the tree, taking care not to place the compost against the bark of the trunk.
Water the tree deeply after planting. Water deeply whenever the top couple inches of soil starts to dry out. The roots will need consistent watering for the first 1-2 years while the roots become established. Older trees can withstand less frequent watering.
Granny Smith trees tend to be mid-season bloomers. If there are no other apple trees (or ornamental crabapple trees) nearby, it makes sense to plant a pollinator partner tree nearby. Pollinator partner cultivars for Granny Smith include Gala, Ambrosia, Red Delicious, and Fuji.
Recipes and ideas
Granny Smiths are wonderful all-around apples. They are considered both excellent baking and cooking apples. Use fresh-cut slices for an appetizer tray, add them to a smoothie, or bake them into a pie.
Granny Smith apple recipes
Here are some fantastic recipes for Granny Smith apples:
- Grandma’s Classic Apple Pie
- Apple Crumble
- Fresh Apple Slices with Caramel Dip
- Apple Spinach Green Juice
- Apple Martini (Appletini)
Baking with Granny Smith apples
Granny Smith apples are excellent for baking. They hold their shape even after baking in the oven. This makes them for making pies. Some recipes use only chunks of these apples, while others combine the chunks of this firm apple with a softer variety. Soft types like McIntosh tend to turn to mush on their own, but that quality can help to hold together the cooked cubes of Granny Smith.
Substitutes for Granny Smith apples
While there is only one Granny Smith, there are several good substitute varieties of apples that are similar in characteristics.
Where fresh apple slices are desired, try Envy, McIntosh, Pink Lady, Northern Spy, or Spartan apples. These apples all have a nice tart crunch to them. While a similar bright green apple peel is not common in grocery stores, Golden Delicious is a yellow-green color and has a nice balanced, crisp sweet, and tart taste when freshly picked. Honeycrisp and Ambrosia also make excellent substitutes if a slightly sweeter variety is desired.
For baking, substitute Braeburn for Granny Smith. If Braeburn isn’t available, try Golden Delicious or Jonagold. The flavor will be slightly different, but these varieties tend to hold their texture when baked in a pie or crumble.