Charles Ross apple

Malus domestica

Handsome, juicy, versatile English classic - good for old-fashioned English cooking.

Parentage: Cox x Peasgood Nonsuch
Origin: England
Introduced: 1890
Season: Sep-Dec
Apple cultivar ID: 101000

Charles Ross is a classic English late-Victorian apple, nearly always described as "handsome".

It is a cross between Cox's Orange Pippin, and an older English cooking apple called Peasgood Nonsuch. The result is a versatile apple, which looks like a large Cox's Orange Pippin, with the characteristic red-orange streaks, but sometimes with a more yellow background.

The flesh is juicy but quite light, becoming almost powdery as it matures. The flavour is very sweet, but not bland - it has some of the aromatic qualities of Cox's Orange Pippin and is reminscent of pears.

Charles Ross can be used as a dessert variety. The flavour is quite sharp in September but sweetens if you keep it. It is also a useful cooking variety. When fresh from the tree the flesh does not entirely breakdown into a puree, so it is ideal if you like apple pies with chunky apple pieces. Being quite large and juicy it is also a good variety for making your own fresh apple juice.

Relationships to other apple varieties

Parents and other ancestors of this variety

Cox's Orange Pippin (parent)

Visitor comments

(Use the form at the bottom to add your own comments, or reply to one of the existing comments)

03 Aug 2008 20:29 Jacqueline McKenzie from Kingston Upon Thames, UK: The most delicious of eating apples, they do not keep welland are hard to come by, I asked my greengrocer to obtain some but he said he had not seen them in the market for years. Every year I go to Wisleys fruit sale in hope but have never been lucky enough to find them - well worth planting.Reply to this comment
15 Jul 2008 22:54 lorna from bradford: Duskin farm make 'charles ross' apple juice, am just about to order some from Lembas food co-op based on the comments on this page :-) Reply to this comment
11 May 2008 03:07 Roger Stephens from Chester, England: My late father once told me that, on one of his cycling trips before the war, he stopped at a farm and bought some apples which turned out to be the most delicious he had ever tasted. So good, in fact that he went back to ask what variety they were. "Charles Ross", he was told. He took note of the name, but, despite many enquiries, never came across them again. I myself have never seen them on sale, and would love to taste one before I die.Reply to this comment
09 Nov 2007 10:59 Michael Smith from Flintshire, UK: Am I alone in finding Charles Ross apples being widely sold as 'Cox' apples; with the latter being almost unavailable. Is this a new commercial fraud? OP: That seems a bit unlikely, as Charles Ross are not that common!Reply to this comment
12 Oct 2007 23:40 Jo Lickorish from Bedfordshire, UK: I have a Charles Ross apple tree which is approx six years old but so far we have not had much success with it fruiting. This year a few apples grew to maturing but are very mealy and dry to eat,not crisp and juicy at all as I would have expected. Is there anything I can do to improve things or should I take it out and start again.Reply to this comment
05 Oct 2007 20:55 Gerald Oberman from Brighton, England: I grow this apple on a tree about 33 years old. It is absolutely delicious and fruits every year. The apples can be huge, so I no longer thin them out; that way the apples are a better size. The apples should be picked from the tree, otherwise they start to rot before they fall. Once picked, they need to be eaten within days or they start to decay. A beautiful apple!Reply to this comment
03 Aug 2007 10:38 Nick R.: I have tasted this fruit which I think is just delicious. It is a crisp apple with a marked orange flavour and white flesh.Reply to this comment
03 Aug 2007 10:38 CR from England: I am moving house this week and will dearly miss the old Charles Ross apple tree that was already mature in my garden when I moved in over 16years ago. It has given me many years of wonderful apples which are wonderful to cook with, tasty and versatile. It's a shame the apples don't really keep well unless they are refrigerated. Though it does sometimes have a completely 'blank' year or one when it doesn't give big apples, the other years have more than made up for it with the tree struggling to cope with the number and size of apples.Reply to this comment

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