Elstar apple
Malus domestica
One of the best Golden Delicious offspring
Parentage: Golden Delicious x Ingrid Marie
Origin: Netherlands
Introduced: 1972
Season: Oct-Jan
Apple cultivar ID: 102000
Elstar is another successful offspring of Golden Delicious, developed in the Netherlands in the 1950s. It is a popular easy-eating dessert apple, widely grown on the Continent but less well-known in the UK.
Elstar has a distinctive appearance - difficult to describe but quite apparent once you have seen it. The skin is marbled, often with a soft sheen to it. It also lacks the perfect smoothness of many modern varieties.
The underlying colour is golden yellow but overlaid with deep red. There is also a "sport" known as Red Elstar, where the red colour usually covers the entire surface with only the occasional peep of yellow.
The flavour can be more intense than is often the case with other Golden Delicious offspring, but it retains the appealing sweetness - usually described as 'honeyed' in most apple text books.
Elstar is definitely a crunchy apple, but not as crisp or hard as some - definitely the softer side of crunchy. The flesh is lemon-white.
In most Golden Delicious offspring it is the other parent which provides the essential counter-balance to offset the sweet blandness of Golden Delicious. In the case of Elstar this is Ingrid Marie, a variety which originates from Denmark. Although not a widely-known apple, it lends a bit of oomph to the mix - inherited from its own parent, Cox's Orange Pippin. The result is Elstar, which is probably one of the best Golden Delicious offspring.
Visitor comment: "We ate one just after a Russet and noticed how much sweeter and jucier it was (although the Russet will always be one of my favourite apples), a bit like drinking a glass of apple juice, a hint of pear about it too." Rebecca, East Sussex
Relationships to other apple varieties
Parents and other ancestors of this variety
- Golden Delicious (parent)
- Ingrid Marie (parent)
Where to buy apple trees
No tree suppliers listed for this variety.
Where to buy fruit and related products
The following orchards and suppliers offer Elstar apples for sale:
-
Les Vergers de Vendée
, Vendee, France (Local collection only)
More supplier details
Apple tree register
The following Elstar trees have been registered - click the name to view more details of each tree:
- 09 Aug 08 Axel Kratel Santa Cruz, California, United States
Do you have a tree of this variety in your garden or orchard? If so please register here and contribute to our international register of apple trees.
Variety request
Is your favourite variety not listed here? We are constantly adding new variety details, so please use our contact form to suggest new varieties.
Articles
-
Your top 10 apple varieties
The top 10 most popular apple descriptions on this website. -
Top 10 apple varieties for the garden
Hamid Habibi of Keepers Nursery to recommend 10 apple varieties which are easy to grow in the northern European garden. -
Top 10 dessert apple varieties for flavour
Our list of the best apple varieties for flavor. -
Supermarket apples
Helps you compare some of the apple varieties listed on this website with popular supermarket apple varieties. -
Book reviews
We hope the following book reviews will help you to find out more about apples, orchards, and growing your own trees. -
Apples for Christmas
An old article fromby Dr. W. E. Shewell-Cooper, reproduced from Hertfordshire Countryside magazine, December 1973. -
Fruit trees on their own roots
Hugh Ermen, one of the top modern UK apple breeders, discusses the techniques and advantages of growing fruit trees without rootstocks - on their own roots. -
Apple breeding at East Malling Research
East Malling Research (EMR) is the principal UK provider of top-class basic, strategic and applied horticultural research and development for the perennial crops sector. Launched in 2004, EMR builds on a 90-year history and world-class reputation for revolutionary research in this field. -
Yorkshire apples
Apples, gardening and orchards in Yorkshire, UK -
Orchard marketing
The potential for marketing produce from local orchards in Yorkshire and Humberside in the UK - a report on the viability of establishing supply chains to link local consumers and local orchards in the UK Countryside Stewardship Scheme.