Rubinette apple

Malus domestica

In our top 3 for flavour, we think it has the best sweet/sharp balance of any apple - very difficult to grow though.

Rubinette apple photo tape

Parentage: Golden Delicious x Cox ?
Origin: Switzerland
Introduced: 1966
Season: Oct-Nov
Apple cultivar ID: 105300


Rubinette is a modern apple variety developed in Switzerland between 1964 and 1982, and also known and trademarked as Rafzubin.  Switzerland is perhaps not the first country that comes to mind when considering the development of new apple varieties, but don't let the lack of track record put you off, Rubinette is an exceptional apple and anyone who appreciates apple flavours should certainly try to get hold of some Rubinette apples - you won't be disappointed.

Rubinette is moderately good-looking, with characteristic orange and dull red streaks over a light green/yellow background.  The apples are generally small to medium-sized.  There is also a red sport known as Red Rubinette or Rubinette Rosso.  The redder colouring is not necessarily an improvement although subjectively the apples seem slightly larger.  Overall the appearance is attractive but in a rather subdued sort of way.

The parentage is thought to be Golden Delicious and Cox's Orange Pippin - a very popular combination with other growers over the years.  The obvious comparison is with Freyberg, which has the same parents - Freyberg has a very different flavour and colour though, far closer to Golden Delicious, but the shape is similar to Rubinette.

Rubinette is unfortunately not easy to grow.  Like Cox it is quite prone to the apple disease scab.  Mild attacks do not affect the flavour but make the apples rather unsightly and this limits its commercial appeal.  Apples from young trees also tend to be very small, although the size improves as the tree gets older - and as noted below, ruthless thinning in late spring will increase the size of the remaining fruits.  These horticultural difficulties mean that Rubinette is not widely grown - it is grown commercially on a small scale in Europe and a few North American growers have also taken it up.  As a result, it is difficult (but not impossible) to find Rubinette apples on sale.  Growing your own tree may be the best option, albeit a frustrating experience in some years.  Although developed (like most modern varieties) to work with the popular commercial dwarf M9 rootstock, for garden use, we recommend you try the more vigorous MM106 rootstock.  This rootstock suits the weak growth habit better, and also gives you more training opportunities - including espalier forms, which can be easier to monitor in a garden environment for the inevitable scab, mildew, and aphid attacks, as well as giving potentially better fruit quality.  We have also heard some unsubstantiated reports that fruit size is better on MM106 for this variety (normally M9 gives better fruit size than MM106).

We have received some horticultural information from Promo-Fruit, the originators of Rubinette (see www.promo-fruit.ch).  They recommend that it is important to ensure that the fruit is heavily thinned.  Allow no more than 1 fruit per set of blossoms, and make sure you remove the central fruit (which tends to be the biggest, known as the 'king' fruit).  From our own experience we think this is good advice - be ruthless with the thinning, and you will be rewarded with at least a few apples of good medium size.

So, a moderately attractive small apple that is difficult to grow ... why do we think it is so good ?  Well, very simply, this apple has a superb flavour.  Regardless of the contribution from Golden Delicious, there is no doubt that Rubinette is a Cox-style apple through and through.  It is intense and honeyed, with echoes of pear-drops, simultaneously sweet and sharp. Of all the Cox offspring, Rubinette surely gets closest to having that elusive greatness.  Interestingly, although the addition of the sweetness of Golden Delicious might be expected to make Rubinette sweeter than Cox, somehow this has not happened, and if anything Rubinette is slightly sharper than Cox - but the sweetness from the Golden Delicious gives a richness to the sharpness.  In fact the balance of sweetness and sharpness is probably the best of any apple variety.



Relationships to other apple varieties

Parents and other ancestors of this variety

Siblings of this variety (same parentage)

  • Freyberg - Freyberg takes after Golden Delicious, whereas Rubinette takes after Cox

Visitor comments

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

11 Apr 2008 11:31   Kevin Hauser from Riverside, California, USA
Rubinette did well in our low-chill, hot inland valley in a warm climate in Southern California. Extreme summer heat did not bother it and the flavor and crunch were outstanding. There is no disease here, so that was not a problem and it bore early and heavily. It may be one of the best Cox crosses for our area, much better than Freyberg.Reply to this comment
01 Mar 2008 08:13   Heather Ibbotson from Carmarthen, West Wales
I bought some Rubinette at a local supermarket on the reduced counter, they were the best apples I have eaten, after asking for them again I was told that they dont stock them , just sometimes a box comes in to be sold as secounds. I have been asking for them everywhere i go with no sucsessReply to this comment
23 Nov 2007 14:43   Jill & John Elton-Wall from Preuilly-sur-Claise, France
Bought some today (23.11.07), grown locally at Coussay les Bois, and thought they might be local French variety, hence went online to check after tasting. Bought because of Cox like appearance, although our specimens are of medium size, larger than what is often available in England under the name of Cox. This apple is a revelation and to eat is superior to all but the very best, appropriately ripened Cox. We think your description of the eating quality - its balance of sweetness and sharpness - is spot on for the specimens we bought. We would add that the texture though crisp is less firm. We think that as a result it would very much appeal to childrenl. We'll be buying again and certainly more to take home to UK.Reply to this comment
09 Nov 2007 20:50   Paul Dillon from Effingham, Surrey, UK
We bought some from RHS Wisley today, and I thought they could have been mislabled Cox's until I read your piece. They were not small though - getting on for medium sized. They were as you describe to eat, and even better cooked. The flavour improved and they kept their shape well with a lovely yellow-green colour.Reply to this comment
21 Oct 2007 05:26   Charles from Portland, Oregon, USA
We just discovered this variety through a local market, and apparently they are one of the few varieties being grown exclusively in Oregon (as opposed to the many grown to the north in Washington State). Very tasty and a good eating apple.Reply to this comment
18 Oct 2007 21:56   Peter Lynn from Norfolk, UK
We have 15 of these trees on our orchard. Undoubtably the best tasting variety we grow - cox like with greater acidity. At its best in November. But not a good grower, prone to scab, canker, never looks very healthy and mostly small fruit.Reply to this comment
08 Oct 2007 08:34   Susanna Clymo from East Sussex, UK
Four of us went to the Open Day at Keepers Nursery in Kent yesterday, and spent a couple of hours tasting a huge variety of apples, and we all kept coming back to Rubinette. The blend of sharpness and sweetness, the crispness and juiciness, and the thin skin all contributed to to our choice. The smallish size and Cox-like appearance are advantages as well. Reply to this comment
03 Aug 2007 14:12   Beryl from Paris, France
You don't mention the marvelously crisp texture of this variety. I served these whole, for dessert after quite a formal dinner last night, and people raved about them. In this context, the small size is a positive attribute.Reply to this comment

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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 Rubinette apples for sale:

Apple tree register

The following Rubinette trees have been registered - click the name to view more details of each tree:

  • 09 Aug 08  Axel Kratel  Santa Cruz, California, United States
  • 05 Aug 08  Richard Borrie  YORK, Yorkshire, United Kingdom

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.

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