Smitten is a modern apple variety, developed in New Zealand, but closely related to some popular modern English varieties - Fiesta and Falstaff, as well as Gala and Braeburn.
The flesh is a yellow-cream color, fairly dense, with a crisp texture and moderately juicy. The flavor is sweet but with some acidity. We rate it as pleasant but not outstanding.
The skin is slightly greasy, but with a pleasant odour.
Given its parentage it is not surprising it has good keeping qualities - Fiesta, Gala, and Braeburn all store very well.
Smitten is the trademark, the cultivar name is PremA17.
USDA identification images for Smitten
The identification paintings in the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection span the years 1886 to 1942.
Citation: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705.
Parents and other ancestors of this variety
Visitor reviews
- 19 May 2025Sweet and crispy..Best eating apple ever
- 19 Jan 2025Crispy. Very juicy. Pleasant apple scent. Small grained. I like! Good pie apple. Good cider apple.
- 04 Dec 2024I'm smitten with Smitten apples! They are crisp, juicy, sweet with hint of sharpness. Love that their flesh is firm and not flowery like a Gala. My absolute favourite apple.
- 14 May 2024The good: crispy, juicy. The bad: flesh is too hard to chew. Taste is no better than average. Overall, I do not recommend.
- 16 Apr 2024Fairly good considering they are British apples and it's now April therefore they must be last year's crop. Nice and crisp, skin not too tough for a stored apple, more taste than Gala, better flesh than Braeburn, closer to a Cox than anything else I have tasted this time of year
- 16 Nov 2023First time I have tasted Smitten, it’s got to be my favourite apple, lovely and sweet and crispy,my sister bought some, at the same time , she agrees with me, we bought them from booth’s in the north west, because they didn’t last long in our house , I googled them to find out ,who else sold them, found Mark and Spencer had them in, so off we went and got some more, 5 packets I managed to get, delicious.
- 24 Aug 2023Best apple I have found, firm, crisp, juicy and with a lovely taste, much better than the watery and tasteless Gala apples on sale. I wish I could get Smitten apples all year round!
- 15 Jul 2022Absolutely delicious !!
- 10 Mar 2022Just had my first one. Straight out of the fridge. I like it. A lot.
- 23 Apr 2021 LUDLOW, United KingdomReally tough flesh makes it hard work to eat. Hardly any taste, but sticky sweet. Ghastly!
- 28 Nov 2020 OHIO, United StatesAgree with the notes: crisp, sweet, not much character otherwise. Fine for eating out of hand. Not sure why we needed this variety, as it's little different from Honeycrisp.
- 28 Sep 2020 CA, United StatesFuji had been my favorite for a long, long time till I found Smitten only recently. Solid variety all around.
- 15 Mar 2019 WI, United StatesSmitten-Crisp, juicy, sweet and slightly tart apple that really delivers on flavor. The smitten apple owns its name. I was smitten by the first bite. After two apples a day for the last three months I can swear I've never gotten a bad one!
- 27 Jan 2019 MI, United StatesI find I get bored with any type of apple after awhile. I purchased these organic apples when my Pink Lady apples where not available. I was impressed at that time and still am smitten for this apple. I purposely go to a different store just to get this brand.
- 07 Jan 2019 United StatesThe most delicious apple I ever had!
- 03 Dec 2017 GA, United StatesSuperb. If you like fuji-types, you'll like this
- 02 Nov 2017 PA, United StatesTastes like a brighter, slightly crisper honeycrisp to me. A superlative apple for eating fresh.
Tree register
We don't have any registered trees for this variety yet. If you have a Smitten tree you can register it here.
Origins
- Species: Malus domestica - Apple
- Parentage: Falstaff X Fiesta sibling and Braeburn X Royal Gala
- Originates from: New Zealand
- Introduced: 1995
- Developed by: Plant & Food Research
Identification
- Country of origin: New Zealand
- Period of origin: 1950 - 1999
- Fruit size: Average
Using
- Keeping (of fruit): 3 months or more
- Flavour quality: Very good
- Flavour style (apples): Sweet/Sharp
- Cropping: Good
- Food uses: Eating fresh
Growing
- Gardening skill: Average
- Flowering group: 3
- Ploidy: Diploid
- Vigour: Slightly large
- Precocity: Precocious
- Bearing regularity: Regular
- Fruit bearing: Spur-bearer
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
Where to buy fresh fruit
The following orchards grow Smitten:
United States
Michigan
- Robinette's Apple Haus and Winery, Grand Rapids