Some apple varieties have naturally pink or red flesh. Their skin colors and flavors can differ, so a red interior does not mean that every variety will taste the same.
If flavor matters more than flesh color, compare tart and sweet-tart apple varieties before choosing fruit for a snack or recipe.
The color comes from plant pigments called anthocyanins. Research on Geneva and Pink Pearl found that growing conditions can affect how much of this pigment develops in their flesh. The study looked at varieties that already have colored flesh. It does not show that sunlight or temperature can turn any white-fleshed apple red.
Examples of Red- and Pink-Fleshed Apples
Red flesh can be a normal feature of a named apple variety, but color alone does not identify an unfamiliar apple or establish that it is suitable to eat. Check the label or ask the grower if you are unsure which variety you have.
These descriptions cover named varieties and marketed apples. Discard fruit that shows signs of spoilage rather than treating an unusual color as proof that it is safe.
1. The Lucy Apples
Lucy is a branded family of red-fleshed apples, which includes Lucy Rose and Lucy Glo.
The official Lucy descriptions distinguish the two: Lucy Rose has red skin and a sweet flavor with berry-like notes, while Lucy Glo has gold skin and a tart flavor with some sweetness. Both have naturally red flesh.
If you are choosing between them, check whether the label says Rose or Glo rather than assuming that every Lucy apple has the same flavor.
2. Pink Pearl Apples
Pink Pearl has pale, translucent skin and pink flesh. Greenmantle Nursery traces it to Albert Etter’s work with Surprise seedlings in California and describes a tapered shape.
California is its breeding origin, not a limit on where it can grow. Three Springs Fruit Farm grows Pink Pearl in Pennsylvania and describes a balance of sweetness and acidity. The farm also notes that the intensity of the pink flesh varies between years.
3. Thornberry Apples
Thornberry is a pink-fleshed selection in Greenmantle Nursery’s Rosetta group. The nursery describes a berry-like flavor and purplish-pink blossoms.
Greenmantle also describes its fruit as smaller than Pink Pearl.
4. Geneva Crab Apples
Geneva Crab is a red-fleshed crabapple. A USDA historical record traces this variety to the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, Ontario, where it was selected by Isabella Preston.
Orange Pippin Trees describes dark crimson skin, marbled pink flesh and sharp-flavored juice that adds a rose-pink color to cider blends.
5. Airlie Red Flesh (Mountain Rose)
Airlie Red Flesh has pale green skin and pink flesh. Queener Farm lists Mountain Rose and Hidden Rose as other names under which this apple is sold and traces the original tree to the Airlie area of Oregon.
One Green World describes Mountain Rose as crisp and sweet-tart. These are nursery descriptions, so the names and growing source are more useful clues than expecting every apple to match one exact shade or flavor.
6. Giant Russian Crab Apples
The apple variety in this image has not been verified.
Giant Russian Crab has deep red flesh and a tart flavor. Queener Farm grows it for intensely colored juice that can add a red tint to cider blends. The farm also describes dark pink blossoms.
Its name should not be used as a guarantee of fruit size. Queener’s description ties its large fruit to the conditions in which the trees are grown.
7. Grenadine Apples
Grenadine is another selection in Greenmantle Nursery’s Rosetta group. The nursery describes deeply colored flesh that shows through the skin, giving it a purplish appearance.
Greenmantle reports that its initially sharp flavor mellows after a few weeks in storage. This is an observation about Grenadine, not a reason to assume that every red-fleshed apple improves with storage.
8. Almata Apples
Almata has pink to red flesh and pink blossoms. Cummins Nursery describes a tart apple used for sauces, baking and adding color and acidity to cider blends.
Walden Heights Nursery recommends it for fresh eating mainly to people who enjoy tart apples. Cummins also describes it as poor-keeping, so use it promptly rather than saving it in the hope that it will become a sweet apple.
9. Mott’s Pink Apples
Mott’s Pink has yellow skin and a pink blush in its flesh. Raintree Nursery describes variation in the flesh color between individual apples and from one season to another.
The nursery describes the fruit as tart, firm and juicy, and recommends it for fresh eating and pink applesauce. When you are choosing one, expect a tart apple rather than relying on the word pink as a clue to sweetness.
10. Rubaiyat Apples
Rubaiyat belongs to Greenmantle Nursery’s Rosetta group. The nursery that introduced it describes medium-sized fruit with red skin and red flesh, a berry-like flavor and good quality for eating fresh.
Greenmantle also notes that the appearance and quality of its Rosetta apples vary with the site and season. These descriptions are a guide to the variety, rather than a promise that every apple will have the same color or sweetness.
11. Scarlet Surprise Apples
Scarlet Surprise has dark red skin and red flesh. One Green World describes bright pink flowers.
Thomas Fruit Trees describes the small fruit as sharp-flavored and short-keeping. Ask the grower how soon to use it rather than assuming that storage will make it sweeter.
12. Burford Red Flesh Apples
Burford Red Flesh has red flesh beneath crimson skin. Trees of Antiquity describes it as crisp, juicy and tart.
The nursery recommends the fruit for cider, sauces, chutneys and drinks. It reports a little sweetening during storage, but still describes the fruit as tart.
