Anna Apples
Inventory, lb : 0
Description/Taste
Anna apples are small to medium-sized fruits that measure about 6 to 6.5 centimeters in diameter. These apples have a round-conical shape and thin, multicolored skin that's bright yellow-green with varying degrees of red blush depending on how much sun exposure they experience. There are also faint green dots speckled across the surface of these apples. Their skin is smooth and shiny, easily bitten into to reveal a dense, mealy light yellow flesh. The flesh is succulent, crisp, and creamy. Anna apples do not have a distinct aroma but possess a sour, semi-acidic taste balanced with sweetness, similar to Gala apples. The flavor and texture can vary significantly with ripeness. Anna apples that are harvested early have a firmer texture while fruits left on the tree to ripen are sweeter with softer flesh.
Seasons/Availability
Anna apples are available from late spring through summer.
Current Facts
Anna apples are botanically known as Malus domestica and belong to the Rosaceae family, which also includes apricots, plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, almonds, and all other apple varieties. They are an Israeli hybrid that’s a cross between Red Hadassiya and Golden Delicious. Anna apples are an early-season variety and one of the first apples to be harvested each year. Their trees produce a high yield of fruit and can grow 3 to 4.5 meters high. This tree is best pollinated with other breeds like Gala, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, or Red Delicious apples to increase production. Anna apples are primarily valued for their culinary use and are often incorporated into baked goods.
Nutritional Value
Apples like the Anna variety are a rich source of vitamin C, an essential antioxidant that supports immune function, skin health, and collagen formation. They also provide potassium that's crucial for heart health and blood pressure regulation. The fruit contains quercetin, an antioxidant with potential anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties, as well as catechin, helping reduce blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and oxidative stress. Catechin also improves fat metabolism and cognitive function. Apples are high in chlorogenic acid, another antioxidant that may help lower blood sugar levels, enhance blood flow, and support liver function.
Applications
Anna apples can be consumed fresh, baked, stewed, juiced, or preserved in jams and jellies. In their raw form, they can be mixed into green salads, coleslaws, or layered into sandwiches and wraps. They may be dipped into peanut butter and melted chocolate or used as a candy apple. Anna apples are popularly selected for baked goods like pies, tarts, pastries, muffins, pancakes, crepes, and breads. They may be chosen as an ingredient in holiday stuffings, apple and cheese tarts, potato gratins, onion galettes, and casseroles. Anna apples are complimented by the flavors of feta, goat, and cheddar cheese, sausage, prosciutto, pork, rosemary, thyme, sage, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, Brussels sprouts, spinach, walnuts, cranberries, pears, figs, and raisins. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to two months.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
Anna apples are native to Israel, where the average person consumes over 20 kilograms of apples each year. Despite apple trees only bearing fruit for a few weeks annually, shoppers line up in Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market at the very beginning of each apple season. It was once nearly impossible to find flavorful, juicy varieties like Anna apples in Israel. After Israel acquired the apple orchards in the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967, the country began producing high-quality apples. The war, fought against the air forces of Egypt and Syria, also resulted in Israel gaining control of the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, and the Old City of Jerusalem. Apples are celebrated during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah when restaurants in Israel feature apple-based dishes like strudel and chicken liver in apple cider.
Geography/History
Anna apples were first bred by Abba Stein at the Ein Shemer kibbutz communal settlement in Israel in 1959. They were designed to be a low-chill variety that works well in mild climates where the fall and winter months rarely drop below freezing. They thrive in low desert regions, the Southwest United States, and the Gulf Coast. Anna apples continue to be cultivated in Israel and other Middle Eastern countries where they can be grown in orchards and purchased from marketplaces. They are also produced within the United States in California, Texas, and Hawaii where they are a niche breed. This variety can be sown in all the lower 48 states aside from those in the Northern Great Plains region. As a hybrid breed, Anna apples are not sourced from the wild but may be harvested from trees in home gardens or cultivated commercially to be sold in specialty stores and farmers’ markets.
Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Anna Apples. One
is easiest, three is harder.
