Freyburg

Why you should be excited

Freyburg is a Cox's Orange Pippin - Golden Delicious cross that looks unexciting but makes up for it with excellent flavour.

The story of Freyburg

Best known as the apple breeder who came up with the commercial smash-hit Gala, James Hutton Kidd set out in the 1910s through his 1945 death to combine the best of U.S. apple varieties such as Golden Delicious with the legendary English apple Cox's Orange Pippin.

Our orchard includes a number of the results of this effort, including Kidd's Orange Red, Rubinette, Gala and Freyburg. They're all good apples, quite sweet (thank Golden Delicious for that), yet still complexly flavourful (credit to Cox).

Freyburg is perhaps the least-known of all of those and also maybe the least interesting to look at. Yet its flavour has been enthusiastically -- perhaps hyperbolically -- described as "a cocktail of sensational sweetness."

Freyburg Facts

Its origins

Bred in New Zealand; first planted in 1934 and introduced in 1959.

Flavour, aroma, texture

White, crisp -- but not hard -- flesh and a refreshing flavour.

Appearance

It's your basic average-sized green apple.

When they’re available

Late season (usually in early October).

Quality for fresh eating

Very good.

Quality for cooking

Mainly used for fresh eating.

Quality for cider

While it's not particularly known as a cider variety, Freyburg is an unusually juicy apple that could contribute high quality bulk to ciders.

Keeping ability

Good (2 or 3 months when kept refrigerated).