Hidden Rose Apples

Try the apple that has a surprise inside. One of many varieties of apples that contain a red or pink flesh. Find out where to find them and how to use them. Also includes a recipe for easy to make fried apples. The apple goes by the names "Hidden Rose", "Mountain Rose" and "Airlie Red Flesh".

If you are someone that only buys their apples in a supermarket, there is an apple secret out there that you may have missed out on.

Apples can be red or pink on the inside!

I love surprising people with these kinds of apples. People don't expect to see the bright color on the inside. My kids were especially surprised, they love pink!

Today we are going to talk about the Hidden Rose apple.

Origin

According to Specialty Produce, the Hidden Rose was discovered in the early 1960s. It wasn't marketed to the public until the 1980s. It was originally called Newell-Kimzey, but changed to the trademarked name of Hidden Rose, a much better name.

🎧 Want to learn more about the history of this apple? Check out the episode - History of Hidden Rose on my podcast "Apples from Yesterday to Tomorrow".

The trademark is held by Dragonberry Produce of Clackamas, Oregon. The Hidden Rose apples they distribute as certified organic. You may also see it going by the name of Airlie Red Flesh, name after it's city of origin.

At some orchards in Oregon the apple is going by the name "Mountain Rose" to avoid using the trademarked name.

Hidden Rose is a perfect name for this apple. Most people would not expect to open it up and see the rose colored flesh. Although as someone who has eaten his share of apples, I can tell from the outside. The apple has a muted yellow color, it's almost opaque.

My Experience

Here is what I thought of the apple. I rated each aspect on a scale of 1-10.

Crispiness	8
Tartness	8
Flavor	7
Sweetness	5
Juicines	6

Overall Feeling

Hidden Rose is an apple for those that like to eat a more tart apple. It has just enough sweetness, but by no means is this a sweet apple. It's crisp and juicy but not extremely juicy. It has a good, sharp flavor.

The apple is similar to the Pink Pearl apple, another pink flesh variety. Although I think Pink Pearl is slightly sweeter.

My wife thought that this would make an excellent apple for dipping into peanut butter or your favorite nut butter. Hidden Rose would make a beautiful applesauce however it would be too tart for my taste without adding some sweetness.

Where to Find

Here is a list of a few sources you can get Hidden Rose apples from:

• Weston's Antique Apples (New Berlin, Wisconsin)
• Dragonberry Produce (Clackamas, Oregon)
• Scott Farm (Dummerston, Vermont)
• Thomas Paine Farms (Kings Valley, Oregon)
• Maple Valley Orchards (Gillet, Wisconsin)
• Melissa's Produce
• Baldor Food
• Kiyokawa Family Orchards (Parkdale, Oregon, under the name "Mountain Rose")

More Red or Pink Fleshed Apples

Here are some other apple varieties that have a pink or red flesh.

• Pink Pearl
• Lucy Glo
• Lucy Rose
• Niedzwetzkyana 

Have you tried this apple? What did you think? Leave a comment below telling us. Be a helper and share where you found it. You may make someone's day with your insider info on where to get them! If you are a true apple lover, you'll want to check out all of our apple reviews.

Recipes

Hidden Rose apples are really fun to use in recipes where you can showcase their brilliant colored flesh. They hold their shape when cooked pretty well.

You could make dried apples chips. Or use them in a salad.

Or do what I did recently, make fried apples!

These are simply sliced apples, cooked in butter with a sprinkling of sugar and topped with cinnamon and nutmeg. Yum! They can be eaten as it or used on top of pancakes.