McIntosh (apple)

Malus domestica (McIntosh)
McIntosh apples on a tree
Cultivar	McIntosh
Origin	Dundela, Upper Canada, 1811

The McIntosh ( /ˈmækɪnˌtɒʃ/ MAK-in-tosh), McIntosh Red, or colloquially the Mac, is an apple cultivar, the national apple of Canada. The fruit has red and green skin, a tart flavour, and tender white flesh, which ripens in late September. In the 20th century, it was the most popular cultivar in Eastern Canada and New England, and is considered an all-purpose apple, suitable both for cooking and eating raw.

John McIntosh discovered the original McIntosh sapling on his Dundela farm in Upper Canada in 1811. He and his wife cultivated it, and the family started grafting the tree and selling the fruit in 1835. In 1870, it entered commercial production, and became common in northeastern North America after 1900. While still important in production, the fruit's popularity fell in the early 21st century in the face of competition from varieties such as the Gala. According to the US Apple Association website, it is one of the fifteen most popular apple cultivars in the United States.^[1]

Apple Computer employee Jef Raskin named the Macintosh computer line after the cultivar.