Our Apples

Granny Smith Apples are the most ideal apple variety for making a Toffee Apple. Generally, Granny Smith Apples are characterised as having a light speckled green skin, though some may have a pink blush.

A Granny Smith Apple usually has a slightly sour yet sharper flavour than other apples. They are crisp, juicy and have a thick skin, which makes them an excellent choice for our Toffee Apples. The combination of the sweet toffee coating and the slightly sour taste of the Granny Smith apple create a flavour that is balanced and mouth-watering.

Our high quality control standards ensure only the very best Granny Smith apples are selected for each Toffee Apple we create. They must have the perfect shape, colour and texture. The freshness of each apple is sealed in with the application of our secret toffee coating to ensure the best quality Toffee Apple is delivered right to your door.

Who is Granny Smith?

Granny Smith Apples are found in the wild in New Zealand and were grown in Australia in 1868 from a chance seedling. This seedling was propagated by Maria Ann Smith, where the name "Granny Smith" comes from.

'Granny Smith' was born Maria Ann Sherwood in Peasmarsh, Sussex, England, in late 1799. Her father worked as an agricultural labourer and Maria also went into farm service. At the age of 19, she married Thomas Smith, a farm labourer from the neighbouring parish of Beckley. 

The Smiths lived in Beckley for the next 19 years and in 1838, they were recruited by government agents looking for people with agricultural and trade skills sorely needed in the colony of New South Wales. The Smith family arrived in Sydney in November 1838 aboard the Lady Nugent.

Granny Smith's Farm

In 1855 and 1856, Thomas Smith bought, 2 blocks of land totalling around 24 acres on the edge of the Field of Mars Common. The farm lay between the present North Road and Abuklea Road, Eastwood. The Smith’s house stood near the North Road boundary. The Granny Smith Memorial Park marks part of the southern boundary of the farm.

The Granny Smith Apple

Maria Smith died in 1870 and sadly, her apple never became a commercial variety during her lifetime. It continued to be cultivated by local growers and it was exhibited as 'Smith's seedling' in the 1890 Castle Hill Agricultural and Horticultural Show. In the 1891 show, 'Granny Smith's seedlings' took out the prize for cooking apples. By 1892, many growers were exhibiting 'Granny Smith's'.

In 1895, a fruit expert for the NSW Department of Agriculture, named 'Granny Smith's Seedling' as a suitable variety for export. He also initiated the first large scale cultivation of the apple.

Maria Ann Smith died on 9 March 1870 and buried in St. Anne's cemetery, Ryde. Her husband died six years later. Their headstones still stand in the churchyard today.