What apple is the highest in vitamin C?

No apple variety holds the title for long, and the reason that answer keeps moving is more useful than the answer itself.

In the largest screen of apple cultivars grown at a single site, vitamin C varied more than elevenfold between the highest and lowest variety. Change the orchard, the harvest year or the laboratory method, and the ranking reshuffles. Meanwhile the NIH does not list apples among its selected vitamin C foods at all.

Table of Contents

• 1. The short answer, and why it keeps changing
• 2. The best evidence: 79 cultivars, one orchard
• 3. Why wild and crab apples win — and what that says about breeding
• 4. Peeling, cooking and storage cost more than variety ever gains
• 5. How an apple actually compares
• 6. Where the real limit sits: intake first, absorption second
• 7. Bio Absorb Liposomal Vitamin C — when food is not the lever
• 8. Frequently Asked Questions
• 9. Conclusion

1. The Short Answer, and Why It Keeps Changing

If you want a name, the strongest published candidate among domesticated apples is Marie Joseph d'Othée, a Belgian heritage variety that topped the largest single-site cultivar screen. But that result applies to one orchard, in one set of years, measured one way. It is not a shopping instruction.

The problem is that apple vitamin C is not a stable property of a variety. It is the outcome of genetics, growing site, harvest timing, storage history and assay method interacting. A study of 24 cultivars across three consecutive harvest seasons found significant effects from both cultivar and harvest year, meaning the same variety gave statistically different answers in different years from the same trees.

Growing location matters at least as much. Work on 17 cultivars and three wild forms across several regions found that ascorbic acid in commercial cultivars depended heavily on where they were grown. This is why variety rankings from different papers disagree so freely, and why a confident league table of supermarket apples should be treated with suspicion.

2. The Best Evidence: 79 Cultivars, One Orchard

The cleanest comparison available removes the growing-site confound entirely. Researchers quantified ascorbic acid in 79 apple accessions held in a single Belgian germplasm collection, which is the only way to isolate what the cultivar itself contributes.

The average across all 79 came to 12.9 mg per 100 g of pulp, with a standard deviation of 5.0 — a wide scatter for a single fruit species. At the top sat Marie Joseph d'Othée at 26.7 mg per 100 g. At the bottom sat Telamon at 2.3 mg. That is an elevenfold difference between two apples growing in the same soil under the same weather.

Two things follow, and the second is not the one most people expect. Variety genuinely matters, more than the supermarket implies. But the same work sorted the 79 accessions into 21 elite and 58 local cultivars and found similar total vitamin C in both groups, so age alone is no shortcut to a higher number. What moves the figure is a specific cultivar, not a category. A separate screen of 24 cultivars found its highest value in the heritage variety Freiherr von Berlepsch and its lowest in Gala — the outliers at the top do tend to be obscure, even though obscure varieties as a group are unremarkable.

3. Why Wild and Crab Apples Win — And What That Says About Breeding

Step outside domesticated apples and the numbers change character. A comparison of nine domesticated cultivars against ten Malus species found ascorbic acid averaging 6.0–12.2 mg per 100 g in domesticated fruit and 6.6–22.8 mg per 100 g in crabapple, roughly double at the top of the range.

A genome-wide study of 344 accessions found wild Malus carried at least twice the average ascorbic acid of Malus domestica. The same work detected a stable vitamin C glycoside, ascorbic acid 2-β-glucoside, in two-thirds of wild accessions at an average of 927 micrograms per gram, against under 1 microgram per gram in domesticated apples.

The most interesting finding explains why. Measuring 457 accessions — 428 cultivars worldwide plus 29 wild relatives — researchers found vitamin C correlated positively with malic acid but negatively with fruit weight and sugar content. Their conclusion was that the wild-versus-cultivated gap is an indirect consequence of centuries of selection for bigger, sweeter, less acidic fruit. We bred the vitamin C out by accident, chasing other things.

4. Peeling, Cooking and Storage Cost More Than Variety Ever Gains

Three ordinary decisions move the number further than choosing between varieties does, and all three work against you.

The peel is the first. The same 79-cultivar study found that apple peel held more vitamin C than the pulp at every point measured during fruit development and storage. USDA figures show the same pattern in the kitchen: a 125 g cup of raw apple with skin supplies 5.8 mg, against 4.4 mg for a 110 g cup of peeled slices.

Heat is the second, and it is brutal. The same USDA listing puts peeled apple boiled at 0.3 mg per cup, which is near-total destruction of what was there. Apple juice tells the story most clearly. Unsweetened apple juice without added ascorbic acid carries 2.2 mg per cup; the same juice with vitamin C added carries 95.5 mg. Almost all the vitamin C in commercial apple juice was put there at the factory.

Storage is the third, and it is invisible. Supermarket apples are routinely months old. In an eight-month controlled-atmosphere trial, ascorbic acid in the best-holding cultivar slipped from 8.80 to 8.00 mg per 100 g, while others dropped from 8.00 to 5.60 mg — a 30% loss in the worst chambers. The 79-cultivar work found the same direction of travel, with the balance shifting toward the oxidised form throughout storage and shelf life. The NIH makes the general point plainly: prolonged storage and cooking both reduce the vitamin C content of food.

5. How an Apple Actually Compares

Put the best realistic apple figure next to the foods that carry vitamin C and the picture resolves quickly. A cup of raw apple with the skin on delivers 5.8 mg, which is under 7% of the 90 mg Daily Value.

Against that, the NIH lists one medium orange at 70 mg, one medium kiwifruit at 64 mg, half a cup of raw red pepper at 95 mg and half a cup of sliced strawberries at 49 mg. The apple does not appear on that list. Its absence is not an oversight — it simply does not clear the bar for inclusion.

This is worth stating without hedging, because a great deal of health writing implies otherwise. Apples are a genuinely good food for fibre and polyphenols. They are not a vitamin C food, and no variety choice changes that category. If you want to close a gap through diet, our guide to the foods that actually deliver the most vitamin C is the better starting point. The NIH notes that five varied servings of fruit and vegetables can supply more than 200 mg a day, which is the realistic route.

6. Where the Real Limit Sits: Intake First, Absorption Second

There are two different problems, and the apple question only ever touched the first one.

Below the recommended intake, the limiting factor is simply how much you eat. The RDA is 90 mg a day for adult men and 75 mg for adult women, with an extra 35 mg a day for people who smoke. A landmark depletion–repletion study found plasma response followed a sigmoid curve with its steep section between 30 and 100 mg a day, so in that range every extra milligram counts and food choice is the whole game.

Above it, the limiting factor changes to absorption. The NIH reports 70% to 90% absorption at moderate intakes of 30 to 180 mg a day, falling below 50% above 1 gram a day, with modelling predicting plasma plateaus near 220 micromoles per litre even at very large oral doses. The same depletion study found bioavailability complete at a single 200 mg dose but declining at 500 mg and above. This is covered in more depth in our article on why most of a vitamin C dose is wasted.

That ceiling is what liposomal delivery targets. A 2025 scoping review of ten trials found nine reporting higher bioavailability, with AUC values 1.3 to 7.2 times those of non-liposomal forms. The honest framing matters here: the same review noted that none of the trials assessed elimination and only two measured biological effects. The absorption advantage is well supported; whether it changes clinical outcomes in someone already replete has not been established, a distinction set out in our complete guide to liposomal vitamin C.

7. Bio Absorb Liposomal Vitamin C — When Food Is Not the Lever

For most people in reasonable health, the honest advice on this page is dietary: eat the peel, eat it raw, and get your vitamin C from the fruits and vegetables that actually carry it. Supplementation is for the situations where diet is not closing the gap — restricted eating, smoking, malabsorption, or a deliberate decision to sit above the RDA.

Bio Absorb Nutraceuticals makes two liposomal formats for that case. Liposomal Vitamin C Liquid 1000mg (Corn-Free) mixes into water or juice; Liposomal Vitamin C Capsules 1000mg (Corn-Free) need no refrigeration and travel without fuss. Both are verified corn-free, non-GMO, gluten-free, nut-free and vegan, and both are made in Canada in a GMP-certified facility and third-party tested every batch.

The corn-free verification is worth a word, because ascorbic acid is conventionally fermented from corn and that catches people who are managing a corn sensitivity. It is one of the few supplement attributes that is genuinely hard to find rather than merely marketed.

What this page will not do is quote you a figure. Formulations and packaging change, and a number baked into an article goes stale quietly while the article keeps ranking. See the current pricing and serving details for the liquid, or the full product specification for the capsules, and judge the numbers against what you have read here.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Which supermarket apple has the most vitamin C?

No variety holds that position reliably, because published rankings disagree depending on orchard, harvest year and laboratory method. A study of 24 cultivars across three harvest seasons found both cultivar and year had significant effects. The practical differences between common supermarket varieties are small enough that preparation and freshness matter more.

Do green apples have more vitamin C than red ones?

Skin colour is not a useful predictor. In the 79-cultivar single-site screen, the highest and lowest varieties were separated elevenfold on cultivar genetics rather than colour. Published studies that rank red above green or green above red generally do not replicate across growing regions.

Are crab apples really higher in vitamin C?

Yes, consistently. One comparison found crabapple at 6.6–22.8 mg per 100 g against 6.0–12.2 mg for domesticated apples, and a genome-wide study of 344 accessions found wild Malus carried at least twice the average of cultivated apples. They are also considerably more sour and astringent, which is the trade-off breeding removed.

Does an apple a day meet my vitamin C needs?

No. A cup of raw apple with skin supplies 5.8 mg against an RDA of 90 mg for adult men and 75 mg for adult women. You would need a great many apples, and you would be far better served by citrus, kiwifruit, peppers or berries.

Does apple juice count?

Mostly only if it has been fortified. USDA figures put unsweetened apple juice without added ascorbic acid at 2.2 mg per cup and the same juice with vitamin C added at 95.5 mg. Check the label: if ascorbic acid is listed as an ingredient, the vitamin C is added rather than inherent.

Is vitamin C from fruit better absorbed than from a supplement?

The NIH states that the ascorbic acid used in supplements has bioavailability equivalent to the ascorbic acid naturally present in food. A 2025 randomised crossover trial compared supplements, raw fruit and vegetables, and their juices at equivalent doses. Whole foods still win on everything else they carry; they do not win on the vitamin C molecule itself.

9. Conclusion

The most defensible answer to which apple is highest in vitamin C is a heritage variety most people will never see, and even it would leave you well short of a day's requirement at under 7% of the Daily Value per cup. Eat the peel, eat it raw and eat it fresh, because those three choices move the number further than variety selection does.

If your intake is genuinely short — or you are deliberately supplementing above the RDA, where absorption drops below 50% above a gram a day — the lever is delivery, not fruit selection. See the current serving details for Bio Absorb Nutraceuticals Liposomal Vitamin C, and talk to your doctor first if you have kidney disease, haemochromatosis or take regular medication. The tolerable upper intake level for adults is 2,000 mg a day from all sources.

Research References

1. Dynamics of ascorbic acid content in apple (Malus x domestica) during fruit development and storage. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Vol. 151, pp. 47–59 (2020). Screened 79 cultivars grown at a single site, reporting a mean of 12.9 mg per 100 g pulp, a high of 26.7 mg (Marie Joseph d'Othée) and a low of 2.3 mg (Telamon). Genotyping split the collection into 21 elite and 58 local cultivars with similar total ascorbic acid, and peel exceeded pulp at every stage.
2. Variation of ascorbic acid concentration in fruits of cultivated and wild apples. Food Chemistry, Vol. [volume not confirmed], published 15 June 2017. Measured 457 accessions and attributed the wild–cultivated gap to selection for larger, sweeter, less acidic fruit during domestication.
3. GWAS provides new insights into the genetic mechanisms of phytochemicals production and red skin colour in apple. Horticulture Research, Vol. 9, Article uhac218 (2022). Found wild Malus accessions carried at least twice the average ascorbic acid of Malus domestica across 344 accessions.
4. Changes in the Biochemical Composition and Physicochemical Properties of Apples Stored in Controlled Atmosphere Conditions. Applied Sciences, Vol. 11, Issue 13, Article 6215 (2021). Tracked ascorbic acid across eight months of controlled-atmosphere storage, with losses ranging from minimal to roughly 30% by cultivar and chamber.
5. Comparative evaluation of the biochemical composition of fruits Malus spp. Notulae Scientia Biologicae, Vol. 16, Issue 2 (2024). Reported ascorbic acid of 6.0–12.2 mg per 100 g in domesticated apples against 6.6–22.8 mg per 100 g in crabapple.
6. Effects of Genetic Background and Altitude on Sugars, Malic Acid and Ascorbic Acid in Fruits of Wild and Cultivated Apples (Malus sp.). Foods, Vol. 10, Article 2950 (2021). Found wild apples highest in ascorbic acid and commercial cultivar content strongly dependent on growing location.
7. L-ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol content in apple pulp: a comparison between 24 cultivars and annual variations during three harvest seasons. International Journal of Food Properties, Vol. 23, Issue 1, pp. 1624–1638 (2020). Found significant effects of both cultivar and harvest year on ascorbic acid content.
8. Vitamin C pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers: evidence for a recommended dietary allowance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Vol. 93, Issue 8 (1996). Depletion–repletion study establishing the sigmoid dose–plasma relationship and the decline in bioavailability at single doses of 500 mg and above.
9. Do Liposomal Vitamin C Formulations Have Improved Bioavailability? A Scoping Review Identifying Future Research Directions. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, Vol. 137, Issue 1, Article e70067 (2025). Reports 1.3–7.2-fold higher AUC for liposomal forms in nine of ten trials, and the evidence gaps that remain.
10. Comparative Bioavailability of Vitamin C After Short-Term Consumption of Raw Fruits and Vegetables and Their Juices: A Randomized Crossover Study. Nutrients, Vol. 17, Issue 21, Article 3331 (2025). Randomised crossover trial comparing vitamin C bioavailability from supplements, raw produce and juices at equivalent doses.
11. Vitamin C — Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements (updated 2025). Source for the adult RDAs, the additional 35 mg/day for people who smoke, the 2,000 mg/day Tolerable Upper Intake Level, absorption rates by intake level, and the vitamin C content of selected foods.
12. Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid — content of selected foods per common measure. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 28 (2015). Source for apple values: raw with skin, raw without skin, boiled, and apple juice with and without added ascorbic acid.

About the Author

David Kimbell is a health writer, digital entrepreneur and former aerospace engineer, based in Ottawa, Canada. He loves translating complex science into clear, actionable guidance for consumers seeking evidence-based solutions.

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Important Disclaimers

Medical Disclaimer: This article provides educational information only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before starting any new supplement, especially if you have existing health conditions, take medications, or are pregnant or nursing.

FDA/Health Canada Statement: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration or Health Canada. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.