13/10/2026
🍏Why is the Granny Smith the apple of choice for the Gerson Therapy juices?
It comes down to acidity. Tart green apples are richer in malic acid and potassium malate than sweet varieties, so much so that Dr. Max Gerson never needed to add potassium malate to the juices: the green apples already supplied it. That is why the Granny Smith remains the gold standard for the carrot apple juice and the green juice, all year round.
Sweet apples still have a place on the Gerson table, and our licensed clinic in Budapest Gerson Institute Europe put that to the test. Their kitchen team lined up five organic apple varieties side by side to see how each one performs, from snacks to baking to seasonal juicing. The photos come straight from their kitchen, and here is what they found:
- Red Chief, richly sweet and low in acid, works beautifully as an oatmeal topping.
- Red Jonaprince, sweet with a softer tartness, makes a satisfying afternoon snack.
- Gala, distinctly sweet with very low acidity, is ideal for stuffed apples.
- Golden Delicious, sweet with a lightly tart finish, is a favorite for apple pie.
- Idared, sweet and tart with bright acidity, is a seasonal alternative for juicing in autumn, as it naturally sweetens later in the season.
💡A detail few people know: very sweet varieties such as Golden Delicious and Red Delicious are kept out of the juices because they can make the juice gel. When Granny Smiths are hard to find, the next most tart variety is the better choice.
As with every ingredient in the therapy, apples must always be organic, and each patient’s menu follows their individual protocol.
Thank you to our team in Budapest for this idea and for sharing their kitchen with us. 🫶🏻
🛒Save this post for your next trip to the market.
For more on the Gerson Therapy, contact us at [email protected].
