Do the names Cox, Braeburn and Golden Delicious bore you? Or maybe you prefer an apple that's conical or has a virtually black skin?

Thousands of different varieties of apple are in existence, though you are unlikely to find the fruit of many of them in the shops.

Some apples are delicious immediately after being picked, fully-ripe, from the tree, but become insipid when stored; others need a month or so to reach maturity.

Some have crisp flesh, others crumbling or soft flesh. Some will produce delicious fruit in a good year and fruit tasting harsh and bitter in an average year.

Some taste of banana, others of strawberry or pineapple. Some are sharp enough to make you wince, others so sweet you would hardly believe you were eating an apple.

There is no such thing as the perfect apple, but, whatever your preferences, there are likely to be varieties to suit you.

On our Find Your Apple page you can select some of your preferences and view a list of varieties that could be just right for you.