It's the second most popular variety in the world and in the United States, and it's Michigan's second most widely grown variety. It's expected to retain that position in Michigan because it was the most extensively planted variety in the state the first five years of the 1990s. Golden Delicious was discovered as a chance seedling in Clay County, West Virginia., in 1914 and was named Mullin's Yellow Seedling. Stark Brothers bought propagation rights and renamed it Golden Delicious as a companion to (Red) Delicious, to which it is not related genetically. The parentage of Golden Delicious is thought to be Golden Reinette and Grimes Golden. It's a sweet apple requiring little added sugar in cooking uses, such as sauce, pie and baking, where its firmness helps hold its shape. It also has excellent flavor when eaten fresh. It's a popular inclusion in fresh apple cider.