Cortland is an excellent all-around apple variety and can be enjoyed fresh or baked into apple pies and other desserts.  They have a balanced sweet-tart taste, making them popular for baking desserts, similar to other sweet varieties. While Cortland Apples do have a distinctive Mac-like taste, the flavor is generally sweeter than their McIntosh parent apples. This variety can also be almost effervescent when freshly picked. While not one of the most popular types of fresh eating apples, Cortland is favored in baking and for applesauce.
Cortland trees grow to be about 12-15′ tall and 10-15′ wide. Where most apple trees produce fruit on branch spurs, Cortland Apple trees produce fruit on the end of slender, 6-inch long branches. These trees are very similar to McIntosh Apple trees, with a similar vase shape and scaly, gray tree bark.
The Cortland Apple begins to bud during mid-season, starting in April, before blooming into delicate white flowers.  Cortland Apples’ harvest season is usually in September through early October. After being harvested, the apple will quickly lose its crispness if not properly stored in a cool spot. Cortland is a variety with fine-textured flesh that is best used as soon as possible after harvest as the flesh can become soft quite quickly.  
Cortland apple trees usually begin to produce fruit after 4 to 6 years after being planted. Once they begin to produce, these reliable trees will bear fruit annually.