While California may not be a top producer of apples, there is one rare variety that is native to the Golden State: the Pink Pearl apple. Similar to a pearl oyster, their beauty is hidden within — these fruits have a normal-looking, yellow-green exterior, but once you cut them open, a beautiful pink interior is revealed.

Developed by fruit breeder Albert Etter in 1944, Pink Pearl apples are medium-sized with an exterior color similar to a Golden Delicious, and can range from bright pink to red on the inside. Unlike many other apples, they thrive in the warmer months and are harvested in the late summer through September.

Pink Pearls have a strong aroma and subtle flavors of raspberry and grapefruit, and their position on the sweet-tart scale depends on when they’re harvested. They get their flavor from their parent fruit, "Surprise" apples, which are slightly more acidic but have a similar sweet-tart juxtaposition.

Pink Pearls make for truly stunning desserts, salads, and applesauce, and if you live in California, Oregon, or Washington, it should be easy to get your hands on them when in season. Outside of this area, they can be hard to find, and you may be better off buying seeds online and growing them yourself.