The starches were separated from unripe apples of five cultivars (Criterion, Ruspippum, Red Spur, Skyline Supreme, and Granny Smith) and evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic viscoelasticity. SEM showed the presence of round granules as well as granules that had been partially degraded, probably by amylases. The starch granules in different apple starches ranged between 4.1 and 12.0 mum. Debranching of starch with isoamylase and subsequent fractionation of debranched materials by GPC revealed the presence of an apparent amylose, an intermediate fraction (mixture of amylose and amylopectin), long side chains of amylopectin, and short side chains of amylopectin in the range of 28-35.2, 3.6-4.4, 20-21.3, and 39.9-47.1%, respectively. The swelling power of starches ranged between 14.4 and 21.3 g/g. X-ray diffraction of apple starches showed a mixture of A- and B-type patterns. All apple starches showed peak intensities lower than that observed for normal corn and potato starch, indicating the lower crystallinity. The transition temperatures (onset temperature, T(o); peak temperature, T(p); and conclusion temperature, T(c)) and enthalpy of gelatinization (deltaH(gel)) determined using DSC ranged between 54.7 and 56.2 degrees C, between 57.1 and 59.1 degrees C, between 60.2 and 63.5 degrees C, and between 3.3 and 4.2 J/g, respectively. The viscoelastic properties of starch from different cultivars measured during heating and cooling using a rheometer differed significantly. Red Spur and Criterion starches with larger granule size showed higher G' and G' ' values, whereas those containing smaller size and amylolytically degraded granules showed lower G' and G' '.