Foods Highest in Malic acid
Top 20 whole foods per 100g, from USDA Standard Reference and Foundation databases
Cherries, sweet, dark red, raw ranks #1 of 20 for Malic acid, at 762.4MG per 100g.
What These Malic acid Rankings Mean
This ranking surfaces the top 20 whole foods for Malic acid, pulled from USDA Standard Reference Legacy and Foundation databases. Those two sources intentionally exclude branded and processed entries, which keeps the list focused on raw ingredients where nutrient content reflects the food itself rather than fortification or recipe adjustments. There is no established FDA Daily Value for Malic acid, so amounts are reported in absolute terms (MG per 100g edible portion).
At the top of the ranking sits Cherries, sweet, dark red, raw, delivering 762.4MG per 100g. The top three (Cherries, sweet, dark red, raw, Cranberry juice, not fortified, from concentrate, shelf stable, Applesauce, unsweetened, with added vitamin C) together form a practical "big lever" set, foods where a single serving meaningfully moves daily intake. The visual bars beside each row scale against the top food, so you can see at a glance whether a lower-ranked food is still a strong source or a distant runner-up.
Because this page excludes branded products, it is the right tool for comparing whole-food cooking choices rather than packaged-food shopping decisions, for those, the per-food pages and the branded search tools cover the same nutrient at product level. All values are reported per 100g edible portion, which means the raw numbers can be directly compared but real-world servings differ (a 100g portion of spinach is very different from 100g of almonds by volume). The nutrition guides linked below explain how to translate % DV and per-100g figures into practical daily targets and how to read nutrition labels when comparing whole foods to their processed equivalents.
→ Compare the top three Malic acid sources side-by-side
Frequently Asked Questions
What food is highest in Malic acid?
Cherries, sweet, dark red, raw is the food highest in Malic acid, with 762.4MG per 100g.
How much Malic acid do I need per day?
There is no established FDA Daily Value for Malic acid. Consult a healthcare professional for guidance on appropriate intake levels.
What are good whole food sources of Malic acid?
Top whole food sources of Malic acid include Cherries, sweet, dark red, raw, Cranberry juice, not fortified, from concentrate, shelf stable, Applesauce, unsweetened, with added vitamin C, and more. These rankings are based on USDA Standard Reference and Foundation food data, measured per 100g edible portion.
Read our methodology , how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.