Cosmic crisp apple
For now, it's only available to farmers in Washington, since they helped support the breeding program that created it. Farmers finally got a chance to plant these trees in their own orchards this spring. They named it Cosmic Crisp because the apple's flecks of yellow reminded someone of stars in the sky.
Washington state hired a private company to handle the commercial launch of the new apple. It has sweetness and acid almost a sensory overload for your tongue. "We never bring any WA 38 home."Īuvil says the apple has that sought-after crisp, cracking sensation when you bite into it. Tom Auvil, who worked for the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, says that when they took boxes of different varieties to events with apple growers, it was the box of WA 38 that got cleaned out. The more they learned, the more they liked it. The Salt 'Paradise Lost': How The Apple Became The Forbidden Fruitįor almost two decades, people in the apple industry studied those trees, tasting the apples. But it must have made a good impression because he and his colleagues kept it around. He doesn't remember the day in 1997 when he took a bite of an apple from the tree that was labeled WA 38. "Your taste sensors, sugar and acid, kick in, and you'll either enjoy it or you won't. Hundreds of times each day, he'd take a bite. Some little ones, some big ones," Barritt recalls.īarritt says he'd spend days walking those rows, searching for a superior apple. "Some green ones, some yellow ones, some red ones. He watched those trees produce their own apples, all different from one another. Then he collected the apples that resulted from this cross-fertilization and grew new little trees from their seeds. He started the work of apple breeding - first taking pollen from blossoms of some trees and fertilizing the blossoms of others, creating thousands of new genetic combinations.
"We knew that it would be about 20 years before we had anything of significance - if we were lucky!" he says. Two decades ago, when Barritt was working for Washington State University, he persuaded the university and the state's apple industry to pay for an effort to create new and tastier apple varieties. And while they taste similar to other sweet apples, the flesh breaks away cleanly and requires little chewing before breaking down into a pleasant, juicy experience.Washington state hired a private company to handle the commercial launch of the new apple. A few were bruised, but they were crisp and flavorful. Indeed, a sample of Cosmic Crisp apples sent to TIME was harvested last year and put into cold storage in March. That might make it popular with shoppers sick of throwing away uneaten fruit. Flavor and texture aside, it’s also resilient, able to stay in good shape for up to 12 months after being harvested and put into storage. Washington apple growers will have exclusive rights to the Cosmic Crisp for 10 years.īarritt is bullish on the Cosmic Crisp’s commercial prospects. So beat it, pumpkin spice, and take those Red Delicious apples with you. Unlike Gala and Fuji apples, which were developed outside of the U.S., the Cosmic Crisp was designed specifically to excel in Washington State’s climate, says Kate Evans, who took over the WSU program after Barritt retired in 2008. Cosmic Crisp apples are expected to start shipping from Washington state to supermarkets and other retailers on December 1. The Cosmic Crisp could be a lifesaver for Washington apple growers in particular. “Usually an apple comes along and gradually builds up in the market.” “This is the first time anyone has made such a concerted effort to develop a variety, release it and commit to such a large quantity,” he says.
This apple could be a “game changer” for the industry, says Robert Crassweller, a horticulture professor at Penn State University. Twelve million Cosmic Crisp trees have since been planted, and 18 million pounds of the apples are set to ship across the country in December alone. About five years later, they saw the fruit that would become the Cosmic Crisp. “But one or two will be, and that’s how you come up with the Cosmic Crisp.” In 1997, the team made a cross of Honeycrisp and Enterprise apples that resulted in what they were looking for. “Less than 1% are any good,” Barritt says. “There just isn’t another variety that has all three of those things at once,” he says.įunded by WSU and Washington apple growers, Barritt’s team spent years producing thousands of hybrid seeds, then sampling the resulting apples.
Texture and moisture are also key–you want a firm, crisp apple with a juiciness that renders the experience of eating it “very pleasant.” Barritt believes Cosmic Crisp is a triple threat. “It’s when you get your teeth into the apple and you try to pull away and hear a cracking sound–an acoustic characteristic,” he says, describing what makes an ideal apple.