Cosmic Crisp will become the first of its kind being bred in Washington state, which in fact is home to the majority of the United States’ apples. It’s being touted as an absolute game-changer.
As it is, the farm collectives have planted 12 million Cosmic Crisp apple trees, a sign of trust in the new variety.
It will be hitting the markers for sale this year, which will rise to a figure of over 2 million boxes in 2020 and greater than 21 million by 2026.
The apple variant was created by Washington State University. Washington planters, who supported the research financially, will have the sole right to sell it for the first 10 years.
The apple is being named Cosmic Crisp because of the vibrant yellowish dots on its skin, which resembles something like distant stars.
“I’ve not come across prettier Apple’s in the orchard the way these beauties are,” said Aaron Clark of Yakima, whose family houses various orchards in central Washington and has grown 80 acres of Cosmic Crisps.
The new breed stays for a lot of time in storage and in the fridge, said Kate Evans, who heads the breeding facility at Washington State University.
And it’s a brilliantly good “edible apple,” she said. “It’s super crispy, juice and has the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness.”
Cosmic Crisps are a mix between the disease safe Enterprise and the many famous, crispy Honeycrisp varieties.
The Honeycrisp, popularly called “Moneycrisp” by some growers, was the all-new apple to invoke a big buzz in the United States when it was brought in around two decades ago. It was pioneered by the University of Minnesota.
“This apple (Cosmic Crisp) has a lot of potentials to become a favorite with a lot of people,” said Clark, a vice president of Price Cold Storage, a company with many farms and fruit warehouses across central Washington. “We are hoping it is as well because we have a lot of them.”
