The parade of new apple names already in the nation’s supermarkets is indeed a long one. Now there is Cosmic Crisp. It will be joining Envy, Ambrosia, SnapDragon, SweeTango, Kiku, Smitten, RubyFrost, Kanzi and Junami brands, which doesn’t cover them all.In fact, they are being joined by about 80 newer apples arriving from world production areas this year alone.
Looking ahead, say, three or four years, from Washington state there will be the supermarket arrival of Cosmic Crisp.
This apple with the out-of-this world name is generating huge notice in the Washington apple industry, and commercial planting won’t even start until next year.
That’s right — even though its first trees are yet to be planted, Cosmic Crisp has received tons of industry discussion and media coverage. And this is exposure even outside of traditional agricultural outlets, extending to urban broadcasts.
Yes, the reasons are multiple, which illustrates that Comic Crisp isn’t just another new apple. Hopes are it may be the next Honeycrisp in popularity, but it also represents a completely new and innovative apple introduction system.
First there’s the apple itself. A cross between Honeycrisp and Enterprise, it was developed by Washington State University tree fruit research going back nearly 20 years.
The first Cosmic Crisp won’t be available to consumers until 2020, most likely, and will be sharing the same harvest window as red delicious.
With the widespread attention going to this apple, along with red delicious being one showing its age against certain other newer apples on the market (Can you say “Honeycrisp?”), the buzz surrounding Cosmic Crisp will likely become even more pronounced as its baby trees become more adult.