Science

Cross-bred Cosmic Crisp apples can stay fresh for a whole year

Cross-bred Cosmic Crisp apples can stay fresh for a whole year
The Cosmic Crunch aexhibits none of the typical storage disorders that can plague lesser apples
The Cosmic Crunch apple exhibits none of the typical storage disorders that can plague lesser apples
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Move over Granny Smith and Red Delicious, there’s a hot new apple in town and it’s built to outlast them all
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Move over Granny Smith and Red Delicious, there’s a hot new apple in town and it’s built to outlast them all
Move over Granny Smith and Red Delicious, there’s a hot new apple in town and it’s built to outlast them all
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The Cosmic Crunch apple is the result of a cross-breeding research at Washington State University
The Cosmic Crunch apple is said to be large, juicy and remarkably firm with a crisp texture
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The Cosmic Crunch apple is said to be large, juicy and remarkably firm with a crisp texture
The Cosmic Crunch aexhibits none of the typical storage disorders that can plague lesser apples
4/5
The Cosmic Crunch apple exhibits none of the typical storage disorders that can plague lesser apples
The bi-color Cosmic Crunch is so named for the white speckles that dot its skin
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The bi-color Cosmic Crunch is so named for the white speckles that dot its skin
View gallery - 5 images

Move over Granny Smith and Red Delicious, there’s a hot new apple in town and it’s built to outlast them all. The Cosmic Crunch apple is hitting shelves today in the US, and through careful development across two decades, is promised to offer fans of the fruit an extra juicy and crispy experience, with a storage life of up to 12 months when kept in the right conditions.

The Cosmic Crunch apple is the result of a cross-breeding research at Washington State University, where scientists began working on a hybrid fruit based on the Enterprise and Honeycrisp apples in 1997.

Now patented, the resulting Cosmic Crunch apple is said to be large, juicy and remarkably firm with a crisp texture. It also offers naturally heightened levels of acidity and sugar, so will very much be on the sweeter side. So much so, the team says it can allow home bakers to rely less on added sugar for their recipes.

The bi-color Cosmic Crunch is so named for the white speckles that dot its skin
The bi-color Cosmic Crunch is so named for the white speckles that dot its skin

The shelf life is billed as exceptional. In addition to high resistance to bruising, the Cosmic Crunch apple can be kept in controlled atmosphere storage for 12 months, in a fridge for six months or longer and on the shelf at room temperature for several weeks.

According to the researchers, this is because the Cosmic Crunch exhibits none of the typical storage disorders that plague lesser apples, such as internal browning, chilling injuries, shriveling or a sensitivity to carbon dioxide and low oxygen.

The bi-color Cosmic Crunch is so named for the white speckles that dot its skin and after more than 20 years of study and research is now ready for the world, with shipping to selected stores kicking off today.

Source: Cosmic Crunch, Washington State University

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3 comments
3 comments
martinwinlow
OK... but what does it taste like? Insipid like so much other 'genetically-modified' fruit eg seedless grapes and oranges etc?
paul314
Sweeter than a honeycrisp? wow. (It would be nice to be rid of internal browning, though -- I've lost count of the number of beautiful-on-the-outside apples I've sliced open only to find that much of the inside is long past eating.)
usugo
always amusing to read about new food breeds that have taken years to be selected. When, these days, the same result could be achieved in 6-12 months using genetic engineering.
But then, of course, they should be labelled as GMO!