The Parents of the Cosmic Crisp Apple

In this newsletter, I am sharing about the time I was able to find the parents of the Cosmic Crisp apple to do a full family comparison!

Something I enjoy doing is trying to find the parents of different apple varieties and bringing them all together for a tasting. This is easier with some of the newer modern apples like Evercrisp (whose parents are Honeycrisp and Fuji), SweeTango (whose parents are Zestar and Honeycrisp), or Wild Twist (whose parents are Pink Lady and Honeycrisp). So, pretty much any apple that was created from Honeycrisp, and I’ve got a running total of 20 now.

Another one of the Honeycrisp offspring, the Cosmic Crisp, has a parent I don’t often come across: Enterprise. It’s been many years since I had one—long before I had my first Cosmic Crisp. Last month, I found some Enterprise apples at a Natural Grocers store in Oregon. I also picked up some Cosmic Crisp and Honeycrisp to host a family reunion!

It’s interesting to just look at the apples and notice the similarities. The spots you see on a Cosmic Crisp apple are more pronounced on the Enterprise. The Cosmic Crisp, which is mostly red, isn’t always a solid red, unlike the Enterprise sample, which can be entirely red.

Now, let’s get to the most important part: how do they compare in flavor? The Enterprise apple is a tart-sweet variety with good flavor. The first time I had it was in Michigan, back in October. I worked at Whole Foods Market, and we would get local apples in, with Enterprise being one of them. At first, I thought they were too tart and not very interesting in flavor. I later learned that they’re best after a month, when the acidity mellows and the flavor shines through. I definitely thought they tasted better in December.

One thing I will say is that the Enterprise apple wasn’t as crisp as either Honeycrisp or Cosmic Crisp. It felt more like Cosmic Crisp, with a bit better flavor but not quite as good texture. That Honeycrisp DNA really helped in that department!

• Learn about the new Aura apple that I just had for the first time this month. It’s the newest Honeycrisp cross.

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