new kind of apple

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new kind of apple

Post by bookworm »

A brand new kind of apple was released to market a few months ago after over 20 years in development. It's called the Cosmic Crisp. I just learned about it yesterday, and I tried one today. Did any of you know about this thing? Have you tried one yet? If you did, what did you think about it?

If like me you were not aware this was even a thing until now, I'll give the story of how I accidentally found out about it and then ended up getting some. If you don't care about that and just want my first impressions when I actually ate one, skip down.

Yesterday I started getting a crazy craving for apples. By the evening it was really strong so I decided I needed to go get some in the morning and checked my grocery store's website to see what their current prices were. I then on a whim decided to also check the prices at my Walmart. I rarely get produce there, and have never gotten apples there before, but since they tend to have competitive prices on most things I thought it was worth checking. When I looked over their selection I saw that one particular kind of apple was priced ridiculously lower than any of the others. I thought okay what's the catch here, are these really gross or something? I checked the type and it was this Cosmic Crisp.

I didn't recognize the name so I searched it and was surprised to see it was something brand new. I had never heard anything about this before. Granted I don't make an effort to keep up on agricultural science, but it seems like I would have noticed something about this at least in passing, especially when I saw that everything written about it was saying 'This is scientifically the greatest apple ever! It's legitimately going to change the world!' Crazy high praise for a piece of fruit. They're usually really expensive too, so either the price listed was wrong or there was some kind of sale going on. I was going to get some kind of apples one way or the other, so I decided to go ahead and go there and if the price was wrong I would just get something else but if it was right I'd see what all the fuss was about for these new ones.

So I went out to Walmart today and sure enough they were on a temporary rollback for a super low price so I filled a produce bag because even if it didn't turn out to really be the best apple ever it was the best price I've ever seen. Just from the look though I was starting to buy into the hype. They're huge apples, and they just look like super tasty perfection it's really impressive. The real test though was to try one.

It was in fact, honestly, the best apple I've ever had. They have incredible size, absolutely perfect texture, wonderful flavor; genuinely the perfect apple!

I can also speak to the durability, which is supposed to be one of its features. I accidentally dropped one from standing height onto a very hard floor, and while the part that hit got somewhat mushed inside to my surprise the skin didn't break at all and when I cut into it the fruit wasn't even bruised just a bit crushed.

I don't know if this will really revolutionize the industry like people are claiming, but it's definitely a very impressive and very delicious apple. I'm going back quick to get several more before this sale ends.
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Post by Petrichor »

Sounds interesting! I've never heard of them before, but now I'm curious to try one! It looks like they sell them at Acme, so I'll have to check the next time I'm there.

I googled a few pictures of them, and visually, they resemble a cross between a Rome and a Honeycrisp. How would you describe the flavor, @bookworm? Sweet? Tart? Somewhere in between?
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Post by bookworm »

I'm really not sure how to specifically describe the flavor, sorry. All I can say is it tastes exactly like what I personally want an apple to taste like. Which is usually more on the sour side, but that's definitely not a word I'd use for these. There's some tartness, but not very strong, and I would actually use sweet as a descriptor also. So I guess it's truly a blend of both flavors. Which is part of what's supposed to make it so appealing.
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Post by Catspaw »

I used to work in a grocery store and would always pay attention to all the new products, both for work reasons and just out of curiosity. (That's how I tried Blue Pepsi. Spoiler alert: there's a reason it wasn't around for long.) ;) I am very curious about this new apple! I'll be looking for it the next time I go shopping. I love apples and an apple that's crisp and lasts well sounds very appealing.
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Post by Jonathan »

On a related note, if you guys ever find yourself in the Twin Cities in MN in the autumn, go visit the Apple House in Chanhassen. You can buy apples that are being developed. They've had good stuff before.
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Post by Catspaw »

That's cool! I've never heard of that before. I don't expect the be in the right place at the right time in the near future, but you just never know if I might manage to remember this one day!
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Post by bookworm »

Catspaw wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 6:09 pmI love apples and an apple that's crisp and lasts well sounds very appealing.
Oh yeah that's the other crazy thing about these; they reportedly stay good for up to a year if refrigerated! :o
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Post by Catspaw »

bookworm wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 10:32 am
Catspaw wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 6:09 pmI love apples and an apple that's crisp and lasts well sounds very appealing.
Oh yeah that's the other crazy thing about these; they reportedly stay good for up to a year if refrigerated! :o
Oh my. That almost sounds like too long - like, "What on earth did they do to create this apple?!" kind of long. ;) Some vegetables do stay good for a long time if properly refrigerated, but not usually fruit. It is impressive.
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Post by bookworm »

Catspaw wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 6:02 pmThat almost sounds like too long - like, "What on earth did they do to create this apple?!" kind of long.
I know, not sure how that kind of longevity came about when this was developed naturally. But I'm not a food scientist, I guess there's a way.


Anyway I went back to get more and they were all gone! But they are now on sale at my grocery store. Not quite as cheap as Walmart had been, but still an extremely good price, so I got another bag there. It is worth nothing that I see there can be considerable size difference; these ones are regular apple size where the ones in the first batch I got had been absolutely massive. The quality of the fruit is consistent though which is the more important thing.
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Post by Catspaw »

bookworm wrote: Thu Mar 04, 2021 9:46 am
Catspaw wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 6:02 pmThat almost sounds like too long - like, "What on earth did they do to create this apple?!" kind of long.
I know, not sure how that kind of longevity came about when this was developed naturally. But I'm not a food scientist, I guess there's a way.


Anyway I went back to get more and they were all gone! But they are now on sale at my grocery store. Not quite as cheap as Walmart had been, but still an extremely good price, so I got another bag there. It is worth nothing that I see there can be considerable size difference; these ones are regular apple size where the ones in the first batch I got had been absolutely massive. The quality of the fruit is consistent though which is the more important thing.
Yes, apple size doesn't matter to me either as long as the actual apple is good! I looked for these in my usual grocery store a couple of days ago and didn't see them, so either they don't have them yet or I missed them somehow. I'll keep my eyes open!
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Post by bookworm »

I figured I should give this followup, just to get all relevant information out there for the interested since I have it from experience. I put the second bag in the fridge to see what immediate effects it would have on the apples, and now that they've been in for a week I will say you should be aware that while it does preserve them, it also changes them. They are still very flavorful and very juicy, but the texture is considerably different now from how it was when I first brought them home. It's become much more spongy, there is really no crisp left to speak of. Which is unfortunate because that was one of the selling points of these particular apples.

So refrigeration is definitely an option if you have preservation concerns, like you bought a bunch and want to make sure they don't go to waste, but I wouldn't put them in there if you really don't have to. If you just get a few to try out, definitely just keep them out like a usual apple so you get the full experience you're supposed to have with the great crunch.
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Post by Bob »

Did you eat them right after taking them out of the fridge? I wonder if leaving them out for an extended period of time post-refrigeration would improve the texture at all.
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Post by bookworm »

Yes I did; the next one I have I'm going to leave out for a bit before eating to see if it changes anything.

Edit:

I took one out of the fridge and let it sit for about an hour before eating, and it did regain some crisp. Nowhere near reverting back to its prerefridgerated quality, but definitely better than eating it straight out of there.
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Post by Catspaw »

I actually almost always take an apple out of the fridge prior to eating it because I don't like biting into a cold apple. It's interesting that it made a difference like that.

I continue to be intrigued by these apples and checked out the produce department at my local Walmart, thinking maybe I just hadn't been to the right store yet, but they didn't have them.
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Post by bookworm »

Catspaw wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:41 pmI actually almost always take an apple out of the fridge prior to eating it because I don't like biting into a cold apple.
I've never kept apples in the fridge before. I only did it with this second bag because it's specifically a thing with this specific type as noted previously. But if your normal routine is to refrigerate any you buy then I reiterate be sure to try at least one fresh from the store to get the intended eating experience.

Catspaw wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:41 pmI continue to be intrigued by these apples and checked out the produce department at my local Walmart, thinking maybe I just hadn't been to the right store yet, but they didn't have them.
I don't know how widely marketed they are yet. I got the impression that they were brand new to my stores and that's why they were having those sales, as an introduction. I'm not positive that's the case, but I had never noticed them in the varieties available before.
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Post by Patterson »

Cosmic Crisps have actually been in stores for a few years out here in the Northwest. They had a really small release at first and originally cost about $5 apiece! I learned about them in 2017, before their release, in an agriculture newspaper my grandpa gets. They were developed mostly by Washington State University. It's really nice that they're actually affordable now, since they're a really good apple. They taste really sweet but more of a fruity type of sweet and less like a sugary type of sweet like honeycrisps. Another more obscure apple you should try if you can find it is Opal apples. Those are an uglier looking apple, but they taste amazing.
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Post by Catspaw »

That's so cool! Thanks for the info, Patterson. Maybe they're still not available everywhere and that's why I can't find them yet. You sound like quite the apple expert. :D
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Post by Patterson »

Catspaw wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 7:45 pm You sound like quite the apple expert. :D
Not really, I just get to read agriculture stuff once in a while. As for Opal apples, we've just found them in stores before and really liked them. Thanks though!
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Post by Catspaw »

Patterson wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 8:07 pm
Catspaw wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 7:45 pm You sound like quite the apple expert. :D
Not really, I just get to read agriculture stuff once in a while. As for Opal apples, we've just found them in stores before and really liked them. Thanks though!
That's neat. I used to work in a grocery store and I miss getting to read the magazine that would come every few months with info about new products and food shopping trends. I guess I need to take up reading about agriculture now!
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Post by Danadelfos »

I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for Opals/Cosmic Crips! I went to an orchard in Maine a couple years ago and I think they had 20 - 30 varieties. It was fun picking through and trying to figure out which were my favorite. (I think there were maybe 15 varieties in season when we were there)
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