Intergalactic Experience

Going to the market to pick up some apples.  Pretty straightforward activity that I reckon everyone in America has done at some point or another.  But have you ever thought about that in reverse?  That is to say, the apple going to market to pick up some buyers?  Chances are, unless you are steeped in the fruit industry, you haven’t.  For most folks, apples represent nature (right off the tree), health (an apple a day keeps the doctor away), simplicity (A is for apple), versatility (available year round), and culture (as American as apple pie).  The average Joe and Jane may be surprised to learn about the amount of time, thought and hard work that goes into the creation, experimentation and development of a new and marketable apple variety.  Which brings me round to the Cosmic Crisp, a new apple which is on its way to the market to pick up some buyers.

Shelley, Aileen and I recently had the opportunity to sample this new apple which is not yet available to the general public.  Despite its absence in the marketplace, we were surprised to learn that there was considerable buzz surrounding this particular pomme.  Under a bright blue sky in the chilly shadow of an apple warehouse, we moved into a slow huddle around an apple bin as it was gently placed on the ground in front of us by a forklift operator at Legacy Fruit.
Large and red, with a subtle spotted pattern reminiscent of a star dotted sky (it’s cosmic!) we selected one apple from this year’s harvest and one from last.  Lovely firm, tooth crisp, juicy, with the right combination of tart to sweet, the cosmic crisp really is a wow apple to eat (and word is, they don’t brown easily after being cut and left out).
Another of its asset qualities is its ability to store well.  Just to prove the point we sliced into last year’s apple, too.  It’s terrific.  Still firm with loads of flavor, maybe with slight decrease in juiciness that we wouldn’t have noticed had we not been doing a side by side tasting.  We’re impressed.

Rewind to the late 90’s.  One romantic evening at Washington State University, a Honeycrisp apple and an Enterprise apple are crossed to form what will affectionately come to be known as WA-38.  But there is more to the story than producing a tasty apple.  An apple tree is a living thing, and there are many factors that have to be looked at closely before it can be considered viable for large-scale growth and distribution.  Trees need to mature before they bear fruit.  This can take years.  Can it grow well in every growing district in the state of Washington?  How do they stand up to threats in the environment?  What does the fruit look like after being in storage?   How do they handle, do they split or bruise easily?  Is the flavor profile and texture appropriate and consistent? It goes on and on. The only way to answer those questions is over time.  If it can pass muster in the long term, it keeps moving forward, if it can’t, (and there are many that can’t) it’s back to the drawing board.  WA-38 was looking great, so WSU hired Proprietary Variety Management (PVM) to help with the process of commercialization, and in 2014, 17 years after that initial cross, it was given a true name: Cosmic Crisp—named so for its star dotted pattern and its parent, the Honeycrisp.  The first crop to be ready for consumers will be out in 2019.  Think about that.  Over 20 years to get one apple from that first pollen cross to the produce department at the supermarket.

There was so much interest in Cosmic Crisp from growers, WSU held a drawing to see who would get the first available trees in the ground in the spring of 2017.  The first 10 years, availability will be exclusive to Washington State growers in North America.  In Europe, select farms in Northern Italy will have growing rights to establish the Cosmic Crisp trade mark in the international arena.

We at rooted are surrounded by ag and have much farming knowledge, but there is an endless amount to know.  We find ourselves filled with wonder often at the things we learn when out and about exploring all the things that go on in the Yakima Valley.  We originally connected with this story because a WSU experimental research orchard will be sharing these as-yet unavailable apples with the St. Joseph/Marquette School at their upcoming Fresh Catch Dinner.  We wanted to know more.  What is so special about these particular apples? Why are they unavailable? We heard they don’t brown, is that true? Is it meant to stay exclusive or will we be seeing more of them in the future? That’s how we ended up at Legacy Fruit.  It was truly delightful standing outside around the wooden apple bin sampling many different kinds of experimental varieties in addition to the Cosmic Crisp.
Our impromptu warehouse tasting felt akin to swirling wine in a tasting room. To be able to compare and contrast the flavor variations and nuances from apple to apple was something we’d never slowed down to experience before.  Speculating their potential home in the marketplace someday was thought provoking.  Even though currently unavailable to consumers, we are content knowing that they will be picking us buyers up at the market very soon.

*If you are interested in trying Cosmic Crisp before 2019, you can do so at the St. Joseph/Marquette School’s Fresh Catch Dinner, on Saturday, November 5, in Yakima.