Washington apple growers hope the Cosmic Crisp, a new breed of apple that can supposedly stay fresh for 10 to 12 months in the refrigerator, takes over the global market. Farmers have planted more than 12 million Cosmic Crisp trees in the state so far, betting more than $40 million on the apple's success.
The breed has a dark red skin speckled with white flecks, which led to it's starry-themed name. It's supposed to be crispy, juicy, and sweet. The department of horticulture at Washington State University started developing the Cosmic Crisp in 1997, when the state's apple growers – who primarily grew Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples – began to face tough competition from sweet breeds like the Pink Lady and the Royal Gala.
In this Feb. 12, 2016, file photo, Kate Evans, a lead scientist at Washington State University's Tree Fruit Research & Extension Center in Wenatchee, Wash., tastes a slice of a Cosmic Crisp apple, a new trademarked and focus group-tested apple variety developed by the WSU lab over the last 20 years. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Starting December 1, the Cosmic Crisp apples made their way onto grocery store shelves. They're expected to make their global debut in the beginning of 2020 – for now, the brand's social media pages are monitoring where the fruits can be purchased for $5 a pound – as a "premium" apple variety, that's more than twice as expensive as standard varieties, like Honeycrisp and Gala apples.
So far, they've been spotted at stores in Washington. Excitement has been building in Washington for years now, and farmers had to enter a random lottery to get their hands on the first Cosmic Crisp seedlings in 2017. Booming sales led to more than 12,000 acres of Cosmic Crisp trees today. It's said to be the biggest and fastest growing endeavor in apple history.