How the ‘Cosmic Crisp’ Apple Is Still Striking a Nerve with Growers | Hacker News Reader

How the ‘Cosmic Crisp’ Apple Is Still Striking a Nerve with Growers

growingproduce.com

14 pointsNoRagrets14 comments

Apple rankings nailed it on the cosmic crisp: https://applerankings.com/cosmic-crisp-apple-review/

I especially agree with the criticism of this apples thick skin.

Buckle up though, it’s almost SweeTango season! Do yourselves a favor my friends and try this apple!

So much produce seems to have been optimized for shelf life, appearance, bulk, and pest resistance vs. taste or nutritional value.

The thick skin of the Cosmic Crisp probably helps with the former although it is probably high in fiber.

I've almost given up on grocery store strawberries since they are terrible and are moldy anyway.

On the other hand, I kind of like the current iterations of sweet jalapeños that seem to have flavor and not just fire.

What is up with strawberries indeed. I will have to try some jalapeños now— not my usual fare but they sound exceptional. Thanks for the tip!

Honestly, cosmic crisp is one of my favorite Apples due to the length it lasts, how crisp/snappy it is, and just generally being consistently good and juicy.

I’ve never seen a SweeTango but if I do I’ll have to give it a try.

As an aside, I once went to the Apple Festival in Cambridge (UK) where several hundred varieties were available and the queue for the, erm, apple store, was around the block. The choice was amazing but it’s unrealistic to offer consumers so many often subtle choices and trade-offs.

I doubt the Cosmic Crisp will be orders of magnitude above any other apple but I’d like to try one, perhaps the next apple festival.

“[the apple may only be grown in Washington state, one grower remarked:] If they don’t release it outside of the state, I can only hope it fails.”

What an awful thing to say.

Where I am, we have Bravo (aka Cripps Gem), Kanzi and Modi apples and I think they're all wonderful.

Modis are my favorite, they have perfect texture.

We've had Pink Lady apples (aka Cripps Pink) for a long time and I like them but they're definitely outclassed now.

It is in his self interest that it fails. Capitalism is founded on self interest- if he does not say that, then he is not acting according to capitalist values.

It is a great thing for him to say, unless you’re a communist.

I guess I'm a communist then.

Sad to know the world is too small for more than one kind of apple.

I'm a fan of the Opal, and it's pretty much the only one I'll buy now. Not overpriced like Cosmic and Honeycrisp.

Not a fan of Cosmic Crisp. Pink Ladies are pretty good, though.

If you like a pink lady try honeycrisp. I had one and never looked back.

When the DNA of apples is intellectual property...

also, what is the disadvantage of licensing these seeds like every other industry?

They are licensed...to Washington State growers. It's not so different than pharma companies that patent a drug and sell it exclusively until the patent expires, or they license rights to other manufacturers. The apples were developed at Washington State University, a state institution, so it's to the university's and the state's advantage to let Washington State growers have exclusive rights to grow the apples (for at least 10 years, according to the apple's web page FAQ...so at least until 2027).

Disclaimer: I'm a WSU graduate, though my degree couldn't be much further away from agriculture. And I enjoy Cosmic Crisps, and hope they make the Red Delicious extinct, which is one of the things they were designed to do.

Sour grapes among apple growers?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com