Honeycrisp apple has developed a core following
Consumers and growers have been singing the praises of the delectable fruit variety developed 16 years ago at the University of Minnesota.
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Introduced in Wisconsin about 15 years ago, Honeycrisp have helped save apple orchards that might otherwise have gone out of business. Honeycrisp command two to three times the retail price of other varieties and only grow well in the Midwest, helping eliminate competition from Washington state.
Morry Gash, Associated Press
EGG HARBOR, WIS. - Signs advertising Honeycrisp apples dot the Door County peninsula, where travelers and local families eagerly pony up $2 per pound or more for the prized fruit first created in Minnesota.That's still cheaper than in Milwaukee, where Barb Lucking paid $3.25 for two Honeycrisp at a farmer's market. They're firm, she said, with "sweetness, but not tartness."I'll buy these all the time, where I'll pass up the other ones," said Lucking, 55.Honeycrisp have been a boon to apple growers, some of whom might otherwise have gone out of business. They command two to three times the retail price of other varieties and grow best in the Midwest, giving growers here an edge on competition from Washington state, which dominates the apple market."It's been a very good thing to help keep the apple industry alive in the Midwest," said Doug Shefelbine, who has 25 acres of Honeycrisp on his orchard in Holmen near La Crosse. "The growers finally said, 'At least now, we're finally able to make some money and keep going.'"The miracle of the Midwestern apple industry was nearly lost.Four test trees at the University of Minnesota suffered damage during a harsh winter and had been marked to discard when apple breeder David Bedford began work there nearly three decades ago."A little bit on a lark, I decided to undiscard it," Bedford said. "A couple years later, they started bearing fruit, and I was pleasantly pleased with the quality of it. I guess it's just one of those little nuances of fate."Apples' flavor comes from slight variations in their sugar and acid levels. Honeycrisp is considered a "balanced" apple, something between a tart, acidic Granny Smith and the sugary, but sometimes bland Red Delicious.But more important than its flavor, growers say, is Honeycrisp's texture. Many liken it to watermelon in the way the fruit breaks when bitten, releasing a spurt of juice. Bedford calls it "explosively crisp."The cells in a Honeycrisp apple are unusually large, twice as big as in some other varieties, Bedford said. That allows each cell to hold more water, which it releases in a burst when cracked.The University of Minnesota's apple breeding program released Honeycrisp in 1991. Early interest was mostly in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, partly because of the university's location and partly because the tree does best in areas that have a cool early autumn with a significant drop in temperature at night.The price of processing apples, those sold mostly to restaurants and bakeries, hasn't changed for decades, said Michael Evans, of Evans Brothers Fruit Co. in Frankfort, Mich. Northern Spy sold for 13 cents per pound in 1973, and his company is getting 12.75 cents per pound now, he said.They can make four or five times as much by selling Honeycrisp to a wholesaler."In this area of the country, probably nothing is doing better than Honeycrisp for the grower," Evans said.
