Honeycrisp

Last updated
Malus pumila
Honeycrisp-Apple.jpg
Honeycrisp apple
Species Malus pumila
Hybrid parentage Keepsake × MN1627
Cultivar MN1711
Marketing names Honeycrisp
Origin Flag of the United States.svg Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, 1960

Honeycrisp (Malus pumila) is an apple cultivar (cultivated variety) developed at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station's Horticultural Research Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Designated as MN1711 in 1974, patented in 1988, and released in 1991, the Honeycrisp, once slated to be discarded, has rapidly become a prized commercial agricultural product, as its sweetness, firmness, and tartness make it an ideal apple for eating raw. [1] The advent of the Honeycrisp marks a turning point in the history of the apple industry. [2] It is now the official state fruit of Minnesota. [3] A large-sized Honeycrisp contains about 116 kilocalories (490 kJ). [4]

Contents

TPepin Heights Orchards delivered the first Honeycrisp apples to grocery stores in 1997. [5] The name Honeycrisp was trademarked by the University of Minnesota, but university officials were unsure of its patent status in 2007. [6] The US patent for the Honeycrisp cultivar expired in 2008, although patents in some countries will not expire until as late as 2031. [6] Patent royalties had generated more than $10 million by 2011, split three ways by the University of Minnesota between its inventors, the college and department in which the research was conducted, and a fund for other research. [7] [6]

Genetics

U.S. Plant Patent 7197 and Report 225-1992 (AD-MR-5877-B) from the Horticultural Research Center indicated that the Honeycrisp was a hybrid of the apple cultivars Macoun and Honeygold. [1] However, genetic fingerprinting conducted in 2004 concluded that neither of these cultivars is a parent of the Honeycrisp. It found that one parent was a hybrid of the Keepsake (itself a cross of the Frostbite (MN447) and the Northern Spy) [8] while the other was identified in 2017 as the unreleased variety designated MN1627 by the University of Minnesota. The grandparents of Honeycrisp on the MN1627's side are the Duchess of Oldenburg and the Golden Delicious. [9]

The Honeycrisp was not developed for high yield, a long shelf life, or ease of transport, but rather for taste, a combination of sweetness and tartness, and its signature crispness. [10] It has larger cells than most other apple cultivars, a trait correlated with juiciness, as larger cells are more prone to rupturing instead of cleaving along the cell walls; this rupturing effect is likely what makes the apple taste juicier. [7] [11] The Honeycrisp retains its pigment well and has a relatively long shelf life when stored in cool, dry conditions. [12]

However, it is a demanding variety for growers and its taste fades after a long period in storage. In order to remedy these defects, breeders have been searching for hybrids that not only appeal to consumers but are also less costly for farmers to cultivate and last longer in storage without losing its taste. [13] By the 2020s, about half of the new apple varieties available for sale in the United States and Canada are progeny of the Honeycrisp. [14] The University of Minnesota crossed Honeycrisp with another of their apple varieties, Minnewashta (brand name Zestar!), to create a hybrid called Minneiska (brand name SweeTango), [15] released as a "managed variety" to control how and where it can be grown and sold. [7] Washington State University created the Cosmic Crisp as a cross between Honeycrisp and Enterprise apples. It is intended to have the texture and juiciness of the Honeycrisp, and the late-ripening behavior and long storage of the Enterprise. [16] The Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA) developed a hybrid of the Honeycrisp and the Fuji, called the EverCrisp. [17] There is also the SugarBee, which results from open pollination between the Honeycrisp and an unknown variety discovered in Minnesota in the early 1990s. [18]

Agriculture

Honeycrisp apple flowers are self-sterile, so another apple variety must be nearby as a pollenizer in order to get fruit. Most other apple varieties will pollenize Honeycrisp, as will varieties of crabapple. [19] Honeycrisp will not come true when grown from seed. Trees grown from the seeds of Honeycrisp apples will be hybrids of Honeycrisp and the pollenizer. [1]

Young trees typically have a lower density of large, well-colored fruit, while mature trees have higher fruit density of fruit with diminished size and color quality. [20] Fruit density can be adjusted through removal of blossom clusters or young fruit to counteract the effect. [20] Flesh firmness is also generally better with lower crop densities. [20] Bitter pit disproportionately affects Honeycrisps; typically 23% of the harvest is affected. [21]

International growth

A Honeycrisp apple orchard in Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada (2009) Honeycrisp apple orchard.jpg
A Honeycrisp apple orchard in Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada (2009)

As a result of the Honeycrisp apple's growing popularity, the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada, spent over C$1.5 million funding a five-year Honeycrisp Orchard Renewal Program from 2005 to 2010 to subsidize apple producers to replace older trees (mainly McIntosh) with newer higher-return varieties of apples: the Honeycrisp, Gala, and Ambrosia. [22] [23] By the late 2010s, these have become the three most popular varieties in Canada, taking away the market share of the Red Delicious. [24] The Honeycrisp in particular has been credited with reviving the apple farms of this province, bringing in multiple times more money per bin than older varieties, such as the McIntosh or Cortland apples. [25] Some Nova Scotia farmers even managed to export Honeycrisp apples to the United States. [26]

Apple growers in New Zealand's South Island have begun growing Honeycrisp to supply consumers during the US off-season. [27] The first batch of New Zealand-grown Honeycrisp cultivars being introduced to the North American market have been branded using the "HoneyCrunch" registered trademark. [28] [29]

In the early 2000s, American farmers started replacing the Red Delicious in their orchards with newer cultivars, including the Honeycrisp, [30] which soon became one of the most popular apple varieties in the United States. [13] [31] The Honeycrisp overtook the Golden Delicious as the fifth most grown variety in 2018. [32] Production data from the US Apple Association shows that its popularity continues to rise during the mid-2020s. In 2025, the Honeycrisp accounted for 12% of the American apple market, behind only the Gala (16%) and Red Delicious (13%). [33] Many consumers know the Honeycrisp by name, and at pick-your-own orchards, it and its progeny, such as the EverCrisp, Rosalee, and Ludacrisp, draw a lot of customers. [2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Patent PP07197 – Apple tree: Honeycrisp". Google Patents database. Google Inc. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 Crudele, Lindsay (September 24, 2024). "The tyranny of the Honeycrisp, 'the apple we love to hate'". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on September 24, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Headed to the apple orchard? Try these 8 recipes". NBC News. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  4. ↑ "Nutrition Facts". December 2016. Archived from the original on 2022-07-05.
  5. ↑ "20 things you didn't know about Minnesota's famous Honeycrisp apples". Star Tribune. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  6. 1 2 3 Olson, Dan (21 October 2007). "Honeycrisp apple losing its patent protection, but not its appeal". MPR News. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Public Radio . Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Seabrook, John (21 November 2011). "Crunch: Building a better apple". The New Yorker.
  8. ↑ Cabe, Paul R.; Baumgaten, Andrew; Onan, Kyle; Luby, James J.; Bedford, David S. (2005). "Using microsatellite analysis to verify breeding records: A study of 'Honeycrisp' and other cold-hardy apple cultivars" (PDF). HortScience. 40 (1): 15–17. doi: 10.21273/HORTSCI.40.1.15 . ISSN   2327-9834.
  9. ↑ Howard, Nicholas P; Weg, Eric van de; Bedford, David S; Peace, Cameron P; Vanderzande, Stijn; Clark, Matthew D; Teh, Soon Li; Cai, Lichun; Luby, James J (2017-02-22). "Elucidation of the 'Honeycrisp' pedigree through haplotype analysis with a multi-family integrated SNP linkage map and a large apple (Malus×domestica) pedigree-connected SNP data set". Horticulture Research. 4 (1): 17003. Bibcode:2017HorR....417003H. doi:10.1038/hortres.2017.3. ISSN   2052-7276. PMC   5321071 . PMID   28243452.
  10. ↑ Shanker, Deena; Mulvany, Lydia (8 November 2018). "The curse of the Honeycrisp apple". Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  11. ↑ Mann, H; Bedford, D; Luby, J; Vickers, Z; Tong, C (2005-10-01). "Relationship of Instrumental and Sensory Texture Measurements of Fresh and Stored Apples to Cell Number and Size". HortScience. 40 (6): 1815–1820. doi: 10.21273/HORTSCI.40.6.1815 . ISSN   0018-5345.
  12. ↑ "The story of Honeycrisp apple". Minnesota Harvest. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  13. 1 2 Karp, David (November 3, 2015). "Beyond the Honeycrisp Apple". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  14. ↑ Drost, Philip (November 16, 2024). "These aren't your Granny's Smiths: Why we have more apple varieties than ever before". Cost of Living. CBC News.
  15. ↑ "SweeTango". University of Minnesota Apples. University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  16. ↑ Scribner, Herb (August 13, 2019). "The Cosmic Crisp may be your new favorite apple. Here's what it tastes like". Deseret News. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  17. ↑ Prengaman, Kate (10 October 2018). "EverCrisp: A club for everyone". Good Fruit Grower. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  18. ↑ Nelson, Andrea (28 December 2015). "SugarBee causes a buzz". Good Fruit Grower. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  19. ↑ "List of polinnation partners for Honeycrisp apple trees". Orange Pippin Fruit Trees. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  20. 1 2 3 "'Honeycrisp' apples grown in Nova Scotia" (PDF). Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. April 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 June 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  21. ↑ Nosowitz, Dan (3 November 2017). "America's New Favorite Apple, the Honeycrisp, Has a Problem". Modern Farmer . Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  22. ↑ Bain, Jennifer (28 November 2007). "The darling of the apple world". thestar.com. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  23. ↑ "Orchard renewal program receives additional funding (press release)". Nova Scotia, Canada website. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  24. ↑ Ward, Rachel (November 20, 2018). "Goodbye, Red Delicious: Canada's favourite apples are now sweeter, more juicy". CBC News. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  25. ↑ McMillan, Elizabeth (October 10, 2017). "'Complete turnaround': Honeycrisps reviving Nova Scotia apple farms". CBC News. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  26. ↑ "McIntosh apples out in N.S., Honeycrisp in". CBC News. October 12, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  27. ↑ Country Calendar
  28. ↑ Fresh Plaza: Pepin Heights Orchard announces import HoneyCrunch apples from NZ
  29. ↑ "Lunds and Byerlys Blog: Minnesota grown...from New Zealand?". Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
  30. ↑ Keenan, Katherine (June 16, 2022). "Red Delicious Apples Weren't Always the Worst". New England Today. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  31. ↑ Apple varieties by US Apple Association
  32. ↑ Krader, Kate (December 14, 2018). "The Search for the Next Honeycrisp Apple". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on March 22, 2025. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  33. ↑ "2025-26 Apple Production Will Reach Nearly 279 Million Bushels". U.S. Apple Association. August 15, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
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