honeycrisp

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.{{cite web | title=Patent PP07197 – Apple tree: Honeycrisp | work=Google Patents database | publisher=Google Inc. | url=https://patents.google.com/patent/USPP7197 | access-date=22 January 2014 }} 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){{cite journal |last1=Cabe |first1=Paul R. |last2=Baumgaten |first2=Andrew |last3=Onan |first3=Kyle |last4=Luby| first4=James J. | last5=Bedford |first5=David S. |title=Using microsatellite analysis to verify breeding records: A study of 'Honeycrisp' and other cold-hardy apple cultivars |journal=HortScience |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=15–17 |year=2005 |doi=10.21273/HORTSCI.40.1.15 |issn=2327-9834 |url=http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/40/1/15.full.pdf |doi-access=free }} 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.{{Cite journal|last1=Howard|first1=Nicholas P|last2=Weg|first2=Eric van de|last3=Bedford|first3=David S|last4=Peace|first4=Cameron P|last5=Vanderzande|first5=Stijn|last6=Clark|first6=Matthew D|last7=Teh|first7=Soon Li|last8=Cai|first8=Lichun|last9=Luby|first9=James J|date=2017-02-22|title=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|journal=Horticulture Research|language=en|volume=4|issue=1 |pages=17003|doi=10.1038/hortres.2017.3|pmid=28243452|pmc=5321071|bibcode=2017HorR....417003H |issn=2052-7276}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Shanker |first1=Deena |last2=Mulvany |first2=Lydia |date=8 November 2018 |title=The curse of the Honeycrisp apple |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-08/the-curse-of-the-honeycrisp-apple |access-date=20 November 2018 |work=Bloomberg}} 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.{{Cite journal |last1=Mann |first1=H |last2=Bedford |first2=D |last3=Luby |first3=J |last4=Vickers |first4=Z |last5=Tong |first5=C |date=2005-10-01 |title=Relationship of Instrumental and Sensory Texture Measurements of Fresh and Stored Apples to Cell Number and Size |journal=HortScience |language=en |volume=40 |issue=6 |pages=1815–1820 |doi=10.21273/HORTSCI.40.6.1815 |issn=0018-5345 |doi-access=free}} The Honeycrisp retains its pigment well and has a relatively long shelf life when stored in cool, dry conditions.{{cite web |title=The story of Honeycrisp apple |url=http://www.minnesotaharvest.net/apple-varieties/honeycrisp/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015210543/http://minnesotaharvest.net/apple-varieties/honeycrisp/ |archive-date=15 October 2020 |access-date=18 January 2014 |publisher=Minnesota Harvest}}

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 are also less costly for farmers to cultivate and last longer in storage without losing its taste.{{Cite news |last=Karp |first=David |date=November 3, 2015 |title=Beyond the Honeycrisp Apple |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/dining/beyond-the-honeycrisp-apple.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230815200005/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/dining/beyond-the-honeycrisp-apple.html |archive-date=August 15, 2023 |access-date=February 18, 2025 |work=The New York Times}} By the 2020s, about half of the new apple varieties available for sale in the United States and Canada are progeny of the Honeycrisp.{{Cite news |last=Drost |first=Philip |date=November 16, 2024 |title=These aren't your Granny's Smiths: Why we have more apple varieties than ever before |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/new-apple-varieties-1.7383868 |work=CBC News |department=Cost of Living}} 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),{{cite web | title=SweeTango | work=University of Minnesota Apples | publisher=University of Minnesota | url=http://www.apples.umn.edu/SweeTango/ | access-date=18 January 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203023650/http://www.apples.umn.edu/SweeTango/ | archive-date=3 February 2014 | url-status=dead }} released as a "managed variety" to control how and where it can be grown and sold. 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.{{Cite web |last=Scribner |first=Herb |date=August 13, 2019 |title=The Cosmic Crisp may be your new favorite apple. Here's what it tastes like |url=https://www.deseret.com/2019/8/13/20801953/comic-crisp-apple-washington-state-university-wa-38 |access-date=December 17, 2020 |website=Deseret News}} The Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA) developed a hybrid of the Honeycrisp and the Fuji, called the EverCrisp.{{Cite web |last=Prengaman |first=Kate |date=10 October 2018 |title=EverCrisp: A club for everyone |url=https://www.goodfruit.com/evercrisp-a-club-for-everyone/ |access-date=2019-04-17 |website=Good Fruit Grower |language=en-US}} There is also the SugarBee, which results from open pollination between the Honeycrisp and an unknown variety discovered in Minnesota in the early 1990s.{{cite web|last1=Nelson|first1=Andrea|title=SugarBee causes a buzz|url=http://www.goodfruit.com/sugarbee-causes-a-buzz/|website=Good Fruit Grower|date=28 December 2015 |access-date=7 July 2017}}

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.{{cite web | title=List of polinnation partners for Honeycrisp apple trees | work=Orange Pippin Fruit Trees | url=http://www.orangepippintrees.com/pollinationchecker.aspx?v=1123, | access-date=22 January 2014 | archive-date=4 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050736/http://www.orangepippintrees.com/pollinationchecker.aspx?v=1123, | url-status=dead }} 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.

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. Fruit density can be adjusted through removal of blossom clusters or young fruit to counteract the effect. Flesh firmness is also generally better with lower crop densities.{{cite web | title='Honeycrisp' apples grown in Nova Scotia | date=April 2004 | publisher=Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada | url=http://smfarm.cfans.umn.edu/HC%20Handout%20April%2028,%202004.pdf | access-date=19 January 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100622015244/http://smfarm.cfans.umn.edu/HC%20Handout%20April%2028%2C%202004.pdf | archive-date=22 June 2010 | url-status=dead }} Bitter pit disproportionately affects Honeycrisps; typically 23% of the harvest is affected.{{cite news|last1=Nosowitz|first1=Dan|title=America's New Favorite Apple, the Honeycrisp, Has a Problem|url=https://modernfarmer.com/2017/11/americas-new-favorite-apple-honeycrisp-problem/|access-date=10 November 2017|work=Modern Farmer|date=3 November 2017}}

File:Honeycrisp apple orchard.jpg, 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.{{cite web | last=Bain | first=Jennifer | date=28 November 2007 | title=The darling of the apple world | work=thestar.com | publisher=Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. | url=https://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2007/11/28/the_darling_of_the_apple_world.html | access-date=19 January 2014}}{{cite web | title=Orchard renewal program receives additional funding (press release) | work=Nova Scotia, Canada website | url=https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20090408001 | access-date=19 January 2014}} By the late 2010s, these have become the three most popular varieties in Canada, taking away the market share of the Red Delicious.{{Cite news |last=Ward |first=Rachel |date=November 20, 2018 |title=Goodbye, Red Delicious: Canada's favourite apples are now sweeter, more juicy |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/apple-best-kind-canada-1.4911742 |access-date=February 18, 2025 |work=CBC News}} 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.{{Cite news |last=McMillan |first=Elizabeth |date=October 10, 2017 |title='Complete turnaround': Honeycrisps reviving Nova Scotia apple farms |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/honeycrisp-apples-nova-scotia-s-cash-crop-1.4346780 |access-date=March 30, 2025 |work=CBC News}}

Apple growers in New Zealand's South Island have begun growing Honeycrisp to supply consumers during the US off-season.[http://tvnz.co.nz/country-calendar/episode-17-crunch-time-3571053 Country Calendar] The first batch of New Zealand-grown Honeycrisp cultivars being introduced to the North American market have been branded using the "HoneyCrunch" registered trademark.[http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=96634 Fresh Plaza: Pepin Heights Orchard announces import HoneyCrunch apples from NZ]{{Cite web |url=http://www.lundsandbyerlys.com/Blog/Minnesota-grown-from-New-Zealand.aspx |title=Lunds and Byerlys Blog: Minnesota grown...from New Zealand? |access-date=2012-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711220801/http://www.lundsandbyerlys.com/Blog/Minnesota-grown-from-New-Zealand.aspx |archive-date=2012-07-11 |url-status=dead }}

In the early 2000s, American farmers started replacing the Red Delicious in their orchards newer cultivars, including the Honeycrisp,{{Cite web |last=Keenan |first=Katherine |date=June 16, 2022 |title=Red Delicious Apples Weren't Always the Worst |url=https://newengland.com/today/food/red-delicious-apple/ |access-date=February 23, 2025 |website=New England Today |language=en-US}} which soon became one of the most popular apple varieties in the United States.[http://www.usapple.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21&Itemid=21 Apple varieties] by US Apple Association The Honeycrisp overtook the Golden Delicious as the fifth most grown variety in 2018.{{Cite news |last=Krader |first=Kate |date=December 14, 2018 |title=The Search for the Next Honeycrisp Apple |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-12-14/the-search-for-the-next-honeycrisp-apple |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250322143956/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-12-14/the-search-for-the-next-honeycrisp-apple |archive-date=March 22, 2025 |access-date=March 30, 2025 |work=Bloomberg |language=en}} By 2024, the Honeycrisp accounted for 9.8% of the American apple market, behind only the Gala (17%), Red Delicious (12.3%), and Granny Smith (10%).{{Cite web |date=August 22, 2024 |title=2024-25 Apple Production Will Reach Nearly 260 Million Bushels |url=https://usapple.org/news-resources/2024-25-apple-production-will-reach-nearly-260-million-bushels |access-date=March 30, 2025 |website=US Apple Association}} 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. However, production data from the US Apple Association shows that its popularity might have reached a plateau by the mid-2020s.

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• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDShFasYq9M The Apple that Changed the World] (NPR Planet Money)

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