Just as inventors are forever trying to develop a better mousetrap, orchardists are constantly attempting to create tastier, longer-lasting, more aromatic and colorful apples.
Back in 1963, Fred Hough, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Rutgers University Horticultural Research Farm in New Brunswick, N.J., crossed the Cortland apple with a highly aromatic Cox’s Orange Pippin. They then crossed that hybrid with the well-known Golden Delicious.
The result, which was patented by Rutgers, is the highly productive, tasty and mildly aromatic NJ 55 apple, which is now grown around the United States as SunCrisp® .
It is especially popular with operators of u-pick operations and roadside stands.
A yellow apple with a pretty red blush, firm flesh, a mild subacid taste, the SunCrisp® typically stores for up to six months. Best of all, apple lovers say it has a more complex and interesting flavor than its parent, the Golden Delicious, and is less likely to bruise.
This story was originally published in 2007.
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