Cosmic Crisp Apple

Malus domestica 'Cosmic Crisp'

fruit

Cosmic Crisp is the next-generation apple bred at Washington State University: a 1997 cross of Enterprise and Honeycrisp released to growers in 2017 after 20 years of trials. The bright red fruit with white lenticel speckling has firm crisp juicy flesh, balanced sweet-tart flavor, and the remarkable ability to stay fresh for up to 12 months in cold storage with no loss of texture or flavor.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Chives — Sulfur compounds discourage aphids and may suppress apple scab around the drip line
• Comfrey — Mineral-mining mulch that returns potassium to surface roots
• White Clover — Living mulch that fixes nitrogen and feeds pollinators
• Yarrow — Hosts hoverflies and parasitic wasps that hunt codling moth

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Apple scab →

  Rake fallen leaves in autumn, prune for airflow, and consider sulfur sprays in wet springs

• Codling moth →

  Hang pheromone traps to time controls, bag young fruit, pick up drops weekly

• Fire blight →

  Avoid heavy nitrogen, prune blighted shoots 12 in below cankers, disinfect tools

• Plum curculio →

  Apply kaolin clay at petal fall and pick up early drops

🌾 Harvest & storage

Cosmic Crisp ripens in October. WSU recommends letting fruit hold on the tree until the background green shifts to pale yellow and seeds turn dark brown. The flavor actually improves with 1 to 2 months of cold storage as starch converts to sugar. Cosmic Crisp is the longest-storing modern apple; properly cold-stored fruit retains quality for up to a year.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

About 52 calories per 100 g with 2.4 g fiber, 5 mg vitamin C, and 107 mg potassium. The firm, dense texture is what lets Cosmic Crisp survive extended cold storage without becoming mealy, and as with all apples the skin carries most of the fiber and antioxidant polyphenols.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

Eat the flesh, not the seeds. Apple and pear seeds contain amygdalin, a cyanide-releasing compound. Swallowing a seed or two is harmless, but do not deliberately eat or crush the seeds or cores in quantity.