December 20: CrimsonCrisp

2006, Purdue-Rutgers-Illinois

Unlike most apples that use “crisp” in their name, CrimsonCrisp doesn’t have a lick of Honeycrisp in it! Its lineage is completely different, which you can see in the gallery image below. There are well-known varieties in its family tree, to be sure, but the crispness of this apple resulted from a completely different approach than that taken by the U of M in developing Honeycrisp.

The goal of the Purdue-Rutgers-Illinois (PRI) apple variety breeding program was to develop scab-resistant varieties and, as you recall, apple scab is the primary fungal pest of apple trees.

So CrimsonCrisp is scab-resistant, which is just one of the many attributes it has going for it. It is also nearly as crisp as Honeycrisp, though perhaps harder? Earlier in the season I tried one of these and was disappointed in its bland flavor but now, I thought it tasted great and its hardness and crispness was still there. I especially liked the acid that seemed to be more prominent in the skin than in the flesh of the apple.

Its introduction in HortScience indicates a high brix (sugar) level, which is another nice attribute for a cidermaker.

Growing Notes

The Pomiferous site indicates that CrimsonCrisp is hardy to Zone 5 but it has loved growing here. You’ve hardly ever seen healthier trees. Its scab immunity means you don’t need to worry about fungicides and it doesn’t seem particularly susceptible to insect damage either.

I’ve also seen a mid-September picking date for these but I have consistently picked them in the latter half of October and reckon that they consistently ripen by October 15.