Return to: U of M Home - Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station - College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences
The fruit breeding program at the U of M has introduced many apple cultivars since "Minnehaha" in 1920. "Haralson" followed in 1923. Honeycrisp, Zestar!®, SnowSweet®, and FrostbiteTM Apples are our most recent introductions.
Explosively crisp is the best description of a Honeycrisp Apple. One bite into the crisp flesh, and flavorful juices explode in your mouth. Consumers love this apple, not only for its flavor, but also because of its long storage life. Orchards benefit financially because this popular apple commands a premium price. The U of M development of Honeycrisp is honored as one of the top 25 innovations in over a decade by the 2006 Better World Report (PDF). This report, by the Association of University Technology Managers, recognizes significant academic research and technology transfer that has changed our way of life, and made the world a better place. Since it’s introduction in 1991, millions of Honeycrisp trees have been planted and are successfully producing excellent fruit. Honeycrisp, the most popular U of M apple to date, is the Minnesota State Fruit.
Zestar!® is a crunchy, juicy apple with a sweet-tart taste and hint of brown sugar flavor. Released to nurseries in 1999, being grown by more and more orchards throughout the Midwest and Northeast, Zestar!® will soon be more widely available and asked for by consumers because of its zesty taste.
The best feature of SnowSweet®, introduced in 2006, is its savory, sweet taste, with a slight tart balance and rich overtones. The second amazing characteristic of SnowSweet® is how slow it is to oxidize and turn brown when the apple flesh is cut and exposed to air. Nurseries are beginning to propagate SnowSweet® trees so that in future years orchards can grow these great apples for consumers.
The FrostbiteTM Apple is a unique novelty apple for a special niche. It is a small, extremely cold hardy, apple. FrostbiteTM packs a flavor punch. It’s almost tangy, very sweet, and juicy. Biting into FrostbiteTM is almost like biting into a piece of sugarcane. Savoring its juice tastes almost like molasses melting in your mouth.
SnowSweet® and Zestar!® are trademarks of the University of Minnesota.