4 ms·

Honeycrisp and SweeTango – Apple Breeding, Branding, and Trademarking

13 points by dpflan 11y ago

dpflan 11y ago
Also, here is a Planet Money episode about this: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/05/27/410085320/episode-627-the-miracle-apple http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/05/27/410085320/episo...
ccurtsinger 11y ago
I grew up in MN and always loved Honeycrisp, but after relocating I was surprised to hear people describe them as tasteless or mealy. It turns out they vary a lot depending on growing region. Cold hardy apples produce very different fruit in warmer climates. I have heard this is a big part of why the SweeTango brand has been limited to a small number of growers in select regions. Minor correction for the title: "SweeTango" has just one 'T' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SweeTango http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SweeTango)
- dpflan 11y ago
  Thanks for pointing out the typo - I've fixed the title now!
- dpflan 11y ago
  I think the idea of keeping apples to their proper growing climate is a crucial point: these new tasty apple discoveries occur in the UMN orchard, and once selected, a branded apple really will do well on the market if its quantity is constrained and only grown by a few farmers. So, with the UMN orchard as ground zero for the apple discoveries, it would seem that farmers nearer to the orchard have a huge advantage with regard to actually taking an apple from lab orchard to farm to market. Tainting the identity of the Honeycrisp for example because it was grown in the wrong climate would be something any farmer growing Honeycrisps would want to prevent, else risk the bad impression and lower sales.
colinbartlett 11y ago
Honeycrisp are easily the best apples I've ever tasted. Which makes me wonder how we ate so many Red Delicious when I was a kid, because they taste -- as the article said -- like sawdust.
- specialist 11y ago
  The Red Delicious of your youth was probably a lot better. I loved Golden Delicious, but now can barely stomach them. I don't understand how a cultivar degrades over time. A buddy of mine comes from an apple growing family. He explained the decline to me, which I barely understood. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Delicious https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Delicious Plus the best of the bunch get exported, so we're eating the rejects.

13 points by dpflan 11y ago

Also, here is a Planet Money episode about this: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/05/27/410085320/episode-627-the-miracle-apple http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/05/27/410085320/episo...

ccurtsinger 11y ago

I grew up in MN and always loved Honeycrisp, but after relocating I was surprised to hear people describe them as tasteless or mealy. It turns out they vary a lot depending on growing region. Cold hardy apples produce very different fruit in warmer climates. I have heard this is a big part of why the SweeTango brand has been limited to a small number of growers in select regions. Minor correction for the title: "SweeTango" has just one 'T' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SweeTango http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SweeTango)

dpflan 11y ago
Thanks for pointing out the typo - I've fixed the title now!
dpflan 11y ago
I think the idea of keeping apples to their proper growing climate is a crucial point: these new tasty apple discoveries occur in the UMN orchard, and once selected, a branded apple really will do well on the market if its quantity is constrained and only grown by a few farmers. So, with the UMN orchard as ground zero for the apple discoveries, it would seem that farmers nearer to the orchard have a huge advantage with regard to actually taking an apple from lab orchard to farm to market. Tainting the identity of the Honeycrisp for example because it was grown in the wrong climate would be something any farmer growing Honeycrisps would want to prevent, else risk the bad impression and lower sales.

colinbartlett 11y ago

Honeycrisp are easily the best apples I've ever tasted. Which makes me wonder how we ate so many Red Delicious when I was a kid, because they taste -- as the article said -- like sawdust.

specialist 11y ago
The Red Delicious of your youth was probably a lot better. I loved Golden Delicious, but now can barely stomach them. I don't understand how a cultivar degrades over time. A buddy of mine comes from an apple growing family. He explained the decline to me, which I barely understood. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Delicious https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Delicious Plus the best of the bunch get exported, so we're eating the rejects.