For those looking for a crisp tasting apple that is on the tart side, you may have found your new favorite apple with the Crimson Crisp. Learn all about this variety in this post.
Finally, a New Crisp Tart Apple!
As a guy who loves trying different varieties of everything, I have been loving all the new varieties of apples that have hit the stores in the last 5-10 years.
I have seen a similar trait in nearly all of these new apples – they are all mostly sweet. What about the love for the tart apple fan?
I do appreciate a great sweet apple; it is nice to have something with some tartness to it as well. Apples that are too sweet like Ambrosia do not do anything for me. My oldest loves the tart apples, so she is always asking me to get them.
When it comes to modern, new varieties of apples the one that I have found that is the best new variety that happens to be tart too, is the Crimson Crisp. Let me share with you what I have learned about this apple by picking them up at orchards in the Midwest, picking them myself in New York, and buying them at a farm market in Oregon.
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History of the Crimson Crisp Apple
It took a long time from when the Crimson Crisp apple was first bred until it was available to be grown commercially. It was first developed in the 1970s and it wasn't until 2006 that the apple was released for growers. That is a long time in the development process. You don't get rich quick by developing a new apple variety!
Crimson Crisp was developed by the well-known PRI co-operative. This is a co-op that combines the resources of Purdue, Rutgers, and Illinois universities. When Rutgers joined the Big Ten, this became a completely Big Ten co-op!
This co-op has brought many other apple varieties, including Prima, Suncrisp, Liberty, and Pixie Crunch.
As for the parents of Crimson Crisp, we really don't have any named parents. It was created as the result of breeding together different apples. Sometimes the apples that are used in breeding never become established apples themselves. I have heard that somewhere in its background might be Golden Delicious, Jonathan, Rome, and possibly even a crab-apple variety.
🎧 If you want to learn more about history of this apple and its future outlook, check out my episode of the Apples from Yesterday to Tomorrow podcast, where I talk about Crimson Crisp. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any of the episodes and my weekly What Apple to Eat Today newsletter.
When are They Harvested?
Back in 2021, I picked Crimson Crisp apples, along with SnapDragon apples in the Hudson River Valley at DuBois Farms. The date I picked them was September 25th. I have also bought them as early as September 7th in Oregon. So depending on where you are you can expect to find them sometime during the month of September.
Crimson Crisp is known as a variety that can be picked over a long period of time. They can be ready and on the tree for a few weeks without losing eating quality, making them a great choice for a u-pick apple.
What Do They Taste Like?
Here is my review of Crimson Crisp apples (Rating Scale 1-10)
| Crispiness | 9 |
| Tartness | 8 |
| Apple Flavor | 7 |
| Sweetness | 5 |
| Juiciness | 8 |
Tart apple fans that are sick of all the new sweet apples are going to be happy with this variety. My oldest loves tart apples and she took one bite of these and was completely won over. They have a great tart flavor with a hint of spice but with some sweetness to them as well so they aren't overwhelmingly tart. The apples will sweeten up more in storage.
When you slap the name "crisp" onto an apple, it better be so. Crimson Crisp certainly lives up to the name, it is a very firm apple variety and it is still plenty juicy.
How Do Crimson Crisp Compare to Honeycrisp Apples?
With crisp in its name it is natural to want to compare this apple to the popular Honeycrisp apple. The biggest noticeable difference is that Crimson Crisp apples are more tart. Both apples are juicy, but I would give a slight edge to Honeycrisp there. I think Crimson Crisp would be a closer match to a Honeycrisp offspring - the Cosmic Crisp apple. But I think Crimson Crisp actually has more depth of flavor overall.
Are Crimson Crisp Apples Good for Cooking or Baking?
As I often do with apple varieties, I test out a single apple to see how well it does as a baking apple. I get out my Single Serving Air Fryer Apple Cobbler recipe and use it to make a small cobbler. As you can see in the photo above, the apple really held its shape well when baked. It bakes up rather firm. And its tart flavor was the perfect complement to the sweet topping. I don't necessarily think the flavor improved with baking the apple as I have seen it do with others like Rhode Island Greening, but it is still a good apple to use in baking recipes.
Where to Buy
With all the good things this apple has going for it, it surprised me quite a bit that they aren't one that you commonly find in grocery stores. But they are a variety that is really popular among small orchards and u-pick operations. As I indicated at the start of this post, I have encountered this apple in many places throughout the country.
Here is a list of orchards that I know have Crimson Crisp apples sometime during the season:
- Kiyokawa Family Orchards (Parkdale, OR)
- DuBois Farms (Highland, NY)
- Quarry Hills Orchard (Berlin Heights, OH)
- Wall Brothers ("the Barn") (Spanish Fork, UT)
- Allred Orchards (orchard in Elk Ridge, UT, store in Provo, UT)
- Door Creek Orchard (Cottage Grove, WI)
- Shenandoah Valley Orchards (Timberville, VA)
- Tuttle Orchards (Greenfield, IN)
- Fishkill Farms (Hopewell Junction, NY)
- White House Fruit Farm (Canfield, OH)
- Cullipher Farm (Virginia Beach, VA)
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