apple orchards

Washington state farmers grow 70 percent of the country’s apples, but this year there’s a new apple on the tree, says NPR. For the first time anywhere, growers are planting a variety known as Cosmic Crisp, named after the yellow, star-like flecks in its flesh.

"Americans have been falling hard for new apples," says the New York Times. Three recently developed varieties - Ambrosia, Honeycrisp and Jazz - are in the top 10 for sales and were the only ones to record a sales increase in 2014. Mainstays such as Red Delicious and McIntosh slumped. Fruit breeders are creating new varieties with names such as SweeTango, SnapDragon and Cosmic Crisp.

Apple orchards in New York state, with only a handful of weekends to sell this year's crop, lure customers with pony rides, "bounce houses," cider doughnuts, "wines and crafts, as well as weekend events that bear little connection to their agricultural heritage," says the New York Times.

Cosmic Crisp is a new variety of apple developed by Washington State University and should appear in orchards in 2017, says the Associated Press.