“Explosively crisp!” is how the experience of eating a Honeycrisp apple is marketed. The Honeycrisp was designed to have several exceptional qualities that make it one of the most successful apples in a crowded marketplace: sweetness balanced by tartness; an exceptionally crisp, firm texture; winter hardiness in cold climates; and a long shelf life and good pigment retention in cool, dry conditions. It took approximately 30 years for this apple to make it to market, beginning life as a cultivar at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station’s Horticultural Research Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Designated in the early 1960s as MN 1711, and released in 1991 as U.S. Plant Patent 7197, the Honeycrisp, once nearly abandoned, has become a prized commercial commodity, spawning several successors and rivals.