新品种苹果即将问世

新品种苹果即将问世

When you head to the grocery store this December, look for a new shiny red apple in the produce department. This fruit is being rolled out with incredible fanfare and some pretty big promises.

当你今年12月去杂货店的时候，在农产品区找一个闪亮的红苹果。这种水果正以惊人的声势和一些相当大的承诺推出。

It took 20 years of research to create the Cosmic Crisp apple. (Photo: PVM/Wikimedia Commons)

According to official marketing materials, the Cosmic Crisp is "the apple of big dreams" and "the apple the world has been waiting for." It promises perfect flavor, crisp texture, a juicy interior, striking color and it should be naturally slow to brown.

根据官方营销资料，宇宙脆是“大梦想的苹果”和“世界一直在等待的苹果”。它承诺完美的味道，脆的质地，多汁的内，引人注目的颜色，它应该是自然地缓慢到棕色。

School lunchboxes have been looking for you forever, Cosmic Crisp.

学校的午餐盒一直在找你，宇宙脆。

The Cosmic Crisp apple is the result of two decades of breeding and research at the Washington State University (WSU) Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center. A cross between Enterprise and Honeycrisp apples, Cosmic Crisps taste both sweet and tart, according to the official website. The apples promise to be both good for eating fresh and ideal for cooking and baking.

宇宙脆苹果是华盛顿州立大学果树研究和推广中心20年培育和研究的成果。据官方网站称，宇宙薯片介于企业薯片和甜脆苹果之间，尝起来既甜又酸。苹果既适合新鲜食用，又适合烹饪和烘焙。

Because the apples are grown with higher levels of sugar and acidity, they are slow to brown when cut. Cosmic Crisps supposedly will maintain their texture and flavor in storage for more than a year.

由于苹果生长在含糖量和酸度较高的环境中，所以切的时候，苹果会慢慢变成棕色。据推测，宇宙薯片在储存中可以保持一年多的口感和风味。

The apple has particularly visible pores on its dark skin. And these spots reminded someone in a focus group of twinkling stars in the night sky. That observation inspired the apple's trademarked name.

苹果的黑色表皮上有明显的毛孔。这些斑点让人想起夜空中一群闪烁的星星。这一发现启发了苹果的商标名。

The apple tested so well with consumers, reports the magazine, that WSU worked with commercial nurseries to produce saplings as quickly as they could. Originally, they planned to begin with 300,000 trees, but demand from growers grew to 4 million. The first trees were made available to eager growers via lottery.

据该杂志报道，苹果在消费者中测试得非常好，以至于WSU与商业苗圃合作，尽可能快地生产树苗。起初，他们计划从30万棵树开始，但种植者的需求增长到了400万棵。第一批树木是通过抽签的方式提供给热心的种植者的。

With this impressive interest and an equally notable $10.5 million marketing budget, it's no wonder Cosmic Crisp is turning heads. But will the taste live up to the hype?

凭借令人印象深刻的兴趣和同样引人注目的1050万美元营销预算，难怪Cosmic Crisp会吸引眼球。但它的味道会像宣传的那样好吗?

Knute Berger got a bite when he was writing about the apple for Crosscut. He describes it convincingly:

当Knute Berger为Crosscut写关于苹果的文章时咬了一口。他的描述令人信服:

"The Cosmic Crisp ticked every box: good looking, with a nice crunch and powerful snap, a beautiful sweet-tart balance, tons of juice trickling down the chin. I wasn't overwhelmed by, say, hints of blueberry or a floral nose — the kinds of complexities wine tasters go on about. But it was one of the best apples I've ever eaten. In fact, my sample was the essence of apple."

“宇宙脆片在每个盒子里滴答作响:好看，嘎吱嘎吱的一声，有力的咔嚓声，美妙的甜挞平衡，成吨的果汁顺着下巴流下来。”我并没有被蓝莓或花香的气息所淹没——品酒师们一直在谈论的那种复杂的香气。但这是我吃过的最好的苹果之一。事实上，我的样品就是苹果的精华。”

Gala and Red Delicious, don't get too comfortable.

春晚和红烧肉，不要太舒服。