Frostbite™
Frostbite™"CHILLED SUGARCANE"™
The Frostbite™ Apple (MN 447 variety) is an unique novelty apple for a special niche. It is extremely cold hardy, small in size, unusual in appearance, and very sweet. People either love or dislike Frostbite™. It is great for cider or people with a real sweet tooth.
Frostbite™ offers a distinctive late season option.
Description
Intense Sweet Taste
The Frostbite™ apple packs a punch. It's almost tangy, very sweet, and juicy. Biting into a Frostbite™ is almost like biting into a piece of sugarcane. Savoring its juice tastes almost like molasses melting in your mouth.
Small, Late Season Sweet
By its late harvest season, Frostbite™ fruit is only about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. At maturity, it has a stripped maroon-red skin over a gold-yellow background. Its firm and juicy, cream colored flesh, delivers small, intensely sweet bites. This apple is great for making cider.
Growing & Storing Cautions
Frostbite™ has a tendency to get russeting (cracks around the top of the apple), which can attract wasps and other pests. The cracks also make the apple susceptible to mold during its relatively short storage life.
Rarely Bitten By Cold
The Frostbite™ apple is extremely cold hardy. It has performed for decades in USDA zone 3b (-30 to -35°F). This durability allows Frostbite™ to thrive in northern climates where very few good quality apples can grow.
Apple Breeding Star
Frostbite™ has been a key apple in the U of M's breeding program since the 1920's. It's extreme cold hardiness and unique flavor make it an excellent apple to cross with other varieties. Frostbite™ is a parent to Keepsake and Sweet 16 apples and a grandparent to Honeycrisp.
Growing Availability
Nurseries began grafting trees in 2008 and trees were ready for sale in 2009 for 2010 planting. Mature fruit became available to the public around 2014.
Characteristics
| Features: | Unique, novelty apple. Unusual size, appearance and flavor. |
| Fruit Size: | Small to medium. 2.2 to 2.6 inches (5.6 - 6.6 cm) |
| Skin Color: | 80 to 95% maroon red over yellow-gold background. Striped pattern of coloration. Often dappled appearance. Sometimes russeted. |
| Flesh Color: | Cream to light yellow. |
| Flavor: | Sweet. Aromatic. Very unusual. Flavor has been compared to sugar cane and molasses. |
| Texture: | Firm, but crisp and juicy |
| Storage Life: | 3 to 4 months in refrigerated storage (34 to 37°F) |
| Hardiness: | USDA zone 3b (-30 to -35°F), USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map |
| Vigor: | Low to medium |
| Form: | Spreading |
| Production: | Annual |
| Ripening Season: | Late. Late September to mid-October. Usually 1 to 3 weeks after Honeycrisp. |
| Culinary Uses: | Cider. Desserts. Dried chips. Fresh eating. |
| Origin | Malinda open pollinated |
| Interesting Facts | Grandparent of Honeycrisp. Parent to Keepsake and Sweet 16 Apples. Frostbite™ name entered by 8 independent Minnesota consumers in naming contest |
Frostbite™ is a trademark of the University of Minnesota.
