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All about apples, pears, plums, and cherries - and orchards where they are grown

SweeTango® apple

Malus domestica
Deep red coloration over a yellow breaking background. Crisp, juicy, sweet fruit.

USDA identification images for SweeTango

The identification paintings in the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection span the years 1886 to 1942.

    Citation: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705.

    Parents and other ancestors of this variety


    Visitor reviews

    • 18 Sep 2023 
      Elongate shape, bright orange / red over yellow, complex aromatic flavor, early bearing with Ginger Gold and before early Gala in NY Hudson Valley. Excellent early apple for fresh markets.
    • 16 Feb 2023 
      The sourest apple I've ever eaten. Crunchy but nowhere near the crunchiest. I will be cooking the rest of the ones I bought. And I will never buy them again.
    • 13 Sep 2018  PA, United States
      I just bought my first SweeTango chopped it up and topped my salad with it instead of croutons, because I love crunch. I have to say this is the best apple I have ever added to my salad. Light, crispy, sweet with a little tang. Love it!
    • 11 Oct 2017  MINNESOTA, United States
      Eaten raw and fresh off the tree, SweeTango are hard to beat. I consider them a fall treat. However, they are pretty poor as cooking apples. I tried making a crisp of them, and not only didn't they soften, they were a bit tough. All the nuance of the raw apple disappeared when I cooked them. They also don't keep. They get mealy and bland after a week on the counter, two in the root cellar. When they first came out, I had hoped to get a tree when the commercial license came off them. But they really are not great for a home orchard. They don't keep, and they are a one trick pony. I will, however, purchase a few early in the season to enjoy fresh because for that purpose they are very good.
    • 19 Oct 2015  FL, United States
      I'm very picky about my apples. I love crisp apples that are sweet but I also enjoy tangy too that's why I typically eat a Granny Smith. I get nervous trying different apples because I hate waxy, mealy or soft apples. I was picking apples when this cute, bright red apple caught my eye.Th.e sign said something about biting into heaven into wasn't a lie! I took one bite and knew this was my favorite apple. I LOVE this apple!
    • 11 Oct 2015  NY, United States
      Our picking orchard had a few test trees for us to pick and we found these very tasty. Juicy, crisp, and just enough complexity for a sweet apple. Raw apples for me can be harder to digest, so I will see if they hold up in baking. I generally get spys, crispins or fujis for eating raw and baking. (I slice, like for pies, and they hold their shape when baked. I'll also have to see if they hold up well in cool storage without getting mealy. Right now, they're extremely crisp and juicy.
    • 27 Dec 2013  SC, United States
      This is my favorite supermarket apple. It has the best combination of sweetness, tanginess, and crunch. I look forward to them every September.
    • 08 Dec 2013  CO, United States
      Absolutely godly. Believe the hype. It's my new favorite apple along with the Honeycrisp. For me, apples are all about texture, texture, texture and the Sweetango has it down. The flavor is sweet, but not as sweet as the Honeycrisp or Jazz, which is all I can say about it. One caveat: You absolutely have to grab them in the beginning of the season (I got my first batch in September), otherwise the quality of the apples goes down considerably when you hit October. After that, they turn into over-priced Galas.
    • 22 Oct 2013  FL, United States
      The first SweeTango apples I bought this season were fantastic--crisp and sweet. My recent purchases have been disappointing, with almost 3/4 of the apples being soft, mealy, and bland.
    • 14 Oct 2012  TN, United States
      Wonderful crispy, juicy, sweet-tart apple. Bought several yesterday at Earthfare and had a large one for lunch- half with peanut butter half plain. It held its own and was wonderfully floral with a bit of spice. well worth the price.
    • 29 Sep 2012  GA, United States
      Picked two of these up from Kroger yesterday and tried the first one this morning for breakfast. The first bite was a tangy surprise! For some reason I expected it to be a sweetie. I tried the rest of the slices with cinnamon and thin sliced cheddar and was in complete heaven.
    • 25 Sep 2012  MN, United States
      Tried this apple for the first time at a local orchard and am really impressed with the sweet taste and crunch. Im lucky to be able to drive a few miles to get some more. I am not happy that I cant buy and plant a tree yet considering my tax dollar paid to make this apple possible.
    • 20 Sep 2012  NORTH CAROLINA HENDERSON, United States
      i really love this apple chrisp sweet tart every thing you want in an eating apple have not tried to cook it or bake it they get eatin to quickly one is just not enough
    • 13 Sep 2012  AZ, United States
      I bought one of these from my local Walmart for $1.16 a pop. A bit expensive, but I was thoroughly intrigued so I had to buy it. It's wonderfully crisp, sweet, and floral/tart with a touch of spice. I can't exactly taste the spice.. but I swear, every time I take a bite I can smell the slightest hint of cinnamon. Lovely Fall apple!
    • 02 Feb 2012  FLORIDA, United States
      I hadn't even heard of this apple until this year, when I found it appearing only at the local Walmart stores, but then only for a VERY brief period of about two weeks. It was I believe, $2.29 per lb. I have to say that it's certainly one of the very best apples of the sort which suit my palate, I believe I have ever tasted. It was both a quite sweet and moderately tart apple, yet which had a very nearly perfect balance of the sugar and acid. Additionally, this apple had a strong but pleasant, nearly floral sort of apple aroma, so many more common apples regrettably lack. I highly recommend this apple, whatever the cost. What's the point of eating two cheap apples you don't really enjoy so much, when you can eat one for even twice the price, which is as heavenly to eat as this one?
    • 11 Jan 2012  INDIANA, United States
      I absolutely LOVE this apple. I enjoy the honeycrisp but this is better. I've not tasted the zestar so I cannot compare. The only problem is that it is impossible to find the sweet tango. I ran across it quite by accident at one of our local stores and it was only available for about 2 months.
    • 29 Oct 2011  WI, United States
      SweeTango is certainly a good apple like its parents. But by the same token, I don't find that it's any more exciting to be worth the high expense compared to either of its parents, the sweet Honeycrisp and the more tart Zestar, both of which are true "new classics" in their own right, and I think, even better than their offspring.
    • 20 Oct 2011  WISCONSIN, United States
      This is a glorious sweet, crunchy and tartish apple..hence the name tango... It has a tang. Ifyou like honeycrisp you will adore sweet tango. Expensive, however. This is an eating apple wonderful on a cheese plate with a good cheddar.
    • 01 Oct 2011  AZ, United States
      Tried them this week when they came out at my local store. I thought Honeycrisp was my favorite, but this apple is wonderful. Almost had a hint of sugar in every bite. I loved it!

    Tree register

    United States

    Spring blossom records for this variety

    2012 season

    • 20th April  2012  - tree owned by Chuck in Worthington, United States

    Record your blossom dates in our Fruit Tree Register - more >>.


    Origins

    • Species: Malus domestica - Apple
    • Parentage: Honeycrisp x Zestar
    • Originates from: Minnesota, United States
    • Introduced: 2005
    • Developed by: University of Minnesota

    Identification

    • Country of origin: United States
    • Period of origin: 2000
    • Developer: University of Minnesota

    Where to buy fresh fruit

    The following orchards grow SweeTango:

    United States


    Canada




    References


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