SweeTango® apple

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.

Visitor reviews

• 24 Oct 2024 

  Crisp and pleasantly acidic, but it tastes sugary like cotton candy with a sugary aroma, not like an apple. I like apples that taste like--an apple. This is a one-note wonder. Disappointing.
• 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!

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Where to buy fresh fruit

The following orchards grow SweeTango:

United States

• Michigan

  • Evans Brothers Fruit Company, Frankfort
  • Robinette's Apple Haus and Winery, Grand Rapids

• Minnesota

  • Apple Tree-O, Delano
  • Big Woods Orchard, Winona
  • Center Creek Orchard, Fairmont
  • Cider Flats Apple Orchard, Hinckley
  • Fireside Orchard and Gardens, Northfield
  • Gilby's Nursery and Apple Orchard, Aitkin
  • Lee Peterson Tree Farm Apple Orchard, Becker
  • LuceLine Orchard, Watertown
  • Madden's Orchard, Waterville
  • Maple Hills Orchard, Frazee
  • Maple Run Orchard, Finlayson
  • Minnetonka Orchards, Minnetrista
  • Nelson's Apple Farm, Webster
  • Sogn Valley Orchard, Dennison
  • Sweetland Orchard, Webster

• New York

  • Whittier Fruit Farm, Rochester

Canada

• Nova Scotia

  • Sarsfield Farms Inc., Canning

References

• SweeTango description  2010
  Author: University of Minnesota
• SweeTango website  
  Author: Next Big Thing
  Information and publicity from the growers' cooperative for SweeTango.