The ‘Surprize’ apple looks deceptively normal from the outside – its yellowy-orange exterior gives no indication of the surprise waiting inside. Take one bite though, and its pale-pink flesh is bound to leave you shocked and confused for a second.

The new variety of apples is currently available in 120 Tesco stores across the UK, priced at £1.75 ($2.82) for a pack of four. According to Tesco fruit product developer Ciara Grace, “This apple is a real head-turner on account of its unusual pale orange and yellow skin. But the real fun starts when they take a bite and see the unique pink flesh inside. It was named Surprize because of the fantastic reaction it gets.”

Photo: Tesco

The unique pink-fleshed fruit was developed by expert award-winning apple breeder William Barnett at his 1,000-acre farm in Tillington, near Hereford, England. Although he grows regular varieties – 3,500 tonnes of cider apples, 500 tones of juicing apples, and 3,000 tonnes of dessert fruit – the man is actually on a special mission to develop as many interesting types of apples as possible.

“Britain can be proud of its 4,000 or so different apple varieties but what I’ve set out to do is create something a little different for apple lovers,” he said. “My apple mission is to develop better and more interesting varieties of English apple. I set off on that mission 10 years ago and since then have helped develop several popular new varieties including the Red Windsor, Tillington’s Delight, and the Rosette Raspberry Ripple.”

Photo: Tesco

So the idea of an apple with pink flesh is exciting, but how does it taste? Ciara Grace tells us that it’s ‘delicious, with a sweet taste and very juicy but firm flesh’. Well, that’s pretty much everything one wants from an apple!

This isn’t the first time featured unique fruit varieties on Oddity Central. Previously, we wrote about Grapples – apples that taste like grapes – and this fruit breeder who made grapes that taste like cotton candy.

Photo: Tesco

As it turns out, ‘Surprize’ apples have actually been around for a while now. According to Wikipedia, the variety began circulating around Europe sometime before 1831,  when it was reported growing in the London Horticultural Society Gardens. It has since been cultivated in various countries and has been used to create other pink-fleshed apple varieties, like ‘Pink Pearl’.

Sources: Tesco, Telegraph.co.uk