Take a bite of your firstAmbrosia and your expectations for what an apple should be will change forever. Crisp, honeyed and exceptionally juicy, this prized newcomer is what produce industry experts hope for when they talk about raising the bar — and numbers show that shoppers feel similarly. In 2014, Ambrosia sales jumped over 47 percent, moving the apple into the top 10 selling varieties in the U.S. for the first time. This retail feat is even more impressive when you consider Ambrosia's fortuitous start: The first tree was discovered in British Columbia just a little over 20 years ago, when a chance seedling cropped up among an orchard ripe with Jonagolds. Against all odds, the seedling transformed into a healthy apple tree, and in the early 1990s, it bore its first fruit. Today, Ambrosia apples are grown exclusively by the McDougall family in the heart of Washington's Columbia River Valley. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the fall Ambrosia harvest, from the nursery all the way to the kitchen table.

Growing an apple tree isn't as simple as planting a seed — especially with an accidental hybrid like Ambrosia. In order to replicate the apples that first enchanted Canadian growers some 20 years ago, orchardists rely on a technique called budding. During the process, a bud from a mature Ambrosia tree is grafted onto a generic rootstock — it could be any rootstock, even the root of a crabapple tree. The bud is held in place by a small plastic wrap to ensure successful adherence. Wraps applied in August will come off on November 1. In late February, orchardists will cut the root above the grafted bud, allowing the first Ambrosia shoot to sprout from the top. It's common to have as many as 500,000 trees in a nursery at one time, but it takes a lot of tender love and care — two whole years' worth, to be specific — to ensure that the young trees make it to a mature orchard. Roots that were planted in the nursery during the spring of 2015 will be ready for the mature orchard by spring of 2017.

Just like people, apple trees experience their own awkward phase between adolescence and adulthood. Trees that were planted a year ago are approaching maturity, but they aren't quite yet ready to bear fruit. They'll need a full second season to grow healthy roots and branches. These junior trees are moved to a different plot, where they’ll have more room to flourish. Think of it as an apple middle school.

Legacy Orchards, the McDougalls’ latest endeavor, is home to roughly 600 acres of plantable ground. At the moment, just 30 of those acres are dedicated to Ambrosia. Next year, that number will jump to 120 acres in order to meet the rising demand. To maintain healthy trees, orchardists rely on trellises (which prevent overcrowding and support the weight of the fruit) plus a nontoxic clay mixture called kaolin to prevent sunburn (yes, apples are susceptible to sunburn too!). Once a mature tree is planted, it's used for only 20 years. Any fruit it bears beyond that point tends to take on a woody taste, and of all the apple varieties, Ambrosia — meaning "food of the gods" in ancient Greek mythology — has a high reputation to uphold.