Keepsake

Keepsake is an offspring of MN 447 and Northern Spy introduced by the University of Minnesota in 1979.  It was recently discovered to be one of the parents of the sensational Honeycrisp. The medium-sized fruit is almost entirely overlaid with stripes and a wash of very deep red. The light yellow, fine-textured flesh is hard, crisp, juicy and sweet. The all-purpose apple has excellent aromatic flavor, but you may need to wait for it to fully develop until at least a month after picking. David Bedford of the Minnesota Horticultural Research Center said, “The completely unique flavor percolates up your nose.… If you can’t stand the looks, just close your eyes when you eat it!” The aptly named fruit keeps until late spring in the root cellar.