From the Living Museum
Honeycrisp
- Origin
- University of Minnesota; released 1991 (Keepsake × MN 1627, a Duchess of Oldenburg × Golden Delicious selection, by DNA)
- Era
- Released 1991
- Type / use
- Dessert · Fresh eating
History & Stories
The most commercially successful American dessert apple of the last several decades. Large red fruit with explosive crispness, juiciness, and complex sweet aromatic flavor. Unique for the combination of modern commercial dominance with genuinely high eating quality and extreme cold hardiness. Susceptible to fire blight and bitter pit in some sites, but its texture and flavor remain benchmarks.
Folklore & Name
University of Minnesota release (1991). The most successful modern American dessert apple. Name combines the honeyed quality with the extreme crispness. Parentage includes Keepsake.
Digging into the History
Below my own notes, here is what the old fruit books and today’s collections record about this apple, kept apart from the stories people tell.
What we know
Honeycrisp was released by the University of Minnesota in 1991 1. Its early life was nearly its last. A 2017 study in Horticulture Research explains that the cross was "likely made around 1960," and the seedling was selected as MN 1711 in 1974. "The original tree had been discarded due to winter injury in 1977." Four grafted copies in a test orchard "had also been flagged for removal." They were spared by David Bedford, who had just taken over as breeder, because the trees stood in a bad spot and had never had a fair trial 2.
Its recorded parents, Honeygold × Macoun, turned out to be wrong. DNA studies "verified" Keepsake as one parent and identified the other as an unreleased Minnesota selection, MN 1627, whose own parents were Duchess of Oldenburg and Golden Delicious 2.
The competing accounts
- University of Minnesota's original records, as reported in the 2017 Horticulture Research study 2: Honeygold × Macoun.
- The same 2017 DNA study 2: Keepsake × MN 1627, an unreleased selection whose parents were Duchess of Oldenburg and Golden Delicious.
Most likely (our judgment, not a certainty): Keepsake × MN 1627. The DNA evidence directly contradicts the old records, which the breeders themselves have since corrected.
What we think: stories & traditions
Saved by a second look. The story of the spared trees is well documented 2, and it's a reminder of how close many great apples come to the brush pile. A breeder who had just arrived decided they deserved a fair trial, and one of the best-selling apples of our time survived.
Old roots. The University of Minnesota notes that Duchess of Oldenburg, a Russian apple brought to Minnesota in the 19th century, appears in the pedigrees of 27 of its 28 apple releases, including Honeycrisp 3. So this very modern apple carries a strong thread of old Russian hardiness.
Sources
- James J. Luby, "The University of Minnesota is home to one of the oldest, continuous fruit breeding programs in North America," Table 1, University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy. conservancy.umn.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/d3d32bef-c102-480b-86fb-f1a78117986c/content
- N.P. Howard et al., "Elucidation of the 'Honeycrisp' pedigree through haplotype analysis...," Horticulture Research 4: 17003 (2017). www.nature.com/articles/hortres20173
- University of Minnesota Department of Horticultural Science, "The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree" (16 March 2022). horticulture.umn.edu/news/apple-family-tree
Curious about Honeycrisp?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.