Honeycrisp™ (Malus domestica 'Honeycrisp') is an apple cultivar developed at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station's Horticultural Research Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. The Honeycrisp eventually became a prized commercial commodity, as its sweetness, firmness, and tartness make it an ideal apple for eating raw. The Honeycrisp also retains its pigment well, and boasts a relatively long shelf life when stored in cool, dry conditions.

US Plant Patent 7197 as well as Report 225-1992 (AD-MR-5877-B) from the Horticultural Research Center indicate that the Honeycrisp is a hybrid of the apple cultivars Macoun and Honeygold. However, genetic fingerprinting conducted by a group of researchers that included those attributed on the patent later determined that neither of these cultivars is a parent of the Honeycrisp, but that the Keepsake (another apple developed by the same U of M crossbreeding program) is one of the parents. The other parent has not been identified.

In 2006, the Minnesota state legislature made the Honeycrisp apple the state fruit.

See also

• Horticulture

Apples