We had our very first crop of Keepsake apples at Lapacek’s Orchard this season.  The verdict is in – it’s definitely a good one!  It’s crunchy, hard, juicy and sweet.  While it’s not the prettiest apple – the flavor and texture makes up for the aesthetics. 

The Keepsake apple also happens to be a parent to the Honeycrisp (Keepsake x MN1627)

I had to see how it work out in applesauce to continue my great “Saucesational Analysis” experiment.

So, I peeled, cored and sliced up a few keepsake apples and put them in my min slowcooker.

After just over an hour, I had a chunky, juicy, sweet applesauce.  They cooked very similarly to the honeycrisp (which makes sense) – the apple holds its shape but all the juice comes out and it’s amazing!  Definitely mix this one up well before you eat and enjoy … if you just get a chunk of apple the flavor will be absent as it’s all in the juice at the bottom of the pot.