Haskap variety 10 of 11
Keiko
Get to know this variety and where it fits in the usual ripening order at Camerise St-Gabriel.
Usual ripening order at our orchard: 10 of 11
Five quick facts
- Usual period
- Late season
- Flavour
- Sweet-tart
- Texture
- Firm and resistant to handling
- Best use
- Freezing and processing
- Picking
- Ripe fruit is fairly easy to detach
The breeder describes medium-sized oval berries with a sweet-tart flavour.
Published characteristics come from Oregon. At our orchard, Keiko appears near the end of the usual order, before Giant’s Heart.
For a later-season visit, check the picking status: “late in our order” does not guarantee a date or berries to pick.
GROWN AND OBSERVED HERE
What we observe at Camerise St-Gabriel
These practical notes come from our own plants, harvests and visitor experience. They can vary with ripeness, weather and the season.
- Keiko ripens near Beauty, generally a little later in our order. Its berries can suggest a heart shape, but they are usually a little smaller than Beauty berries.
- The berries are firm, hold up well to handling, and detach fairly easily when ripe.
- Its profile seems close to Beauty in our experience. We especially favour it for freezing and processing; for fresh eating, Aurora and Beast stand out more to us.
Published descriptions and background
Origin and identity
Keiko comes from Japanese plant material and was selected in Oregon by Maxine Thompson. A plant patent describes its shape, texture and storage trials; these are breeding data, not a guarantee for harvests here.
Taste and texture
Descriptions point to a sweet-tart balance and a berry with less juice than some other haskaps. Its exact taste still depends on the ripeness of the berry picked.
Fruit and picking
The patent describes oval, medium-firm berries that stay attached before harvest yet can be picked without tearing the flesh. At our orchard, Keiko comes near the end, before Giant’s Heart.
Fresh or prepared
The patent mentions fresh, frozen and processed uses. Its cold-storage trials are promising, but we do not promise a specific shelf life at home: that depends on harvest, packaging and temperature.
What we will continue to observe here
To document at our orchard: the exact ripening gap with Beauty across seasons, quality after thawing, and condition after several days in a refrigerator.
The ripening order comes from our orchard observations. Varieties may overlap, and weather changes timing, flavour and berry size. Published measurements come from other growing sites and do not indicate what can be picked today.
Sources and context
Published fruit descriptions come from the sources below; they are not measurements made at our orchard. The usual ripening position is our own observation.