The newest sensation from Washington State University has a name.
Introducing Sunflare, the university’s newest apple, formerly known as WA 64. Earlier this year, a public competition with almost 15,000 entries gave the crop a name.
It is a spherical, sweet, tart apple with a pink hue that is firmly crisp and ornamented with blush over yellow.
According to a news release from Jeremy Tamsen, director of the WSU Office of Commercialization, Sunflare satisfies all the physical attributes that inspired the apple’s moniker. In contrast to all the red apples on the market, these pinks, oranges, and yellows stand out.
The variety’s winning name was submitted by Ryan Escarcega, a 49-year-old Centralia chef and food service salesperson. According to the university, he was motivated by the vivid colors of the apple as well as the strong solar storms that caused the northern lights to appear in North America during the spring.
“I spent a lot of time staring at the apple’s picture, imagining what it would taste like,” Escarcega remarked. It truly caught the eye. I thought there was a good connection between the name and the colors. And the product’s growth is entirely dependent on the sun.
Sunflare, a cross between Honeycrisp and Cripps Pink (often referred to as Pink Lady), was first bred in a Wenatchee orchard in 1998 and has since been identified by a variety of numbers and letters.
Bruce Barritt, a former apple breeder who started the university breeding experiment in 1994, stated that Sunflare was created by pollination and was not altered or manufactured in any way.
Compared to Cripps Pink, Sunflare is a small to medium apple that is significantly crispier and more delicious while being slightly less firm. However, the institution claims that its sweetness and acidity fall somewhere in the middle of those of its two parents.
With the apple itself arriving in markets in 2029, it is anticipated that producers will have access to trees in 2026 that will be exclusively available to Washington growers for at least ten years.
The Cosmic Crisp (previously WA 38), a WSU apple cultivar that was made available to producers in 2016 and introduced to the market in 2019, follows Sunflare.
The university has submitted trademark applications for the Sunflare brand name and is the owner of a patent on WA 64. According to WSU, a committee will assist in creating a trademarked logo, color scheme, and brand aesthetic.
Scientists from the university will keep researching and exchanging ideas about how to effectively develop WA 64. Future WSU apple varieties and research will be funded in part by royalties from the sale of the trees, budwood, and eventually the fruit itself.
In addition to receiving a box of Sunflare apples as the naming contest winner, Escarcega will also receive other WSU-themed gifts like WSU spice rubs, a charcuterie board engraved with the winning name, and Cougar Gold cheese.
Everyone wants to know the name, of course, he said. I can tell them now at last.
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