Mother Nature Delivers New, Sweeter Cherry Variety To Washington Grower

Get ready to taste the sweetest cherry to ever touch your lips.

The story behind the Orondo Ruby cherry is remarkable. It wasn’t created in a lab, but rather a gift presented by Mother Nature. Fourth generation grower Marcus Griggs first discovered the new variety on his family’s Washington orchard in 2008. He discovered a tree that yielded an entirely different variety from his other cherries. The new cherry matured earlier and tasted sweeter than the tree’s native variety.

Griggs rolled up his sleeves and went to work planting thousands of new trees to deliver Orondo Ruby to the masses. Now, those efforts are paying off. Chelan Fresh has a limited supply destined for a few select retail markets.

The Orondo Ruby has higher acidity and sugars than a Rainier or Bing, making it much sweeter. It has a crisper skin than its counterparts, and stores better and longer than most cherries. A 28-day storage test showed the Orondo Ruby had firmer skin, fewer blemishes and split less than other cherry varieties. That makes the Orondo Ruby the perfect healthy treat for your summer sweet tooth.

The only apparent downside to this little blush treasure is its short growing season, meaning a limited supply each summer. But, as more trees mature each year, the yield and distribution will grow.

You can find Orondo Ruby cherries on the shelves starting around June 20. Make sure to check out other innovative Chelan Fresh products like Rockit Apples and Cup O’ Cherries at chelanfresh.com

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About Chelan Fresh Marketing:

Chelan Fresh Marketing was established in August 2004 and has grown to become Washington’s finest mountain grown fruit providers. Chelan Fresh markets an estimated annual sale of 11 million boxes of apples, 1.5 million boxes of pears, 3.7 million boxes of cherries. Through innovation, reliability, and abundance, Chelan Fresh provides quality fruit, outstanding levels of service, and appropriate technology that results in consistency every day of the year at competitive prices to retailers and consumer.

Source: Chelan Fresh Marketing