Hunnyz Apples
Estimated Inventory, lb : 0
Description/Taste
Hunnyz apples are generally a large varietal, varying in size each season, averaging 8 to 9 centimeters in diameter and 9.3 to 14.3 ounces in weight. The apples have a round to conical shape with flat shoulders tapering through a broad, curved center to a narrow, slightly lopsided base. The skin is semi-thin, moderately ribbed, glossy, smooth, and taut, showcasing a yellow hue enveloped in a bright red to crimson blush. The blush ranges in transparency from solid to translucent, sometimes giving portions of the apple a mottled, orange-red hue. The surface is also covered in prominent tan lenticels. Underneath the skin, the yellow flesh is dense, crisp, aqueous, and coarse, with a pronounced succulent crunch. The flesh also encases a small central fibrous core filled with tiny, black-brown seeds. Hunnyz apples have balanced sugar and acidity levels, creating a sweet, tart taste with honey-like, tangy, and subtly fruity nuances.
Seasons/Availability
Hunnyz apples are available in the fall through winter.
Current Facts
Hunnyz apples, botanically classified as Malus domestica, are a modern American variety belonging to the Rosaceae family. The bi-colored apples were created through extensive research and trials performed by the Auvil Fruit Company in Orondo, Washington, in the early 21st century to develop a better-tasting apple. Hunnyz apples were selected for commercial cultivation for their disease and pest resistance, bright coloring, pleasant crunch, juicy nature, and sweet, honeyed flavor. The variety is harvested mid-season, typically picked from mid-September through November, and can be kept for an extended period in proper cold storage conditions. Hunnyz apples are exclusively grown and marketed through the Gee Whiz brand, a part of Auvil Fruit Company. When in season, Hunnyz apples are offered in limited quantities as a multi-purpose variety throughout the United States and Canada, able to be utilized in fresh and cooked preparations.
Nutritional Value
Hunnyz apples are a source of potassium to balance fluid levels within the body, fiber to regulate the digestive tract, and calcium to build strong bones and teeth. The apples also provide vitamin C to strengthen the immune system, vitamin E to reduce inflammation, vitamin A to maintain healthy organ functioning, and other nutrients, including zinc, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese. The apple's dark red blush is a sign of anthocyanins, natural pigments within the skin with antioxidant-like properties to protect the cells against free radical damage and oxidative stress.
Applications
Hunnyz apples have a balanced, sweet-tart flavor suited for fresh and cooked preparations. The variety is favored for its distinct crunch and is typically consumed straight out of hand as a fresh-eating apple. Hunnyz apples are also slowly oxidizing, allowing them to be used in salads, sliced for charcuterie boards, layered on toast, or used as a topping over pancakes, waffles, parfaits, smoothie bowls, and other breakfast dishes. Try shredding Hunnyz apples into slaws, dipping them into nut butter, chocolate, or caramel, or juicing and mixing them into drinks, cocktails, and fruit punches. In addition to fresh preparations, Hunnyz apples can be simmered into sauces, cooked into apple butter, and used in jams, jellies, and chutney. The variety can also be minced and stuffed into roasted meats, sauteed and served with root vegetables, or layered into grilled cheeses as a crunchy addition. Hunnyz apples have a balanced flavor profile allowing them to be used in sweet dishes. The apples can be cored and filled with walnuts, brown sugar, cranberries, and spices as a baked treat, or they can be cooked into tarts, crumbles, crisps, pies, scones, muffins, and bread. They can also be caramelized in brown butter and sugar as a decadent topping over ice cream. Hunnyz apples pair well with spices such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom, vanilla, maple syrup, chocolate, herbs including mint, basil, thyme, and rosemary, and meats such as pork, poultry, turkey, and beef. Whole, unwashed Hunnyz apples will keep for several weeks when stored in the refrigerator's crisper drawer. In professional cold storage, the variety can be stored for several months.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
Grady Auvil, the founder of the Auvil Fruit Company, was a renowned visionary in apple cultivation and agriculture in Washington state. Auvil first purchased 22 acres of land in Orondo, Washington, with his two brothers in the spring of 1928. The orchards were initially planted with apples, apricots, and a few pear trees, and by 1940, the family business had expanded over 40 acres. Not long after, the Auvil Fruit Company had to relocate their orchards to higher ground due to the installation of the Rocky Reach Dam. New land was purchased, and while reestablishing his orchards, Auvil was elected President of the Washington State Horticulture Association. Auvil was passionate about improving cultivation methods and firmly believed that if he helped the industry as a whole, it would, in turn, help his business. This passion was seen through Auvil's co-founding of the Washington State Tree Fruit Research Center in the 1960s to support fruit research. Auvil was also a leader in apple production and was the first grower to commercially plant Granny Smith apples in Washington state, quickly becoming one of the farm's most successful varieties. This eventually led the company to focus exclusively on apples and cherry cultivation. The Auvil Fruit Company began with 22 acres and now manages operations of over 1,500 acres of land. Throughout his career, Grady Auvil was awarded Grower of the Year in 1954, 1981, and 1990 and was given the Gamma Sigma Delta Award of Merit and the Washington State Legislature's "Washington State Medal of Merit," one of the most prestigious awards in Washington presented by the governor.
Geography/History
Hunnyz apples are native to the United States and were developed by the Auvil Fruit Company based in Orondo, Washington. The Auvil Fruit Company is a family-owned farm, and Hunnyz apples are marketed and sold under the company's Gee Whiz brand. The eye-catching brand name was created from interactions between Auvil Fruit Company founder Grady Auvil and friends. Auvil's acquaintances would often exclaim, "Ghee whiz, that's a good piece of fruit," and the brand was established to promote the company's focus on quality fruits, further exemplifying their mission through their slogan, "Where passion meets flavor." Hunnyz apples were created from a cross between CrimsonCrisp® and Honeycrisp apples in the early 21st century. CrimsonCrisp® apples are a mid-season cultivar released in 2006 through the PRI Joint Apple Breeding Program in the Eastern United States. The variety was selected for its saturated coloring, crisp, dense flesh, and extended storage capabilities. Honeycrisp, a commercially released variety in 1992 from the University of Minnesota, was chosen as the other parent variety for its famous flavor and crunch. From 1992 to 2008, Honeycrisp apples were a protected, patented cultivar, but after the patent's expiration, growers worldwide were allowed to use the variety in breeding. Over 4,000 experimental crosses were conducted using CrimsonCrisp® and Honeycrisp apples, and researchers and scientists spent over five years evaluating the fruits from the test seedlings. Each year during their trials, a panel tasted the new apples to examine and rank the fruits with the best flavor and texture. One seedling was eventually chosen and was named Hunnyz, a variety released commercially through the Gee Whiz brand sometime around the winter of 2020. Hunnyz apples are a specialty apple grown on trees trained to extend their branches along large trellis systems, similar to vineyards. This configuration allows the apples to receive the most sunlight during cultivation and the trees to put more effort into producing fruits for improved flavor. Hunnyz apples are also hand-picked up to five times throughout the season to ensure the fruits are fully developed on the tree. Once harvested, Hunnyz apples are passed through a six-point inspection process, including actions such as sorting, grading sugar-to-acid ratios, hand inspecting, and hand packing into trays for shipments. Today Hunnyz apples are exclusively grown through Gee Whiz and the Auvil Fruit Company in Washington state and are sold through retailers across the United States and Canada. The Hunnyz apples featured in the photograph above were sourced in Seattle, Washington.
