No-Nonsense Dried Fruit with Sunrise Fresh
Mar 11, 2021, Updated Jun 10, 2021
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This post is sponsored by Sunrise Fresh.
Dried fruit is a delicious, no-mess snack. It’s perfect for road trips, for movie nights, for packing in lunchboxes, for relaxing on the beach, and for picnics in the park. But not all dried fruit is created equal. Have you ever looked at the ingredients in your dried cherries and wondered why the list doesn’t simply read cherries? Then check out Sunrise Fresh dried fruit! This company’s tasty snacks are made with just one ingredient: high-quality dried fruit.
Sunrise Fresh dried fruit: just fruit and nothing else
Sunrise Fresh is committed to bringing you the best quality dried fruit – so they do things a little differently than other dried fruit brands. Fruit loses its liquid weight when it’s dried. To make a cheaper product, most producers add sugar (sometimes a lot of it) back into the fruit to make up for that loss of weight. But Sunrise Fresh believes that the only thing that belongs in a bag of their dried cherries and other fruits is just that: dried fruit.
To produce its specialty cherries, Sunrise Fresh doesn’t use Montmorency tarts, the variety of cherry typically grown for production. These cherries often require extra sugar to give them that “cherry” flavor. Rather, they grow Rainier, California Bing, and Dark Sweet cherries specifically to be dried. Take a bite of these and you’ll find a distinctive, natural taste, rather than the sugary sweet flavor you’ll find in other dried cherries.
Sunrise Fresh also tries to use as much of its harvest as possible to maximize profits and reduce waste. That means they include culls, fruit that would normally be thrown out due to defects. These cherries might have some bruising, cracks, or other imperfections, but once dried they’re just as tasty as any other cherry! Using culls means Sunrise Fresh gets more fruit from its trees and can bring you a better product at a fair price.
Fresh, seasonal flavor
Sunrise Fresh puts the natural flavor of its cherries first. That means the flavor profile of these cherries can vary by the season.
Its growers in Washington and California provide fresh fruit during cherry season. Sunrise Fresh has perfected a speedy process of harvesting, drying, cooling, packing, and shipping. The streamlined process of picking a Sunrise Fresh cherry from the tree to drying and packing it means they’re available year-round – even after cherry season ends. Because they’re dried fresh, each package gives you an authentic taste of their natural, seasonal flavor.
To achieve such a quick turnaround without sacrificing quality, Sunrise Fresh cherries are placed on a drying tray and sent through a 40-foot forced-air tunnel. Other companies often use the microwave or flash drying to produce their dried fruits, which can cause their produce to lose nutrients and flavor – meaning those things have to be added back into the fruit. Using the forced air tunnel drying method, Sunrise Fresh cherries are dried slowly and consistently without losing any of their natural flavor or nutrition.
The Sunrise Fresh family
Sunrise Fresh built its success on a foundation of delicious, high-quality cherries. In 2019 they added more dried fruits to their repertoire. This includes blueberries, peaches, apples, and pears, all prepared with the same attention to quality and flavor.
But Sunrise Fresh doesn’t owe it’s success solely to good fruit. The passionate, dedicated Samuel family stands behind this company and continues to innovate in pursuit of the best possible products.
Sunrise Fresh dried cherries are the result of a second-generation farmer, Ernie Podesta, known for his innovative approach to cherries. Today, Ernie’s youngest daughter Jane and her husband Jim Samuel uphold their family legacy – and their three sons have joined the family business to carry it on as the family’s fourth generation of growers.
A fresh take on dried fruit
In just the last few years, Sunrise Fresh dried fruit has exploded in popularity. They’ve been the number-one seller of dried fruit on Amazon for the last four years. Sunrise Fresh has recently made the jump to Walmart.com. Their delicious selections are even easier to find during your online shopping trips!
That might not be the only place you find them, though. While Sunrise Fresh dried fruit is packaged for retail, it’s also available for bulk and wholesale purchase. It’s tasty, preservative- and additive-free dried fruit is perfect for trail mix, energy bars, or baked goods. Pay attention and you may see Sunrise Fresh products show up in more of your favorite snacks!
The next time you reach for a nutritious, no-nonsense snack, grab a bag of Sunrise Fresh dried fruit. Their sweet, satisfying products are grown and produced using only their natural flavors. The only ingredient you’ll find in a Sunrise Fresh package is dried fruit. Whether you’re snacking on the go or cooking at home, Sunrise Fresh has the naturally perfect dried fruit for you.
