nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio
List archive
- From: Michael Dossett <phainopepla@yahoo.com>
- To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Jam too sweet?
- Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 11:35:15 -0700 (PDT)
Unfortunately, bleaching the strawberries and then adding red dye to make them an even color is an all too common practice. Not all the jam companies do this, but many if not most do. I think part of it depends on where the berry comes from and what variety it is too. A lot of the jam processors use California strawberries. The growers there make their real money on the berries from the first and second pick for the fresh market because of their size. I can't remember what the price was that way but I want to say it was around 75 cents a pound. The tertiary and quaternary berries on each raceme are smaller and are almost worthless to them so they dump them on the processing market for around 19 cents a pound just to get a little something for them. A lot of the jam and yogurt etc. processors use these berries
because of the cost.
Oregon and Washington strawberries, in part because of climate and in part because of genetics, have good color throughout the fruit, i.e. they aren't white inside like California ones. They are also darker red than the strawberries from the eastern half of the US. A few processors still like these berries in part because of flavor but also in part because of the color so they don't have to add the dyes etc. Unfortunately because of a shorter season and higher labor costs our growers can barely make a go of it at 50 cents a pound for a processing berry which means that the acreage here in the Pacific Northwest has been steadily shrinking. It is basically because of the few remaining processors here that the strawberry breeding programs in Oregon and Washington place a large emphasis on selecting for fruit color both internally and externally before a new variety gets released.
Michael
Michael Dossett Corvallis, Oregon www.Mdossettphoto.com phainopepla@yahoo.com
--- On Mon, 3/9/09, Sarah Kehler Ewing <skkewing@yahoo.com> wrote:
|
-
[NAFEX] Jam too sweet?,
Jim Fruth, 03/08/2009
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
- Re: [NAFEX] Jam too sweet?, Sarah Kehler Ewing, 03/09/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Jam too sweet?,
Michael Dossett, 03/09/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Jam too sweet?,
Mark Angermayer, 03/09/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Jam too sweet?,
Kevin Moore, 03/10/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Got Milk OFF TOPIC,
Mark Angermayer, 03/10/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Got Milk OFF TOPIC,
Kevin Moore, 03/10/2009
- Re: [NAFEX] Got Milk OFF TOPIC, Stephen Sadler, 03/11/2009
- Re: [NAFEX] Got Milk OFF TOPIC, Naomi Counides, 03/10/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Got Milk OFF TOPIC,
Kevin Moore, 03/10/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Got Milk OFF TOPIC,
Mark Angermayer, 03/10/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Jam too sweet?,
Kevin Moore, 03/10/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Jam too sweet?,
Mark Angermayer, 03/09/2009
- Re: [NAFEX] Jam too sweet?, Michael Dossett, 03/09/2009
Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.